Richard Hardy
Level Design - Technical Game Design
Level Design Examples
Laboratory Jailbreak - Half-Life 2
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Map Type: Single Player FPS
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Game: Half-Life 2
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Engine: Hammer (Source SDK)
For my Fall 2019 semester, I developed a single player Half-Life 2 map over the course of three months. After playing through Half-Life 2 and learning the assets and tools that Hammer provided, I decided to go with a Laboratory/Jail style level where the player has to break out of a secret facility ran by the government. To do this, I broke down the level into floors and wings, with each section of the map containing exploration and combat encounters that got progressively harder. Building this level was a great learning experience for learning a new engine as well as creating levels based on pre-existing assets.
Map Layout
This level takes place mostly in a secret facility, where the player is trying to escape from being a test subject. The player must break free of their jail cell, and navigate the different corridors of the laboratory to earn their freedom. Because this was a secret facility, the players will need to deal with both policemen and different zombies that were experimented on.
To start off the level, the player will need to sneak out of their cell and pick up a crowbar and suit. Once they do, a guard will be alerted, and the player must defeat them. Past the guard will be a pistol, there are another two guards in the next hall. Upon seeing the guards, the player will notice that there is a locked garage door that they will need to open in order to escape. Players will need to navigate to the next hallway, where the player can choose what they want to do next. They can either navigate through the police quarters to earn an upgraded set of weapons, or they can go through the zombie experiment sections to activate the garage door. Upon opening the garage door, a second floor to the laboratory is revealed, with another locked door. Players will need to first navigate through another police section so that they can grab a rocket launcher. Past the police enemies is another section of zombies and the switch that opens the gate. Once they step outside, a helicopter enemy will appear that they will need to take down. Upon its defeat, the player will be able to escape the facility.
(This was an excerpt from the full documentation.)
Triple Threat - Capture the Flag
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Map Type: Multiplayer Capture the Flag
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Game: Unreal Tournament
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Player Count: 4v4
The prompt for this assignment was to create a Capture the Flag map for the game Unreal tournament over the course of four weeks. The amount of player could range from 2v2 to 8v8, but I choose to design a map for a 4v4 to keep it at a reasonable scale. I also wanted multiple different points for attacking the flag, so I decided to go with three distinct paths. I made sure to also give attackers and defenders the proper items to keep the fights balanced.
Map Layout
Map Paths
As shown above, the player can choose multiple paths depending on what they plan to do. If they are going for a more defensive type playstyle, they can follow the dark blue path and stand at a defensive post, or they can follow the orange path and take the sniper rifle and assist the team from a long range. If they want to contest the middle ground and fight for the rocket launcher, the player can take the pink path and use the jump pads to access the platform. If the player has the desire to make a push for the flag, they can follow the grenade launcher path up the ramp, and then proceed to take one of the multiple attack paths outlined in light blue. To return the flag, the player can backtrack one of the multiple attack paths, follow the grenade launcher path back to their flag and capture it. Overall, the level’s design allows for multiple approaches upon either flag
(This was taken as an excerpt from the full Level Documentation)