ePortfolio Post 3 - 3D Game Level 1

 

Konner Rooney

5/2024

2242-CAGD-270-03-2913

ePortfolio Post 3

    After finishing the Mega Man level unit, our class moved onto a unit focused on 3D Level Creation using Unity. As someone who never used the program, I was quite nervous going into it. However, the end result was something I found myself quite proud of!

Level v1, the Past

    Right off the bat, I struggled to create the first iteration of my level within Unity. Various errors constantly halted my progress: from nothing happening when I tried to enter play mode to play mode stopping itself when it spotted and started heading towards the player, there was always something that prevented me from checking if the level was working. Thus, I ended up turning in an unfinished, most likely unplayable level for my first iteration. I ended up getting a 4 out of 10 on it, which I found to be a fair score considering the circumstances.

Time for Round v2

    Luckily, the professor was able to help me fix both of these issues the following class period (not including the playtest, which I didn't attend since I didn't believe my level would be playable). It ultimately came down to issues involving the properties of the enemies, in which the floors that the enemies resided on needed properties stating that the enemies could walk on it, and also needed their equivalent AI assigned to the enemies themselves. It is stuff like this that makes Unity intimidating for people like me. Thankfully, the rest of the process was smooth sailing after this! I was able to incorporate and finish the aspects of my level I didn't get to for the first unfinished iteration, and I completed it multiple times after playtesting!

What Went Right? What Went Wrong? + Playtesters' Comments

    The main positive takeaway I got from the playtesters was that the level flowed extremely well! Some even commented that it was their favorite out of the levels they tested that day! I believe this was the result of fun yet informative text-based tutorials and a more linear approach to the level's design, making the critical path obvious to most players.

The part of my level that I was most proud of was how I split the sections of the level up into different areas, each with its own unique minor challenges of new elements and reiterations of old elements from sections before it. For example, the first level introduced breakable boxes and parkour. Following that was a section mostly based on introducing enemies and combat, with breakable boxes at the end of the section to destroy while surrounded by enemies and parkour being an optional "side quest" the player can take to regain health before moving on. Throughout the rest of the level, I would continue to do this with more small-space combat, pressure plates and switches to open doors, moving platforms as new elements, and continuing to use the initial elements in new yet familiar setups.

The part of the level that I was least proud of was the cosmetic and visual design of the level. Many of the shapes and models I used were kind of scrappily put together, causing some areas (especially the indoor ones) to noticeably clip into each other and/or be noticeably non-adjacent. In contrast, other students' levels seemed to have focused on a labyrinth sort of look  (the example level provided to us may have inspired many of them aesthetically), emphasizing large and thick shapes surrounded by large and thick walls. While this did give my level a unique feel, I can't help but think I can do better on. I hope to do exactly that on the thrid iteration of the level.

Level v3, the Future

    For our next assignment, we are required to add upon our initial level by incorporating harder difficulty, finishing with a boss fight at the end. Based on the section that my original level ended on, I was planning to have the new parts of the level more condensed than the first. Sure, the original level may have had a lot of pits of death, but objectives and enemies usually stayed along the level's linear path and only had one element at a time that players would have to worry about. But having this section indoors, with a lack of space to look and move around, along with a bigger emphasis on multiple elements to consider and more tricky puzzles, they may mind themselves more skilfully and rationality tested.

Since the new part of the level would take place inside, I would want the level to end by having the player end up in a seemingly empty parkour section, with a block of grass at the end. It would be peaceful...too peaceful. Additionally, obvious checkpoints and health will be present before the grass area. Once the player reaches the grass, the boss with spawn. This ambiance usually informs veteran platform players that something is about to happen and offers new players an opportunity to "suit up" when facing an endeavor they may fail on their first attempt.

In terms of the boss itself, I would want to base it on the Talus fights in The Legend of Zelda: Breathe of The Wild, where enemies attack slowly, have decent range and a lot of potential damage, and a weak point that the players must hit enough times to stun the enemy and deal more damage to them.