how to actually design a level:
paraphrased from this video (Credits, 2017)#2
"train the player to play the game, make sure each object and mechanic has a purpose" so basicly a level isnt just a load of randomly plonked objects, they need to have a purpose and they need to get the player from point to point or help them advance intuitively in some way.
risk vs reward
weapons:
in my level i've tried to locate weapons in different types of locations, i've given the player some poor starting weapons like the bio rifle, firstly because it fits the theme of the level and a water treatment facility would have a lot of bio waste (thats my thinking anyway) and secondly it gives the player another option to fight with instead of the enforcer. the bio rifle is quite a defensive weapon as it allows a player to leave a lot of hazardous goo mines on surfaces so it makes sense to have these near the player spawn so that they can defend it without being overpowered.
for more advanced weapons i've tried to consider what situation the weapon works best in as well as how well it performs generally, for this reason i've put the flak cannon in the sewers as it takes a little bit longer to get to but if you do get it youre in the perfect environment to fight off anyone else who's had the same idea as you due to the fact its very hard to miss someone with the flak cannon in there
also the fact this weapon can shoot a grenade through the sewer openings from below is a very useful feature as well.
when it comes to sniping and looking at the designs of my peers there seems to be a common theme; a high up area that can see pretty much all of the map with incredibly good cover usually positioned at each end of the map, for my level i have changed this significantly to balance the level and stop it becoming a sniping standoff
This sniping position offers some great combat advantages being able to cover the middle of the warehouse but at the same time blocking off some of the enterences so that players can advance and take the sniper out from the side, this combined with the fact that its in the middle of both bases gives either team equal chances to camp and snipe.
Lightning rifle
this has a similar concept to the sniper rifle, its in the middle and both teams have access to it, though its a little harder to get to and if you want to snipe players from near its spawn location youre going to have to move around a lot more as you can only really see about a quater of the interior at a time due to the enclosed walkways cutting off vision. this area is super exposed so ive put the sheild belt as well as some health pickups to let this sniper last a little longer. if the same team has both of these sniper locations they pretty much have the whole of the interior covered.
the minigun placement is designed as a sort of overwatch type of area, its high rate of fire and from this location usually long engagement distance makes it a good suppression weapon. the weakness of this position is from the sides, both teams have jump pad access to the minigun platform as well as surprise roof attacks which again makes it balanced.
redeemer
the redeemer is proberly the most time consuming weapon to get, for good reason as its the most powerful, as you have to either teleport from behind the sniper tower or venture up the chimneys and onto the jump pads where there is then the danger of falling into toxic gunk. should the player get the redeemer they then fall through the tube and back into the action where they can make quick work of the enemy team. having this tube gets the player back into the action quickly rather than running for another 10 seconds after firing it.
i've tried to put this in a pretty open location as its very hard to lock on to players close to you, from this location you can peek over the roof and fire or quickly hop down and use the single shot mode for closer attacks
there are a few other weapons scattered about such as the link gun, shock rifle and grenade launcher, these dont really have much in the way of strategic locations and were added to give the player an option with gameplay and to fill in some empty space.
overall my main design inspiration for this level was choices, each side has about 6 routes a player can take and switch between, whether its jump padding to the minigun area and switching to the metal covered walkway or heading straight through the middle and jumping down a sewer hole this level has always had "the illusion of choice" (credits, 2017) which is giving the players as much freedom as possible but still binding them to a path
credits, e. (2017). [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45PdtGDGhac&index=6&list=PLVvW2fMZoR5sCs6wkCXZ6Q8M8nXLJDgUl [Accessed 30 Nov. 2017].
