combat sim
Project Information
Engine | Unreal Engine 4
Duration | 1 month
Platform | PC
summary
Combat Sim is a third person cover shooter with stealth elements where you must infiltrate a military facility to steal a top secret artifact and escape alive.
This was a month long level design project I worked on while at VFS, in which we were tasked with choosing three options to specialize in for the project: level design, level programming, and level art. I chose to do all three options, truly putting my level design skills to the test as I would be doing triple the expected workload.
experience
Firstly for the level design portion of the project, I had to come up with a level layout, then a blockout. The 2D layout of the map I made to resemble a faclility, in which the player entered, traversed through, and escaped out the other side after stealing something from the vault. I turned my rough layout into a 3D blockout quickly after, creating all the various rooms and combat scenarios. I also made sure to allow for stealth options up until the alarm sounds at the vault, triggering mandatory combat areas at the end of the level.
Next I set up all the level programming, which included various scripted moments. In all the areas before the vault, if the player trips an alarm or alerts an enemy, doors will open and more enemies will spawn from them. There are also various cutscenes throughout the level, including pressing a button to distract guards to move them out of a hallway, and escaping with a car at the end of the game.
Lastly, I used modular level pieces and other 3D assets to decorate the level, creating the military facility and snow covered landscape. I also incorporated atmospheric fog and lighting, which complimented the vista points I set up with mountains in the distance.
Impact
This was one of the biggest levels I had created at the time, and taking on all three specializations at once (level design, programming and level art) made me learn a ton about the level design pipeline.
This project was specifically taught me a lot about enemies in level design. Utilizing patrol paths, creating stealth and combat sections for the player, and using navmesh volumes were all things I hadn’t had much experience with before I made this level. Thanks to this project I can now confidently create enemy encounters and am familiar with all the AI implementation requirements in level design!
