Reberryon

Level Designer

Unreal Engine 5

Team Size: 10

Project duration: 7 weeks

3rd Person RTS

Reberryon is an action strategy game set in a fruity wonderland. It combines 3D platforming with RTS-elements in a novel way.

During the development of Reberryon I worked as mainly as a level designer but also did some game design. This was my first experience doing level design in a group project and I learned a ton when it comes to the level design workflow and how to collaborate with artists.

Role: Level Designer

During the development of Reberryon I had the main responsibility of:

Creating blockouts for the levels that contribute to the gameplay scenarios
Collaborate with other designer to create combat scenarios where players could use the environment to their advantage.
Construct multiple different levels that each tell their own story but also enhances the larger narrative of the game.
Test gameplay and apply relevant feedback to both the design and level design of the game.

Layout

The world was early on divided into three different levels each presenting the player with a new challanges and improved difficulty.

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Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 1: Onboarding the player

Level 1 is divided into 5 major segment that the player traverses as they play:

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Player path

Combat encounters

Start of level
First combat area
Second combat area
Third combat area
Fourth combat area

The first level was created specifically to onboard the player in a smooth way with the goal of:

Showing the player what their objective is
Teach the player how to play the game and give players an opportunity to try out their mechanics
Framing the world and environment to create a interest in the universe they've just entered.

1. Start of the level

This is the area where the player starts their journey. It is intentionally bigger with a lot of space for player to move around and learn the controls. The first area on the map also introduces player to their main resource when playing (seeds), and teaches the player how to summon their soldiers to fight for them.

From the very start of the game the player is able to see a gate further ahead. This was done intentionally to so that the player has an objective and knows what their goal is, even though they might not know the controlls or the story of the game. This was done from the very first blockout of the level as I liked the idea of both foreshadowing to the player where they are heading, but also to give the player a clear view of the the level.

I also used a lot of high walls to clearly indicate to the player where they are able to go. For the setting of the game I pushed early on to have the game be set on floating "magical" platforms so that we later on would have to do less set dressing and focus the design on the areas the player is actually able to see.

The space transitions into the next part of the level by funneling the player a narrow path as to focus their attention on the first enemy ahead.

Slideshow of the start of the level during different stages of development:

2. First combat area

The first combat encounter is designed to be very open and present the player with all the information they could need. Players get a clear view of the goal of the encounter (the gate) and also spot enemy characters early on from a higher ground.

Since this is the first introduction to combat and the combat design of Reberryon is quite unique and be difficult to understand, I decided to give the player the option of staying on the high ground if they want. Since enemies can't jump in Reberryon, this also gives players the option to retreat back to the higher ground if they make a mistake during the battle scenario.

Upon defeating the strawberry soldier players are rewarded with a key that opens the gate.

3. Second combat area

The second combat area is very similar and presents players with an open view of the battlefield as they come closer.

Leading up to the battle area players have to clear a jumping puzzle and eventually enter a small platform, that slowly starts to shrink and eventually disappear. This forces players to move forward and enter the battle or fall down to the platform below. Falling down doesn't kill or hurt the player, it does however force them to backtrack and redo the jumping puzzle.

One big difference for players during this combat encounter is that they don't have a safe space out of harms way to spectate the battle.

The second combat area has two identical enemies. The scale of the battle therefore grows from the previous area which also means that floating platform also is bigger.

4. Third combat area

During the third combat area players encounter a new type of enemy, the banana.

Since the banana is a ranged enemy the goal here was to teach players that the strawberry sword character they have already unlocked is stronger against Bananas.

There aren't any major changes between this island compared to previous battles. The main difference is a smaller floating island on one side of the bigger island, that allows players to tactically retreat if they feel threatened. The island is however still in range of the Banana archers firing and is therefore only a temporary safe spot for players to go.

5. Fourth combat area:

During the final part of the first level players are now met with a combination of a new enemy character, as well as an increased amount of enemies.

With the increase in difficulty, the space of the island was increased to compensate players so that they still have space to kite enemies.

Two platforms was also added in the middle of the island on each side of the center. The platforms have a ramp on them, allowing enemies to run around the back of them.

Since players can jump and enemies are unable to do so, this creates a dynamic space where players can use the environment to their advantage, if they would need time to analyze the battlefield and strengthen their troops with additional units.

Players can also use this high ground to tactically place troops on the higher level and give their own troops an advantage.

