In Advanced Production, I am recruited to a development team of 10 with the primary role of Level Designer. The project we are working on is an open world exploration game called The Dream Lake, while using the Unity game engine. In this game, the player explores a mysterious lake and attempts to understand this 'dream' through fragmented memories scattered around the map. The player experiences frequent changes throughout seasons as they progress in the search for the bigger picture.
Sprint 6
In Sprint 6 I was assigned with a total of 12 points with the following tasks:
- Quadrant 2 Detail Pass (1)
- Quadrant 2 Detail/Refinement Pass; further details 2 (3)
- Quadrant 2 Composition pass; make objects to areas to make picturesque views (3)
- Quadrant 2 floating object cleanup pass; check to see if there's floating objects in quadrant 2(1)
- Quadrant 2 World Border; fill in out of play area with low LOD's so player doesn't see edge of world/void (1)
- Quadrant 3 Detail Pass(1)
- Quadrant 3 floating object cleanup Pass (1)
- Quadrant 3 World Border; fill in out of play area with low LOD's so player doesn't see edge of world/void (1)
In Sprint 6 my team assigned me with tasks mainly in Quadrant 2 regarding Detail passes, Composition, floating object cleanup pass, and world border LOD's. This goes the same with Quadrant 3 but without the composition pass.
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| Quadrant 2 Old |
For my first task I start off with the detail pass for Quadrant 2 and to fill in areas with content so that it feels more alive. Similar approach with Quadrant one I would need to find some way to help guide players into the main path so that they don't feel too lost. Throughout the process of implementing solutions I eventually developed, all while applying details in quadrant 2, this was ultimately the most beneficial sprint for me in terms of exploring
why and
how players would get lost. However this kind of exploration consumed almost all of my time spent in this sprint and I would have to save the world border cards and Quadrant 3 detail pass for next sprint.
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| Quadrant 2 After |
Quadrant 2 detail pass took much more time than expected and I underestimated its size in scale. First off, there were many areas I thought were 'dead' space. I basically started off from scratch as I deleted a majority of Quadrant 2 to help me figure out placements for each prop.
I first approached Quadrant 2 by looking into each sub area it holds and looked into some player feedback. One issue of our game was that players tend to feel lost in some areas of the world. I spent a vast majority of this sprint looking further into this issue by researching and discovering solutions to help prevent players feeling lost.
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Changes in sub areas
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The first solution I came across was to open up key paths to follow for each area (red) and sub paths eventually leading up to the main paths (blue).
Areas highlighted in green are details I was able to put in
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| Raised/lower terrain in red |
Other in depth details I made in quadrant 2 were Terrain edits lowering and raising levels of terrain.
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Composition Detail into sub areas(Red)
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By the end of Sprint 6 I was able to complete 9 of 12 points assigned. For our final sprint I would need to make complete a final Quadrant 1 detail pass, Quadrant 3 detail pass, and Quadrant 4 detail pass
Here are screenshots of compositions I was able to create
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| Upper Creek |
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| Small trail to Quadrant 2 |
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| Q2 Main Trail |
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| Near Pond Area |
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| Cliff Trail |
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| Upper Trail |
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| Secret RV Area |
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| Secret RV Area Creek |
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| Upper Creek |
Throughout the time spent I was able to contribute towards our game, I've learned many new workflows and valuable skills working with my group members, and I would like to thank my other level designer for keeping me in check when noticing the little things and for all the helpful advice.
It's definitely been a pleasure and an honor contributing work with such an awesome team and I very much recommend checking out our game when it release May 10th 2022
https://cagd.itch.io/dreaming-lake.
