Hidden Sails Resort (In Progress)

Playthrough of the destroyed pier area.

2D Map of the level. (Click to open.)

Overview

Invade an island and overcome platforming and combat challenges in open-ended areas.
An FPS/Platformer level.

Level Design work:

Built the level blockout with Maya; designed a 2D Map; designed encounter areas and navigation challenges; set up test scenarios for prototyping movement and other metrics in practical situations.
Collected playtest data and used it to iterate on layouts and mechanics.
Main objective: Create areas with memorable identities that intrigue and encourage exploration.

Additional tasks

Prototyped player movement mechanics, weapons, basic enemy AI behaviors, and dynamic level features.

Info:

A natural grapple spot, "swinging" across a gap.

An awkward grapple spot, requiring a follow-up jump.

During early playtesting, I was getting feedback that spaces felt clunky and were not fun to navigate through.
The problem: My question asking was too broad with questions that I struggled to take any actionable information from.
The solution: I took multiple steps to change my playtesting process and locate the root of the problem:
1. I began by starting to watch players play, ask questions live, and take notes of the specific moments that players liked and disliked.
2. It became apparent that among the two types of grapple targets, players enjoyed one, and struggled with the other.
3. I believed the navigation clunkiness may lie with my grapple mechanics, rather than the spaces in the level.
  - To test this, I built a practice area for players to learn the grapple mechanics more thoroughly.
4. I found that after players were comfortable with the difficult grapple, the areas that were described as clunky became enjoyable, and the complaints about navigation subsided.
5. This told me that the real solution to the problem was polishing the grapple mechanics.
My takeaway was the importance of locating the true source of an issue so that accurate actions can be taken.
- If I had listened only to the initial, vague feedback, I would have remade a significant portion of the level, only to find I was no closer to solving the issue than before.

The destroyed pier area.

The crystal mine's tunnel entrance and final room.

I wanted each challenge to have a strong identity to draw players in and help the player remember which challenges they have already completed.
- As part of this, I made sure while playtesting that players regularly navigate to high vantage points to help them spot their next destination.
- For example, climbing up to the sign, which is the closest challenge to the entrance of the area, provides a thorough overview of the area and the other challenges.
I also wanted each challenge to require different player abilities to successfully complete.
- For example, climbing the destroyed sign requires use of the grapple, while making it past the snipers on the docks requires use of the bullet-shield because of the sparse cover.
The hidden cave within the destroyed tunnel also provides a gauntlet-like challenge and a setting that makes it distinct from the rest of the area.

Early blockout of the resort area structures.

The view of the resort blockout from the destroyed pier area.

This area gives the level its name, a complex of buildings known as the Hidden Sails Resort that overlooks the destroyed pier and beckons the player with intriguing architecture.
- The central element of the resort is the large boat-conveyor belt that can be seen from almost anywhere in the level. It works as a constantly moving elevator, granting the player access to many layers of the area.