3D Level Reflection

 The Scrappy Swamp

 

Summary:

This level will introduce the player to attacking (enemies and breakable objects), jumping and basic level components like buttons that unlock doors, teleporters that lead to secrets, checkpoints and acid. 

Sections 1-4:

In sections 1-4, the player is introduced to basic attacking with a breakable wall that they have to break to get past. Then they are introduced to jumping, and eventually, their first enemy. When the enemy is shown off, it will be in an open area so they can run away if they need to. There are also health pickups on top of pillars so the player can heal while being safe from the chomper. They need to get past the chomper to get to the button that opens the door to the next sections.

Sections 5-8:

After opening the door, they will also be introduced to a moving platform. If they fall there will be 2 chompers, and an easy way back up. On the other side of the moving platform, the player will find a switch that will activate 1 crystal on the moving platform that the player needs to go on to progress. This will teach the player that some things will require multiple switches. After looking around, they will find a portal that leads to an overhang with the pressure plate required to activate the moving platform and progress. The player will then need to find 2 more switches to activate another moving platform.

Section 9:

The player will have to find 2 hidden switches to activate platforms that move upwards.

Sections 10-11:

The player will have to carefully navigate and fight on small platforms while being hounded by spitters and chompers. Once they hit the switch, a portal will appear, and the player will have to navigate a maze with some destructible boxes and hidden chompers. The end of the maze will bring them back to section 8.

Section 12:

The players will be brought to more moving platforms that they need to activate to make it to the boss door.

Section 13:

The boss arena. Will be developed more once I know what the boss is.

Name	Icon	Function
Chomper		An enemy that lunges at the player if they get too close. Will be used to sprinkle some action in between the platforming.
Spitter		An enemy that spits at the player once they enter the spitter’s range.
Health Pickup		Heals the player when they pick it up. Used to make the player feel safer and guide them.
Teleporter		Teleports the players to the corresponding portal. Will be used for secret shortcuts.
Locked Door		A locked door.
Button		Pressure plates that open doors when stepped on.
Breakable Wall		Obstacles that can be destroyed by the player.
Moving Platform		Platforms that move along a path, the player can traverse on them.
Checkpoints		Events that trigger when the player enters a certain area, allowing the player to save their progress.
Start		Where the player starts the level.
End/boss room		Where the player fights the boss and ends the level.

Ref 1, the kind of lush colors I want to use (besides the water, that will all be acid)

Ref 2, run down mechanical elements that will be sprinkled across the world and possibly used for another section

Name of Object	Description
Tree_Prop	Lush jungle trees that will add some liveliness to the scene. Will also be used near the walls/edges of areas to make them feel less rigid.
Shrub_Prop	A small prop that will add similar life to the scene as the tree. Will rustle when you walk through it.
Bridge_Prop	A simple wooden bridge that the player can walk over. Adds variation to the basic platforms all over the scene.
Scrap_Metal_Prop	A hunk of scrap. Will be more prominent in the latter half of the level and will foreshadow the sci fi themes.
Shipping_Container_Prop	A shipping container that will float in acid and be stood on by the player. Similar in function to the bridge, but in the latter half of the level.
Siren_Light_Prop	A variant of the crystal. Will show up in the latter half of the level.
Sign_Prop	Signs that will be placed near dialogue prompts. Will make the sudden prompts more clear to players.
Enemy_Skeleton_Prop	Enemy skeletons that will be floating through acid. Will help emphasize that acid is bad.
Dead_Tree_Prop	A tree that's got no leaves. Will be used to foreshadow the destruction shown in the latter half of the level.
Giant_Upturned_Ship_Prop	A ship that's gone horizontal in the acid pool. The centerpiece of the level.
Radioactive_Barrel_Object	A barrel that will explode when attacked by the player. Adds some risk to swinging your weapon around like crazy.
Vine_Object	Vines that the player can climb up. Used to add some vertical movement to the level design.
Acid_Bubble_Object	Bubbles that rise up from acid pools but can be covered up by moving platforms. Will deal damage to the player if they run into them. Will make platforming more precarious and add puzzle potential with covering up the bubbles.
Chomping_Plant_Enemy	A venus flytrap that will snap at the player when they go in its range. Players will be able to go into its head after it's missed its bite, and rise up when it raises its head. Adds more verticality and presents a different way to interact with enemies.
Jetski_Object	A jetski that the player can use to travel across the acid. I just think this would be cool.

 

 Reflection

    Throughout my level I made sure to keep the tension balanced by making central "safe" areas that the player will get to right after an intense area.

    

    Not only do these areas serve as reprieve from the action, but since they are both positioned in the direct center of 2 different paths, the player has an opportunity to think about which challenge they want to face. On the right picture, the player can see that the west path leads to a platforming challenge and the north path leading to a combat challenge, and while there are more to these challenges that meets the eye, the player will understand what they were getting into. These central areas also acted as hubs to guide the player to activate a moving platform in order to advance to the next part of the level.

    While my level is pretty linear, the player does have the choice of which areas they go in what order. I'm not sure how well I implemented this because most players did things in a similar order. The order that the player does things doesn't have a huge impact on the progression, it's more so just a choice of if they want to do combat first or platforming first.

        

    Whenever I wanted to teach a player a new mechanic, I would normally put it in a very controlled environment and gave them a text box to explain how the mechanic works, but not spell out the solution completely. I wanted to make sure the players knew what they were dealing with so they could for sure solve the puzzle. The only exception I made for this was in the latter half of the level where I put the player in a room full of invincible spitter enemies that they had to survive in until the portal lowered and they were able to escape. I did tell the player that the spitters were immortal with a text box, but the room was very hectic as I wanted a really intense survivability challenge.

 

    I had a lot of fun making platforming challenges for the players. It took a while to figure out the limits of Ellen's jumping abilities, but once I figured out how to set up jumps, I made some good platforming segments.

    I also feel like the layout worked really well with a linear path that leads to a room with several puzzles then goes into a big central hub with several paths that they had to go down. I wanted to make the level feel more vast as the player progressed so that the player wouldn't be overwhelmed at the beginning, but still have a big open level for the players to explore.

 

    I feel like I laid the level out pretty well, but there were some mechanics that I had some issues with. Due to how simple the enemies and combat was, I didn't really experiment with different kinds of combat encounters besides making the spitters immortal. I was also spending way more time getting puzzles to work and didn't really feel like I had the time to mess with the enemies.

    In terms of puzzles, I really like how they came out, but I don't think I put enough visual clarity in the solutions. There were times when the playtesters would solve the puzzle and then not see the portal that appeared. They all told me that the puzzles were cool once they realized how they worked, but with there was a lot of unnecessary confusion.

    Overall I feel like I made a fun level with the tools I was given, but there were some issues with clarity and I didn't use all the tools in the toolbelt. I also wish that I downloaded or made some new assets to decorate my basic level.