Sprint 5
In Sprint 5 I was assigned a total of 11 points with the following tasks:
- Collisions pass for Quadrant 2 in places that would need colliders (1)
- Collisions pass for Quadrant 4 in places that would need colliders (1)
- Detail Pass of Quadrant 1 to refine the area further (1)
- Collisions pass for Quadrant 1 in places that would need colliders (1)
- Composition pass to Quadrant 1 that adds more objects to areas to make picturesque views (1)
- Detail pass for Quadrant 2 to refine area further (1)
- Composition pass for Quadrant 2 that adds more objects to make picturesque views(3)
In Sprint 5 my team assigned me tasks to mainly tests and place colliders appropriately in Quadrants and apply thoughtful detail into Quadrants 1 and 2. My collider tasks were very straightforward as I had very minimal to no problem setting colliders on places players would get stuck or wander off unrealistic locations. I was able to cover up unusual gaps players would most likely get stuck on and block off exploits that would let players hug around certain areas like cliffs, hills, and big boulders to get to areas they wouldn't normally access.
My next and final tasks were to apply detail and picturesque views for Quadrant 1. It was my first time tackling the Quadrant 1 area, and took me much longer than expected before implementing necessary detail.
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| First attempt in detail change |
In the detail pass of Quadrant 1, first I opened up the main paths (brown trail) so that it would help guide players in direction, to not feel too lost. Originally Quadrant 1 was filled with many trees, mostly located in the plain fields (lower ground levels). By removing trees along the main trail, as well as resizing tree and placing them in the outskirts of the plain field, I believe this would help guide player direction and give them an improved line of sight to follow.
For the rest of Sprint 5, I utilized Unity's Terrain editor to smooth out main hiking trails, raise/lower terrain levels so that scaling/approaching steep hills would become more realistic for the player to approach, and placed assets accordingly to help create unique perspectives of the area.
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| Finished detail passes |
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| Composition Passes |
By the end of Sprint 5, I was able to finish with a total of 7 points. For next Sprint, I am expected to make the same approach going into Quadrants 2 and 3.
Sprint 4
In Sprint 4 I was assigned with a total of 9 points in the following tasks:
- Second terrain pass for quadrant 4 to look over the details of the area (1)
- Observe latest version playtest (1)
- Outside border for quadrant 2 that prevents players from moving too far from play field (1)
- Outside border for quadrant 3 that prevents players from moving too far from play field (1)
- Outside border for quadrant 4 that prevents players from moving too far from play field (1)
- Collisions pass for quadrant 4 in places that need colliders (1)
- Second detail pass for quadrant 4 to refine the area
During Sprint 4 my team assigned me with tasks revolving around Quadrant 4 of the map along with observing play testers. My first task was to repolish my other level designers map terrain to get a better feel and understanding of how the terrain should layout. I was assigned to edit the general area (other half) of quadrant 4, and edit the area to my own liking. Everything was going well as I was already pretty comfortable handling Unity's pro builder tool set.
After raising/smoothing the terrain to my liking (second/third picture below shows my finished terrain edit), an unexpected drawback happened as there was much confusion when merging branches in Github, resulting in my lost of progress with the terrain, losing at least a day's worth of work. This was a weird problem because I was already finished with my terrain card the week before I 'properly' merged my progress into my team's main branch (may also be my fault on my end). And at the time I was about to start adding details to my area of terrain edits, my edits were gone. This ate up my time as I had to redo and reschedule initially planned tasks.
My next task was to observe play testers with my lead game designer. With the limited time we were given at the time, we were able to observe 1 play tester (Chico state student outside of CAGD). The results after observing this play tester was bit expected as we observed how the play tester wandered around, but interesting as he wasn;t able to complete some tasks which other play tester usually completed, which was executing the focus mechanic to view a small animation.
My last tasks were pretty straight forward for me as I had to place down fences and barriers so that players don't easily wander out the playing field or unrealistic spots in the world.
My last card, which was to refine the general area for Quadrant 4 was very time consuming as I placed down objects in places to to how I would perceive quadrant 4.
My main problem was that I spent a lot more time than expected when planning out which objects go where while feeling unique to each area.
Another unexpected problem was that I was too carried away placing the smallest detail in each area and easily lost track of time. This was mainly from the Tree Tunnel" area I was invested into.
With this issue, it would be a little more noticeable that one area looks to be more detailed than others.