Level 2: Player challenge and Progression

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Player path

Combat encounters

Early on I had an idea of the level design for the area that would become level two and how it could help with creating anticipation for our final level which includ a boss.

Since the final level (level 3) was going to be a bigger arena, I wanted the level before to foreshadow and revolve around the bigger island players were going to reach the top of. I therefore decided to have players traverse upwards on the outside of a big floating island where they would conclude their jurney.

The two main strenghts of this design decision was that the level would help with the feeling of progression:

Traveling upwards players would be induced with a feeling of progression, similar to traveling up a big mountain.
The progression up the outside of the island, would complement the progression of combat difficulty players would encounter on the level, as each new battle arena on level 2 is unique and more challenging then the next.

Early blockout and sketch of level 2 from above.

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1. First battle level 2

During this battle players are introduced to a new powerup that boosts their own troops in battle. The battle area is divided into two different sections making so that battle time also increases.

During the battle players can freely choose what type of troops they want to spawn.

2. Second battle area level 2

The second battle area during level is the first time where players have to adapt their strategy of battle to the environment as enemies have a positional advantage to players as they enter the area.

- The first enemy character players encounter is a banana archer on high ground, firing at players.

- Two defensive shield oranges are holding a small choke point, giving them advantage versus a bigger group of units attacking from ahead.

- Multiple strawberries are waiting for the players in an open area, waiting for.

Player path

Enemy group placements

Player resources - used to summon more troops

3. Third battle area level 2

The third battle area also forces players into a choke point, this time with more enemies in multiple strategical positions to defend against player troops.

- Two defensive shield orange protect the narrow choke. Two banana archers support the oranges from separate positions forcing players to split up their own troops to take them down.

- A large pack of strawberry sword enemies are positioned further back on the platforms. Would players spawn their troops to close, when battling at the chokepoint, these would aggro on player units.

Player path

Enemy group placements

Player resources - used to summon more troops

Player path

Enemy group placements

Player resources - used to summon more troops

4. Fourth battle area level 2

Two bigger sections are separated by multiple smaller platforms around them, incorporating platforming elements to the battle scenarios.

- On the first section, players are initially met by two strawberry sword enemies waiting to attack players as they approach.

- A banana archer defends the path up towards the second section, forcing players to dodge incoming arrows or fall towards their doom.

- The first pack of enemies waiting on the second section consists of two orange shield enemies, waiting to knock off both players and troops down the side of the island.

- The final group of enemies players encounter during the battle consists of two strawberry sword units and two bananas supporting them from behind.

Area 3: Boss battle

Having climbed on the outside of the island, players reach a huge temple standing on the top of it. As this is a boss area, it was important that this structure was going to be large and imposing while also being an open space, able to handle a large amount of troops at the same time.

Player path

Boss battle area

Entering the castle:

From the front, the temple is framed so that players coming from level 2 can see the pineapple boss from far away on a higher ground. This was to create an imposing feeling as players are getting closer to their final obstacle.

I wanted the castle to have a large imposing gate which players would move through.

This because gates often are used to indicate to players that they are entering a new area, I wanted players to feel the weight of the moment to signify that something new and different is going to happen during the following section of the game.

When players enter the castle, they still have a clear view of the boss.

As a lot of the areas before the boss have open landscapes with players able to see long distances, I wanted players to feel more confined before reaching the boss. This to make players feel less in control, as the space the enter now is different from other areas they've previously played through

Following the corridors, player reach stairs that bring them up to the second level of the castle. The stairs were placed as to frame the boss for players as they turn inwards. Reaching the second level helps players with feeling progression, and as they now have the boss in clear view, the structure of the level builds towards the tension of reaching the end.

Once atop the stairs, players players reach an open area. This was originally intended to be either a part of the boss battle, or a separate combat encounter before the boss itself. This changed during production and the area was kept, as it didn't harm the progression and tension of the level. Reaching the final stairs before the pineapple king, the follow the same pattern other previous areas in how they frame the boss.

The boss is divided into two different phases where players battle the boss in different settings.

Phase 1

Entering the boss battle area, raises walls around the platform, confining the player to the boss scenario.

During the first phase of the battle the pineapple boss spawns multiple smaller enemies to battle for him. When spawning units, the pineapple boss becomes vulnerable and players are able to deal damage directly to him. Once enemies have spawned, the pineapple boss jumps up on his throne, becoming invulnerable until all enemies have been killed. This gives players a short moment to deal damage to the pineapple boss, once hes jumped down and spawns new enemies.

