A-B Factory Level

I created this level from concept to product in the Fall of 2022 during my Level Design course, taught by Rich Wilson ( Level & Quest Designer For Games Such As Dishonored & Prey ), as a class assignment. The goal of this level was to guide players from point A->B by showing rather than telling. This level features a tool-set that provides basic level design features - keys, moving platforms, conveyor belts, physics objects, locked doors, buttons, & more. The level was built out using ProBuilder in the Unity Game Engine.

Project Goal

Project Role

Level Designer

Tools Used

Unity

Target Platform

Windows PC

Duration

1 Month

Language

Create A Level Leading & Challenging Players Going A->B

Team Size

Overview

( Individual Project )

The level is based around the aesthetic experience of going through a factory. Where the lights, props, & mechanics showcased all help to drive that narrative & ground players within this fantasy.

Players will go through seeing bits & bobs of different factory-esque equipment & face various Factory themed puzzles. From Turbines to Conveyors to Moving Platforms everything about the level needed to fit the aesthetic of a Factory.

Having the space be grounded in a single idea/concept was an important goal because it created a sense of cohesion & unity throughout the space instead of disjointed puzzles stuck together. It also helped to smooth over the process of actually creating the level's aesthetics since I could focus on a single narrative idea instead of individual puzzle mechanics.

Secretive View

A view out of the secret are that players can access during the level

Map View

A birds-eye view of the final map in its entirety

Level Design Process

At the start of this project the only requirement was to use the given level design kit in an interesting way using the techniques taught during class.

This level started with the creation of paper maps with hastily drawn ideas. My first pass was a rough sketch that gave me the basic idea - I wanted Players to start off in a room & then loop around, ultimately ending where they started. This map also detailed the various ideas, components, & systems of the level design kit I wanted to add.

The second pass of the level was done in Photoshop, refining the placement of hazards & level mechanics. I wanted the level to get more challenging the further along players got, & with that I also added in a secret area for the more explorative players. Realizing that time was a constraint I scrapped the ending platforming section of the original prototype in favor of finding a key at the end of the level ( a bit boring, but gave more freedom in designing the other sections of the level.

Going into Unity, with the help of ProBuilder, I extruded the walls from my revised map layout, & then ran through the bare-bones level ( getting a sense of the scale & time it would take players to get through the level ). All that was left was to add in the mechanics - moving platforms, buttons to enable moving platforms, keys, locked doors, & leading coins.

Once the full level had been constructed, I added in the post-processing, lighting, & some other miscellaneous level components ( such as the conveyor belt loop in the above video ) to give the level some life & further sell the factory motif.

Original Paper Prototype

The Original Paper Prototype For The A-B Level. Featuring Level Elements Such As Moving Platforms & Conveyor Belts

Final Map

The Finalized Version Of The A-B Map With Complete Features & Elements.