Supercomputer facility, a Quake 2 map

Role: Level Designer
Development duration: 3 months
Team size: solo project
Email for contact: bruno.barbosa8@yahoo.com

Supercomputer facility is a Quake 2 map I created over the spam of 3 months as a college project using Trenchbroom as my choice for level editor.

Synopsis

After waking up alone in misterious facility the player must advance to escape the facility and slowly discover the Strogg's new weapon, the supercomputer, which uses the corpses of fallen humans to fuel it.

Beginning

Summary of my work

Level designer

• Played Quake 2 to study their level design patterns
• Learned and studied Trenchbroom for Quake 2 to develop levels
• Hosted playtests with players of all skill levels
• Created an LDD
• Designed a level gym to test out and documment all of the metrics of the game

Event Designer

• Learned and studied Quake 2 Trenchbroom's event trigger's system
• Studied the types of events present in Quake 2

Galery

2D top down view map

Map screenshots

Learnings

Re-use your rooms, save assets

Assets

One of the main things to keep in mind when creating a level is the workload on your fellow artists. The best way to save time and that of your fellow team members is to reuse assets in a smart way.

But how do you do it? Think of level design as creating a story; you want to position props that will mean something later that are important, almost as if you were foreshadowing what's to come. For example, in my map, during the first and secret level, you can see pipe props, which later prove to be important as they become the main element in the refueling room. Players who like to understand the environment will understand why the pipes slowly become more prominent on the level.

Landmarks and U shapped levels

Going back to the book metaphor, a linear level doesnt necessaraly needs to be literally a straight line. Here is where landmarks shine. Landmarks in levels are unique props (that being buildings, statues, etc...) that catch the attention of players. Landmarks are the BEST tool to guide the player where to go. In my level, I have the supercomputer visible from the very start of the level to pique the player's interest, even though it is the last area the player visits. I achieve this by just wrapping the level around the middle point, creating this U shape in the level. The U shape can be quite effective as it allows the player at the end of the level to see their starting zone and reflect on how much progress they've made.

Level Design Document