In the end, I was able to complete most areas to my liking and balance transitional areas just enough.
By the end of Sprint 4 I was able to finish 8 of the 9 points given, and I would have to finish the collider card for next sprint.
Sprint 3
In Sprint 3 I was assigned with a total of 11 points in the following tasks:
- First pass of unique objects and land features placed in quadrant 4 so I can see where they are (3)
- First pass of unique objects in quadrant 4 (1)
- Invisible barriers placed around quadrant 2 (3)
- First pass of unique objects in quadrant 3 (3)
- Detail pass of quadrant 2 to get in some details of the land (1)
During Sprint 3 my team now assigned me with tasks in Unity. My first task was to create unique placeholder structure/objects using the probuilder tool in Unity to give applicable blockouts for our game. This would give the team a better idea on what important structures/objects to make in certain areas. My game lead assigned for unique placeholder objects while staying relatively 'simple' with the following objects:
- Abandoned Barn
- Abandoned Dock
- Burned down house & shed
- Rest Stop
- Stone Wall
This task somewhat confused me as I questioned how I would get simple placeholder objects made while having it looked 'destroyed'. When I thought simple I thought of just basic objects like cubes. However my game lead gave me some leeway with this card to portray the destroyed look and I went on about with the minor details in structures.
It was a bit of a slow start on relearning probuilder again along with the pushing and pulling process in Github, but I was eventually able to get a solid grasp by learning the ins and outs.
My next task was to apply some detail to the Quadrant 2 map. This meant by filling in as much empty space as I can (at least 30-40% of Q2). My initial plan was to fill in the spaces in blue.
I couldn't figure out what or where each object should be, and ate up my time, ultimately ended up with adding details around the cliff & pond area (red).
My next task is to add invisible barriers alongside the cliff and pond area in Quadrant 2. This process was pretty straight forward as my game lead just wanted me to place probuilder cube like wall around the edges of the cliff and pond area to restrict players from falling from unrealistic heights. Though one problem that
My last task was to
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Problems:
In the process of putting barriers, one of my programmers had a test script with the branch I was working with at the time. This was focused on the camera and a very weird error occured and somehow hard crashed my unity. I also forgot to save much progress made at the time which resulted in the night of progress lost.
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By the end of Sprint 3, I was able to finish with a total of 8 points.
Sprint 2
At the start of Sprint 2, I was assigned with the following tasks:
- A drawn map of the full landscape that displays natural landmarks
- Annotated map that gives a idea of where unique objects and land features can be found in quadrant 3
- Annotated map that gives a idea of where unique objects and land features can be found in quadrant 4
- Annotated map that details the changes in each season for quadrant 3 including which areas can or can’t be reached
- Ideas generated for locations in quadrants 3 and 4 with references for each idea
- A trail map for the game drawn out to show foot paths
- Environmental concept art so that the land can be created more easily and the team can understand what each area around the lake looks like
During sprint 2 my first set of tasks was to brainstorm unique locations for Quadrant 3 and 4 along with reasonable blocked off areas. This took longer than expected as there was some miscommunication on the approval of areas, along with spending too much time collecting references and having an abundance of locations to choose from. Also time management in general with other classes and outside manners didn't help either, pro longing the map annotation process.
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| Quadrant 3 |
Getting those hassles out the way and figuring out which locations fit best for the appropriate quadrant eased up the map annotation process. Being more comfortable working with Photoshop helped as well; organizing layers and learning more efficient work flows overall sped up the process. This resulted in completions of annotations 3 and 4 in a timely fashion for my other level designer to reference later on.
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| Quadrant 4 |
My last set of tasks I was able to finish was to create a full landscape of all quadrants combined so that it would be more intuitive for my team to understand, distinguish, and get a better idea overall of the surrounding environment. This process was pretty straightforward as I just had to combine all four quadrants to one map while making everything seamless. However, some issues I had were one, a tedious error I should have noticed in the start which was to turn off the visibility of existing labels. I failed to turn off labels, which are the location of memories, blocked off areas, icons, and everything annotations This ultimately slowed down progression as I had to manually remove each label individually so that there weren't any confusion of any sort.
