Multiplayer Level

And for the Multiplayer level we're designing I present...

Tech Elf Training

Where you are one of the many elves of the twisted lands of Rivetdell who are undergoing training under their elite training ground for their armada. It's known to be one of the most dangerous trials and not everyone makes it out alive. Those with the highest scores live!

I basically want the players to go head on in the middle of the map. I want to push the players closer together for more of a direct confrontation, so I made a high rise with a bunch of stuff on the top. Think of king of the hill!

I also have the spawn points below the map. When the player spawns, they take an elevator of sorts up into the level. Locations are set at random. This prevents players from dieing as soon as they spawn as well as preventing spawn camping.

Finally, I made sniper platforms at the ends of the lowest level. The elevators lead to rocket ammo at the top, so players can use their rocket guns (since the engine is built off of UE4). This only gives them three shots though, so make them count!

Setting? Rivetdell! During the late afternoon whilst the sun is slowly sinking.

• What time of year is it?

THIS IS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE. THE ELVES HAVE FINALLY PICKED UP TECHNOLOGY.

• Who else lives here?

JUST ELVES. EVERYTHING ELSE IS DEAD.

• What does the architecture look like?

THIS:

MEETS THIS:

• What major event happened prior to the player getting there?

ELVES BUILT THE PLACE IN PREPARATION FOR WAR.

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FPS Multiplayer Analysis (Halo 3)

Halo 3 has probably been one of my favorite FPS games of all time. My favorite map that I played endlessly was Valhalla in multiplayer. My friends and I would stay up all night in online matchmaking and we'd cheer when we got this map every time.

But what is Valhalla?

It was a spinoff of Blood Gulch in the original Halo. However, Valhalla is a forest-y valley nestled into the base of two giant mountain cliffs, with large hills, and a waterfall that leads to a River that runs down the center of the map and into the ocean on one side of the map. One side of the map has the ocean and the other side has a cliffside. The setting seems to be mid-day and has a very free, open feel. Each side of the map has a base that each player team starts from.

Inside this base there are several guns, lift pads that launch players out into the valleys, and vehicles such as the Mongoose, Warthog, Wraith and the Banshee. 

There are also other power-ups available such as the Bubble-Shield, and power drain.

Players can snake through their bases, or they can rush head first into combat via the gravity lifts present in the area where they spawn in their bases:

What I like about this level is that it gives players a choice: Meet head on in the center, or pick up a long range weapon like the battle rifle or the Sniper rifle (or spartan lazer!) and pick people off. Strategies revolve often around the vehicles, whatever power-ups are available, and what weapons you pick up. Game modes range from capture and hold to juggernaut to team deathmatch.

And here is my analysis of it!

2D Platformer Plan

Jim the Reaper

Follow the dark hero, Jim the Reaper, as he traverses the haunted labs in order to save the students' trapped souls from the tyranny of the computers! Only he is able to set them free by stepping on the not-so-precious evil lab equipment! But what horrifying tech waits him at the end?

This was my first pass:

And refined...

About:
I plan on having the enemies die by stepping on top of them. When they die, they drop a soul. There are also spikes that drop from the ceiling that inhibit the player, as well as the many gaps and enemies placed throughout the level. At the end, there is a "final boss fight" where you have to step on top of the computer twice in order to kill it. It's stationary and throws things at you. You should be able to reach it via the rotating platforms. How many souls can you collect?

Conflict:
The students' souls have been trapped inside the computers for all eternity!

Twist:
Jim is a reaper, but he saves souls, not take them.

Where is it?
In the haunted recesses of the labs! Think of a computer graveyard with blue backlight:

Time of day?

Nighttime!

What does the architecture look like?

Tombstones and gothic stuff. Oh and computer desks of ages past! Spoopy!

Who else lives here?:

COMPUTERS. EVIL. COMPUTERS.

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror Platformer Analysis!

Yo this game is rad.

(But on a serious note...)

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is not only part of my childhood, but an amazing game itself. In my class for game design we were given the chance to analyze a 2D platformer game's first level, or the "tutorial level."

This is me playing the actual game. I apologize for the horrendous sound and the lagg! Fraps wasn't being nice to me:

This is the map I made in Illustrator:

About the layout:

- The level's layout itself first presents the player with the challenge of movement (i.e. Jumping). The clouds pile up to create the first obstacle that player must maneuver over.

- It then throws one enemy at a time towards the player, starting off with very few towards the beginning in the first "act," and then a lot more in the last "act" of the level.

-It introduces platforms and how they can assist the player in getting across areas.

-Once the player reaches the pillars, they're challenged with yellow-stared boxes. The player then finds out how to eat things such as these boxes, and what they can do once they've eaten something. Kirby is famous for his ability to eat enemies and use their abilities. The player can push the down key once they've eaten an enemy and learn what they can do.

-Upon reaching the end of an "act," a player must travel through a door that leads to the next part of the level.

-Switches are then introduced, and so is the mechanic of using your other NPC kirbys following you.

-The last "act" is the hardest part of the level. It provides many more opportunities for the player to engage with the enemies.

-Along the way, Players find food and other items to restore Kirby's health.

-Once they've reached the end, they grab a chest and enter the final door to complete the level.

The pacing is pretty quick. It's a short level. It starts easy but picks up in pace.

Not much is actually told to the player except for the controls. The player must figure things out on their own.

Before this level begins, the player sees Meta Knight fly away, starting up the story that Kirby must chase him down!

Lava Texture!

It started from a zbrush sculpt, then I compiled it using tons of BPR renders.

Small Thank You

A small thank you to my friend!

Small Desert Biome

A little something I made as a small personal project.

The goals were to better learn baking from high to low and the creation of a vertex paint material for the ground with a clean transition between the textures.