Pillars were used to create space for players to kite enemy units around, as well as for players to strategically spawn their own troops in an advantageous position. They were kept around the outside of the arena as the scenario intended to have more troops fighting each other then at any previous point during the game. With too many elements in the middle of the arena, it would be difficult for players to get a clear understanding of the battlefield and reading on the status of the battle.

Pineapple boss jumping down summoning units to battle for him.

Once units have spawned, the pineapple boss jumps back to his throne, becoming invulnerable.

Once the pineapple boss reaches 50% HP, the battle scenario transitions into phase 2.

Phase 2

Entering phase 2 the pineapple boss smashes the ground beneath the player, bringing players to a new area with slight changes to the layout.

During phase 2, the pineapple boss enters the battlefield permanently and attacks the player as well as player troops.

To make space for the pineapple boss, the two bigger pillars in phase 2 are now closer to the center so that the boss can run around the entire platform. There is now also only one small pillar on each side for players to use to traverse upwards on the bigger pillars.

Pillars give players an opportunity to get a clear vantage point of the battlefield. From these areas players can more strategically decide where to spawn new units for themselves.

Players can also use them to kite the pineapple boss around, since he can't jump.

Defeating the boss during phase 2 completes the game!

New way of level design

During the development of Reberryon I tried a new approach to level design.

At the start of the project I came across a video by Steve Lee where he explains the workflow of doing level design through text when starting to work on a new level.

As I was heading into a new project I decided to try the workflow as an experiment, to see if it was something that would fit me as a level designer.

My intention was also that this workflow would prove useful to the development team, as they could get a clear understanding of what the intentions would be for each area through reading the document.

Example of an early version of how a level could look in text, doesn't match final version of level:

For someone who hadn't done level design in a group project before, I feel like this way of starting a project had a couple of advantages:

It was easier to get a concrete understanding of what elements (tools) you had to work with in each level.
It was also a good way to create an understanding of what goal each level had, and communicate that to the rest of the team in a conceivable way.

There were however some struggles I experienced when trying this way of level design:

Any changes that were made when later starting to block out the level, or other changes that in some way changed the design and deviated from the text document, made the document somewhat redundant since it quickly became outdated.
Without a strong identity and clear understanding of what the game is supposed to be, my experience was that it was difficult to experiment with the elements you have like you can do e.g. in engine.

My conclusion for the method is that I think its useful for larger projects that have a clear identity that probably won't change. As we used it for a school project where the priorities, ideas and mechanics changed a lot during a short amount of time, the method had a lot of flaws that disrupted the workflow.

Collaboration

During the entire development of Reberryon I collaborated especially closely the environment artists to create an environment that made sense from both a level design perspective, but also out of a world-building perspective.

An example of this collaborative process was when I had finished an early version of the blockout of level 1 and could start working on a rough blockout of level 2. The environment artists could then go into the level and create a first draft of set dressing so that we as a team could get a clear understanding of how the game would look. When the environment artists were finished, I could then go back into the level to test, change and adapt the level to needs and problems we encountered during gameplay.

This required a good understanding of communication between the group and resulted in the game always having up to date assets at every stage of development (The artists didn't have to do a gigantic art pass during the end of the project).

An example of how a level could look before and after the first art pass:

Reflections:

As this was the first project where I worked as a level designer in a team environment I feel like I learned a lot to the collaborative process and how important communication is. During the project I believe I also improved on framing key points, as well as using leading lines to encourage players in certain directions.

I think the level design could have been improved if there were more choices for players to make as they progress, especially during level 2. Since the entire game is very linear I wanted to add more exploration and secrets for players to find. However because of both a time constraint as well as different opinions on exploration within the team, this idea was decided to be scrapped.

Another thing I would have liked to improve was the pineapple bosses arena. The boss was added into the project during the later stages of development, limiting the amount of testing and polish that part of the level could get. Making the arena layout more interesting and possibly incorporating level design to be a core part of the battle itself, would probably improve the section and scenario.

I'm happy I tried doing level design through text as I think there were both pros and cons to the method. It also made me reflect on my own process of doing level design seeing certain flaws I have when it comes to communicating my intention and ideas to the team, and how important part of development is. It is definitely something I will do more in the future!

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