LEVEL DESIGN / LEVEL SCRIPTING
I had to create a blockout and a document for a fictional game called Noozka’s Tyranny. The challenge was modeled after the same kind that I should expect to see when applying to a studio. For more info regarding the challenge you can click here.
Tools: Unreal Engine
Date: December 2020
Development Time: 85 hours
Assets: Blocking Starter Pack by Xavier Loux, and Blockout Tools Plugin by Dmitry Karpukhin
This blockout is a part of a bigger mission which includes a nightclub, a street, and an alleyway from the city of Tokyo, the Rival Gang HQ, and a Parking Lot.
The player has to kill the final Noozka boss, this mission being the final one or the second to last, right before an epilogue
The player begins on the city streets after the last mission right by an alleyway. This alleyway ends at a nearby nightclub. The alleyway has a series of enemy encounters (Humanoid and Drones). The player rushes through the alleyway killing all enemies in his sight working their way up to the nightclub. As the player reaches the nightclub the encounters chill for a bit. After the player enters the nightclub, he gets presented a cutscene and he needs to find his informant inside (a guard). The player must talk to the informant and then leave the nightclub to advance. At the exit of the nightclub two enemies can be killed by either assassinating them with the katana or shooting them but because of the sound, more enemies will come. Outside, the player has another small cutscene where he enters the van and then the Rival Gang HQ gets presented and he can see that the van entering the underground parking lot. After the player enters the HQ, he needs to fight his way towards the top of the building where the Noozka boss is waiting for him. The path consists of two puzzle-like rooms and two action-packed parts before reaching the top. The puzzle consists of mostly finding the path towards the next room. The other parts consist of a parkour part where the skill of the player is tested before the final encounter. After the player kills the boss, there is a cutscene with the player in the parking lot of the nightclub.
Roof Floor - The Roof acts as the final arena combined with the final boss battle which ends with the final boss getting throwed off the building.
Middle Two Floors (top one shown in the pic) - The middle two floors act as a chill but still action packed part since it combines parkouring with some fast paced shooting.
Bottom Floor - This is where the player starts the level. This floor focuses on platforming and exploring with small combat encounters.
The ground floor focuses on platforming, while also providing players with a few combat parts.
The player stars at the red circle and as he spawns, he is greeted by two enemies that are facing away from him, this giving the option of stealth. There is also a moving fan in the room that catches the eye of the player towards it, thus guiding where to go.
In the middle of the floor, after the player drops down from the air vents, I blocked the vision of the room while still showing the player the end location to push the player to explore a bit.
Even though the level is linear, at the half-point of the floor, the player has a second option for getting to the elevator.
When the player arrives on this floor the only two things that he can see are a broken window, which gives a great visa opportunity, and a locked door. After the player notices that the door is locked and he turns around he will notice the platform that was hanging there from the beginning.
The platform cables break when the player touches the platform, thus giving the player a memorable moment in the level. After the player drops down three floors, he needs to fight his way back, while going up.
The last part of this floor (outside area) acts as a skill check for the parkouring mechanics because of the increased complexity and back-to-back wall runs.
The roof is the final part of the Rival Gang HQ and is an arena filled with enemies.
The very first place on this floor is a very big cover, that provides the player a view of the entire "arena" so that he can choose the best path for him.
Throughout the floor there are a lot of covers that give the player some breathing time.
The player must kill all the enemies before facing the final boss on a slightly elevated platform. After killing the final boss, the player gets a cutscene on which he first questions the main villain why did he kill his family and then proceeds by throwing him off the building.