US: 1-812-577-0883 DanaWilloughby@hotmail.com
Unreal Tournament 3
First Person Shooter
Unreal Engine 3
Three Weeks
6-16 Player Death Match
Asset Alterations
Concept & Design Sketch
Construction & Lighting
AI pathing and Item Placement
Level Optimizations
Detail Pass (Audio, FX, Gameplay)
" Alien" is an Unreal Tournament 3 level utilizing the power of Unreal Engine 3 Editor. The ship itself is completely cylindrical, leading to an infinite loop of death and destruction. The idea was to have a very fluid, uninterrupted fighting area, so the flow was the pinnacle of the creation of its layout. Alien takes place in space, located near celestial bodies on an abandoned spacecraft. The player will fight in the Alien spacecraft, and will have access to all ranged weapons and power-ups. The player will also experience a fast paced Death Match gameplay style, as well as zero gravity mechanics as the game progresses. The player can also fall into the blue propulsion orb located below the ship, which will result in instant death. Secret access tunnels in the ship will only be accessible during the shift over to zero gravity, or via the emergency exit jump pads in a reverse fashion. This level will constantly shift from having gravity to zero gravity over a given period of time, utilizing kismet scripting.
Flow:
Before starting work on DM Alien, I played many different maps trying to find a map with an endless flow, to see what made the level tick. One particular map came to mind from the Unreal Tournament 3 game, Morbid. Morbid had circular flow and even provided inspiration when it came to a space setting. I did not like the openness of the level, as it would not fit with the Alien theme. So, I set out to create a level that encompassed what a spacecraft may look like to me, and also had the smooth endless flow so players didn't have to think about the map so much, allowing them to just play it by instinct alone.
Idea:
Visualization:
This is the beginning stage when I scour the internet, books, real world environment, movies, etc for inspirational photos I can either create or save in a folder for later use during the creative process. This can also be sketches of how I want the world to look when creating it as well.
Sketches:
Block Out:
Map Flow:
Player Starts
Item Placement
Detail Pass:
Unlit
Detail Final:
Lit
Path Nodes
Jumppads
Materials
Setting
Environment
Backstory
Concept Art
Photos
Themed Books
Top Down Sketch
Important Areas
Critical Points
Rough Layout
of Entire relevant play space
Add Player Starts, Portals, Path Nodes, Items etc.
Static Mesh
Rough Lighting
Static Mesh Final
Material Final &
Alignment
Final Lighting Pass
Particles, Decals, Fog Layers, Final Testing.
Audio/Music
DM Alien
Kismet Scripting
Gravity:
What goes up, must come down in this map created in deep space. The idea was to have the engine of this abandoned spacecraft fire up every so often. This would create a break in the fast-paced combat, and open new areas on the ship, containing better weapons and armor! As the engines turn on, they create anti-gravity within the ship, causing anything not nailed down to float. Once the engines turn off, normal gravity kicks in and it's back to the foot race.
Replicate:
During the process of designing any map on paper, I try to reuse art assets as much as possible. This map wasn't any different, and considering it is cylindrical and repetitive visually, I was able to save a ton of time detailing by simply reusing areas around the ship. After adding all the details on the first pass, I go back to add small variations to break up the repetitive nature of the areas.
Scripting:
Simple, yet effective, the Kismet scripting in the sequence achieves its goal without issue. The gravity, static mesh floors and even the sound work in sync to produce a believable alien environment.
" Alien" is an Unreal Tournament 3 level utilizing the power of Unreal Engine 3 Editor. The ship itself is completely cylindrical, leading to an infinite loop of death and destruction. The idea was to have a very fluid, uninterrupted fighting area, so the flow was the pinnacle of the creation of its layout. Alien takes place in space, located near celestial bodies on an abandoned spacecraft. The player will fight in the Alien spacecraft, and will have access to all ranged weapons and power-ups. The player will also experience a fast paced Death Match gameplay style, as well as zero gravity mechanics as the game progresses. The player can also fall into the blue propulsion orb located below the ship, which will result in instant death. Secret access tunnels in the ship will only be accessible during the shift over to zero gravity, or via the emergency exit jump pads in a reverse fashion. This level will constantly shift from having gravity to zero gravity over a given period of time, utilizing kismet scripting.
As with all of my level designs, I follow a simple workflow and procedures guide I created that has been studied and updated consistently since it's creation. Utilizing all steps in the guideline allow me to streamline the process of creating all levels within my portfolio. All images are taken from bookmarked locations to show progression.