Another problem was the alignment of combining the four annotated maps into one. First there were inconsistency in art styles. One annotated map had thicker outlines having too much emphases describing an area while another had very thin lines. I quickly fixed this by redrawing each outline of areas that looked distorted. The second problem of combing annotated maps was that the transition when viewing a quadrant next to each other.
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| Full Landscape |
To fix this, I had to reanalyze the all the annotated maps and make reference with my other level designer's rough terrain Unity map to make a similar flow in transition. The Unity rough terrain was useful to determine which areas belong where and if they made sense in specific areas. This also greatly helped with drawing out a trail map as each transition in areas was smooth and seamless.
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Landscape with Trail Map
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By the end of Sprint 2, I was able to finish a total of 9 points. I'm glad I picked up the pace from a rocky Sprint 1 start and I hope to continue this trend onwards. Next Sprint, I am to finish the Environmental concept map still in progress and hopefully dabble with everything Unity.
Sprint 1
At the start of Sprint kickoff, there was a bit of shuffling around cards since were deciding on reasonable key roles for two level designers. But after confirmations, I was assigned a total of six cards:
- Generate a list of written, compelling ideas for potential memories
- Create an annotated map that proposes reasonable memory locations for quadrant 1
- Quadrant 1 annotations that include reasonable region transformations to depict if an area is closed or not
- Create an annotated map that proposes unique locations for quadrant 2
- Create an annotated map that proposes reasonable memory locations for quadrant 1
- Quadrant 2 annotations that include reasonable region transformations to depict if an area is closed or not
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| Quadrant 1 Memory/Blocked area list |
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| Quadrant 2 Memory/Blocked area list |
For Sprint 1, my tasks were to focus on the backend for designing levels as in generating general ideas and creating annotated maps that would pinpoint unique locations, memories and objects while the other level designer handled the front end: Sculpting a rough terrain (Unity Pro Builder) to demonstrate depth for each area. My first main task in generating memory ideas took a little longer than expected due to some confusion on seasonal influences on maps, but I was still able to finish in a timely fashion
My second task was to create an annotated map quadrant 2. This included creating a rough idea where each unique location should be, reasonable memory locations, and to generate blocked off area ideas while taking seasonal change in consideration. The concept map creation process was confirming with my game designer on the ideal scale of things for the most part and communicating with my team. I had one problem on determining if the scale/scope of quadrant 2 was too big or not. Nothing was really set in stone for how many things should be in x or y. After some confirmations my team reminded me it didn't have to be the most ideal map to rely on for future updates since it is a concept map. I would have to adjust to ideal estimations and de rust on my photoshop skills for more efficient workflows.
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| Quadrant 2 concept map |
Some of the confusion was also in the process of solidifying cards/key roles, the 'front end' level designer had some back end cards that was to annotate unique areas for quadrant 1 in order to get a better understanding of sculpting general locations for the grand scale of things. My third task was to fill out the rest of quadrant 1 with general locations for memories and reasonable blocked off areas. This process was pretty straight forward after working from workflows in quadrant 2 and getting the right fit on the right shoes.
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| Quadrant 1 concept map |
I was able to finish 6 points by the end of sprint 1 and for the next sprint I am expected to make concept maps for quadrants 3 and 4 and possibly some front end level design tasks with sculpting rough terrains. I am excited to see what awaits and I look forward to provide hard work and meaningful contributions in future sprints!
By the end of Sprint 4 I was able to finish 8 of the 9 points given, and I would have to finish the collider card for next sprint.
It was a bit of a slow start on relearning probuilder again along with the pushing and pulling process in Github, but I was eventually able to get a solid grasp by learning the ins and outs. 
By the end of Sprint 5, I was able to finish with a total of 7 points. For next Sprint, I am expected to make the same approach going into Quadrants 2 and 3.
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