Doom Inspired Level - Personal Project

Timeline: 2 Weeks

Team Size: Solo

Role: Level Design

This level was inspired by Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal gameplay. There are three different arenas in the level, the first is a cave with different rock formations that allow for several smooth paths around the map to clear the enemies. The second is a dilapidated fortress with crumbling staircases that can make the player fall if they stay in the same place for too long. The third is a rising tower with waves of enemies that spawn before a boss fight at the end, using the cages the enemies spawned from as cover.

As a part of creating this level I’ve created several blueprints to support it including a enemy manager jump pad, and a player dash.

Demo

This section of the level was designed with flow in mind. The player starts with a vantage point over the level allowing them to get a sense of the different ways they could play through the level. There are several paths around the level which seaml

This section of the level was designed with flow in mind. The player starts with a vantage point over the level allowing them to get a sense of the different ways they could play through the level. There are several paths around the level which seamlessly lead into the other paths for minimal break in the flow of combat.

Through an enemy manager Blueprint I created for the level, once all enemies are killed a sequencer plays opening up the shrine in the back of the level allowing progression to the next level.

Through an enemy manager Blueprint I created for the level, once all enemies are killed a sequencer plays opening up the shrine in the back of the level allowing progression to the next level.

There are several jump pads placed around the level so the player can get back up to one of the higher paths quickly if they fall. This allows the speed and flow of combat to be maintained through all parts of the level.

There are several jump pads placed around the level so the player can get back up to one of the higher paths quickly if they fall. This allows the speed and flow of combat to be maintained through all parts of the level.

After dropping down from the previous section this level also starts at a vantage point giving the player a chance to survey the level and get a break from the previous section.

After dropping down from the previous section this level also starts at a vantage point giving the player a chance to survey the level and get a break from the previous section.

This level is more focused on driving the player from the entrance to the level to the exit marked by two fires at the edge of the cave. Through careful placement of stairs and jump pads the player is able to kill enemies on both stories of the level

This level is more focused on driving the player from the entrance to the level to the exit marked by two fires at the edge of the cave. Through careful placement of stairs and jump pads the player is able to kill enemies on both stories of the level as they make their way to the end

This section of the level has water the player can fall into to increase the challenge of the players mastery of the movement system. Though the punishment is just to be respawned near the beginning of the level, just breaking the flow slightly.

This section of the level has water the player can fall into to increase the challenge of the players mastery of the movement system. Though the punishment is just to be respawned near the beginning of the level, just breaking the flow slightly.

The final section of the level is an arena fight with multiple waves of spawning enemies. The level starts with a short walk-up to the arena to give them an idea of what’s coming. When each full wave is completed the arena rises with new sets of cov

The final section of the level is an arena fight with multiple waves of spawning enemies. The level starts with a short walk-up to the arena to give them an idea of what’s coming. When each full wave is completed the arena rises with new sets of cover and verticality.

With every set of enemies cleared, another set spawns with increasingly difficult patterns. Once all the sets for a level of the tower are completed the tower rises, allowing for more waves with new level geometry.

With every set of enemies cleared, another set spawns with increasingly difficult patterns. Once all the sets for a level of the tower are completed the tower rises, allowing for more waves with new level geometry.

The arena starts out basic and blank, but as the fighting continues more cover and geometry is created. Each enemy spawns from a hanging cage that falls down into the arena. By the time the boss fight starts the player can use these cages as cover fr

The arena starts out basic and blank, but as the fighting continues more cover and geometry is created. Each enemy spawns from a hanging cage that falls down into the arena. By the time the boss fight starts the player can use these cages as cover from the bosses abilities.

Blueprint Demo

Jump Pad

Simple Jump pad that launches the character when they collide with it.

Respawn

Trigger volume placed across the water in the level that sends the player back into the level when they collide with it.

Falling Stairs

Blueprint that enables physics on certain stairs a few seconds after the player touches them, then deletes them after a few seconds to save performance.

Enemy Manager

Enemy Manager that collects every enemy/ enemy spawner when the game starts. Enemies report back to the enemy manager when they are shot. The manager can trigger events when all enemies or a partial amount of enemies in the level are killed. The manager is easily scalable, designers don’t have to manually add enemies to be tracked, they are automatically collected.

Seamless Level Transition

Trigger Volume that moves the player and the entire tower they’re in to the other part of the level. This works because anything the player can see while in the tower is also being moved so it’s not immediately obvious they’re in a different location until they leave the tower in a completely different area.

Dash

Simple dash that moves the player forward when they press Shift with a small cooldown. Also checks the geometry in front of the player so they don’t clip into objects.

Wave Spawns

Further use of the Enemy Manager BP that groups the enemies into waves and spawns the next wave by dropping hanging cages when the current wave is cleared.

Wave Finale Sequence

Series of sequencers that play when each set of three waves is cleared to move the arena, and progressing the area to the point of the boss fight.

Full Level Playthrough