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By designerdougm
On 24, Feb 2012 | No Comments | In Level Design | By designerdougm
Nightwalk
Developed for a junior level design course, Nightwalk is an Unreal Tournament 3 warfare map that demonstrates my ability to craft an environment that is both visually and mechanically compelling.
The Goal
Create a warfare level that is visually distinct and focuses on a mechanic that is not normally prominent in Unreal Tournament but supports its frantic gameplay.
The Project
- Under One Week
- Unreal Tournament 3
- Junior Level Design
- Distinct Mechanic
- Self-Directed & Developed
I was thrilled when Nightwalk earned high academic marks, but I was even more thrilled when designers who had just spent weeks working on Unreal levels of their own remained on their own time to continue playing Nightwalk.
The Mechanic: Falling
By setting the entirety of Nightwalk on catwalks over a bottomless pit, I was able to successfully introduce a sense of vertigo and an ever present danger of falling. Unreal Tournament players are constantly moving to avoid fire, but are rarely aware of their character’s precise footing. In Nightwalk, a single misstep can mean falling to one’s death. While I did witness a small learning curve during play testing, once players caught on they had a lot of fun with the platforming elements. During play sessions numerous counts of emergent play occurred centered around player footing. Edging players off the catwalks or bullying them into backing off by mistake became a new way to score kills. Jumps between catwalks developed as moments of risk vs. reward, with players weighing the benefit of a shortcut against the chance of falling to their death.
The close proximity of the two team’s primary objectives, and an removal of sub-objectives makes the map focused and fast paced. Players encounter a constant back-and-forth struggle as they try to push through to the other team’s power node and destroy it. The low down time keeps players engrossed in the action, and the level design keeps matches close, without ever dragging on or feeling like a long slog. Play sessions consistently ran into overtime, players citing the low down time, constant risk vs reward element, and unique environment as reasons Nightwalk kept them engrossed.
While I did witness a small learning curve during play testing, once players caught on they had a lot of fun with the platforming elements.
The close proximity of the two team’s primary objectives, and an removal of sub-objectives makes the map focused and fast paced.
Players cited the low down time, constant risk vs reward element, and unique environment as reasons Nightwalk kept them engrossed.
The Aesthetic
The black, bottomless pits instill sense of vertigo that telegraphs the dangers of falling, and the dark, grungy visual aesthetic and low lighting serve as a misdirection for the map’s frantic nature.
Old neon signs buzz and crackle and the electrical lines of a hanging commuter train hum loudly. The deep bass of electronic club music pulses through the thick walls of buildings in the red light district. Occasionally a passenger train passes by, its wheels clicking through the high rises as it casts a pale electric light over the battlefield’s denizens.
