Retro FPS Levels
The level design project is based around the mechanics of retro first person shooters such as Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and DOOM (1993). I took heavy influence from these games while designing the levels, and tried to follow their design principals with some modern updates. I was responsible for all the game and level design. Below is a video that shows the game, and then a break down of each level.
Level 1
Being the first level, the main goal is to teach the player the mechanics of the game. The player starts in a safe area in room with only a spell book and a door. The only way to progress is to pick up the spell book which teaches players the item gives them mana for spells. They then have to use the interaction system to open the door. When they open the door they have to face their first enemy which will require them to use the spell mechanic. The player then goes through a short hallway where they can learn how the first enemy behaves and how to deal with them. The player then has to go through the waterfall obstacle which teaches the player they can go through them get damaged by them. Right after the waterfall is a health item that will heal the player, so the learning experience is not a punishment to them, and to teach them what health looks like. The player then has a hallway of waterfall and enemies to test them on the knowledge they just learned. After that test they get a spellbook to restore some mana, and then open the door to find a new enemy. There is two short hallways to learn how these new enemies work, and how to deal with both enemy types at once. This leads into the final challenge with a bigger open space full of enemies with waterfalls limiting the player's mobility. Players can either fight the battle to get a higher score, or rush through the room to get to the final door.
The level immediately puts the player in danger to keep up the faster pace established in the latter half of the first level. It also teaches a new obstacle of Holy Ground. The player sees an enemy standing on top of Holy Ground, but if they try to move forward the Holy Ground will block them. This teaches them that they can't walk on Holy Ground, but enemies can freely move on it. If they player didn't initial understand this then it will become apparent as they go through a hallway full of Holy Ground and two enemies moving around it. They player then goes up stairs to find two choices; left and right. If they go left then they will face a bunch of easier enemies and waterfalls where they can easy speed through it or kill the enemies for a lot of points. They player then transitions to an area of harder enemies and Holy Ground which limits the player's movement a lot more. They can no longer just blitz through the level, and have to deal with the hoard of enemies in order to progress. After two hallways the player then goes down some stairs and wins the level. If the player goes left then the opposite happens. The player starts with the harder enemies and Holy Ground, and have to kill the enemies in order to progress then have the easier enemies they can speed through. Both ways are about the same length and end that the same place.
The level starts with a new enemy that immediately rushes the player to teach the player how this aggressive enemy works. There is then a short series of hallways to give the player more practice with this enemy before the meat and potatoes of the level. The player then gets health and mana before the start of the level, but when they pick up the mana a UI element appears stating the doors will require the player to have certain amount of points in order to beat the level. This changes how the player is used to playing with the goal to make them have to be more aggressive with the enemies and show a mastery of the mechanics they have learned. The player is then put into a large open battle arena full of enemies, mana, and health pickups. Waterfalls and Holy Ground are used to break up the level into small chunks to both limit player's movement, and to provide advantages to the enemies. There are also a few elevated platforms around the level add some variety to the level. The player can also choose where to go at any point with some areas being harder than other. The large Waterfall is the most challenging area, but has health and a lot of opportunities for points. When the player gets the required points then there are fours door across the levels they player can open to win the level.