Personal Project - Unreal Editor
Watchtower
Created over the course of 2 weeks, I designed this multiplayer PvP shooter level with Call of Duty gameplay in mind. It was designed primarily for a “Domination” game mode. It is based on the 3-lane philosophy that made so many Multiplayer Shooter maps great in the past.
Summary
During the Cold War, a USSR intelligence radar station is besieged by NATO Special Forces in the hopes of thwarting their missile interception capabilities.
Intentions
Showcase my versatility by designing a multiplayer PvP level
Demonstrate knowledge about multiplayer map design
Design multiple areas to leverage Close, Medium and Long Range encounters.
Limit lines of sight to prevent players from being vulnerable from too many angles
Landmarks have to be present and each area must have a distinctive feature / architecture for easy callouts
Balance the distance and timing from each spawn points towards the objectives
Constraints
Unreal Engine Editor
2 weeks production time
Apply various Multiplayer Level Design principles, including the 3-lane design philosophy
Domination game mode is the primary type of gameplay in mind while designing the map
Make sure that each choke point / objective has flanking routes to prevent camping
Reference Gathering
Documentation
Engagement Distance Analysis
Final Top Down Map
Initial Rough Layout Sketch
Design Breakdown
Team Spawns
Every spawn was designed to provide a quick access towards each team's closest objective (A for Blue Team and C for Red Team) while also giving players clear options towards the side lanes. I added cover and various exits to each spawns to combat spawnblocking. I also made sure to frame landmarks quickly from each spawns to allow players to easily orient themselves around the map.
Middle (B) Bloodbath
I designed the middle of the map as the main landmark and also the primary chokepoint. This is where I wanted the bloodbath to be, where players would often clash in close/mid engagement ranges and fight for the domination point at the crashed helicopter.
Lines of Sight
Since I didn’t have access to actual Call of Duty gameplay for playtesting, I added mannequins using various forms of cover heights and cameras to test out lines of sight at all corners/covers. In general, I tried to make sure there was a maximum of 3 lines of sight exposing the player at a time.
Engagement Ranges
It was important to include a variety of engagement ranges/types in the map. I designed the different lanes and chokepoints with this in mind. The middle (B) would be the Bloodbath, where Close and Mid range combat was king. The top lane would be Mid/Long and bottom lane would include all three types of engagement ranges, depending on the chokepoint. Building interiors also allowed to add close/mid range variety to an otherwise longer range engagement area, while also breaking line of sight. This proved to be quite effective.
Flanking Routes
To prevent camping chokepoints and objectives, I made sure to always have at least 3 entry points to buildings and objectives. It was important to make sure that no choke point could be held without having the risk of being taken down from the side or behind, which otherwise would create a power position.
Level Design Techniques
Landmarks
Each objective building has a very distinctive and vertical silhouette, which makes it easy for players to create a mental map of the level. This allows them to know specifically their orientation and distance of each objective at all times, without having to resort to UI.
Points Of Advantage
Inspired by Ben Bauer’s book “The Practical Guide to Level Design”, I wanted to guide players through the map by creating “Point of Advantage” with cover positions. As the player moves forward in the map from the spawn, they can easily trace a path towards the next available cover which will give them a new point of advantage towards their lane and over other players. Each team needed to have a similar number of points of advantage to keep balance in check.
Balancing
Every objective and choke point was tested to make sure that players would reach them in a similar amount of time, with similar cover & points of advantage. If one lane had a bit more of a tendency toward one team, the opposite team would do it the other way around, which creates a nice flow to the map where one team would end up moving up a lane and around the map while the other team did the same, preventing a stalemate.
Framing
From each spawn, I designed the player’s POV composition to make it easy to recognize unique silhouettes in buildings that are associated with each one of the three gameplay lanes. This allows them to rapidly locate themselves on the map. Multiple positions across the map allow for a good framing of the various objectives, without giving too many lines of sight, which would ruin the balance of the level.