Foundations of Work Done (Weeks 1-3)
Over the past 3 weeks, I researched the Downtown Jersey City area and found a suitable location for a level design map that fits in with the lore of the Division. I chose to use the Jersey City Medical Center as the epicenter of my project.
In this map, I went with using the True Sons faction as the player’s enemy that controls the medical center’s main building. As the True Sons were deviants of the Joint Task Force (JTF), I figured they are the best candidates to want a foothold in a medical facility to dominate over medical supplies in the region, seeing as this facility is the only large hospital in the immediate vicinity of downtown Jersey City.
My primary goal these past weeks was to set up the UE5 project with the Advanced Locomotion System (ALS) following the tutorial from Ant, then establishing the core layout of the first few rooms. This way I ensure that these areas are well-defined at the start just as a way for me to map out the rest of the areas more easily with these first rooms as a working template.
Google Maps was used to assist me in the researching process. At first I was intrigued by the surrounding features of the medical center, such as the substation west of it (green box) and the tall skyscraper to the east (red box), as they might be useful additions to the level but I was afraid of over-scoping the project.
What I have done so far
Goals for Next Week (MoSCoW Method)
Must Have
- Expand the level with additional rooms after the main hall and include varied combat encounters.
- Think about enemy and cover points placements.
- Subtle signage or hints to indicate a path forward for the player.
Should Have
- More basic untextured models for obstructions or cover points based on the game lore, real life medical environment and existing environments in the games.
- Perhaps adding lighting to better help with player paths.
Could Have
- Basic AI enemy movements with level sequences.
- An extra mechanic that might include a way for the player to pick up items physically and carry them outside of the map.
Won’t Have
- Texturing and polished assets.
- Advanced animations.
Challenges & Workarounds
Challenge: Ensuring the hospital interior layout feels realistic while maintaining good gameplay flow. Finding reference images on the web is slightly difficult as most of the images show artists impressions and renders not working models of hospitals.
Workaround: Going from memory of personal experience in hospitals and clinics, even from existing hospitals in other unrelated games (ie, Star Citizen & Grand Theft Auto 4), then adapted them to fit the environment and gameplay I am going for. I also studied the exterior of this medical center and built rooms based on the outside. (See Additional Research below in [1])
Challenge: Managing scale and proportions based on Division third person game camera. More for the doorways and room size.
Workaround: Played the Division 2 and observed the camera movement, then used the Advanced Locomotion System’s third person camera to appropriately scale the level.
Industry Pipeline Alignment
For the first few rooms, I tried to follow standard level design workflows to the best of my ability. I started with the basic blockout then playtested the rooms before adding in obstructions and cover points, then the initial enemy spawn points. By focusing on combat flow first, I am hoping that the initial rooms meet gameplay expectations before moving onto the next rooms. This initial approach may align with triple A development practices where functionality takes priority.
Additional Research & References
1. Opposite end of the hospital. Tall windows might indicate a large spacious room in the inside. Here I crafted a hall with 2 floors for the player(s) to traverse in, following a reference render image. The interior features a mezzanine overlooking the ground floor with a mounted LMG at the far end. A semi destroyed wall with vehicles placed in between adds extra verticality to the hall where a sniper could be positioned on top.
2. Initially I had an idea where the player(s) could leave the compound via a zipline from the roof but after some thought, it might not be suitable due to the “carrier” mechanic I might implement. Realistically, nobody is physically able to zipline while carrying a heavy item. Therefore, I changed this to a window cleaning exterior lift where players will interact with this to exit the area. I also planned to do a reverse shootout as they exit following an existing mission in the Division 2 in the Washington Hotel, where some of the same rooms will be reused, including the large hall above in [1].
