CTF-Utopia
Level Design Solo Project
Details
Genre: Multiplayer FPS
Duration: September 2019 - October 2019
My Roles: Level Designer
Team Size: 1
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Platform: PC
Genre: Multiplayer FPS
Duration: September 2019 - October 2019
My Roles: Level Designer
Team Size: 1
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Platform: PC
Description
CTF Utopia is a Capture the Flag map for Unreal Tournament 4. In this map, players fight among high-rise buildings of a futuristic city, with a train station at its core, where all the action happens.
Even though my experience with first person shooters was limited at the time, I learned as I went, developing a map with a fun and unique gameplay thanks to its verticality and traversal options.
My Process
Concept
Level Design
- The main inspiration for this map has been the train station in the town I study in, with its multiple levels, inspiring the verticality and interconectedness of the map
- The train station, as the main landmark, has then been paired with a high-rise brutalist city, feeding into the verticality while allowing me to easily control the lines of sight with tall buildings
Blockout
Level Design
- The map consist of three lanes in two levels that intertwine and connect in multiple places (the train station being the main one)
- The two levels are connected with elevators, stairs and jump pads, or are accessible using the translocator, which is specific to the Capture the Flag game mode
- The plethora of paths create a sort of "cat and mouse" gameplay, rewarding players that can predict enemy movement and navigate all the shortucts
- Each space in the map has distinct look or a specific function, differentiating it from the rest
Iteration and Polish
Level Design
- The general layout of the map has been decided quite early, but it took multiple iterations for each space to make the flow through them smooth and make each space recognizable
- One of the major challenges of designing this map has been the spawn points, their positioning in regards to each lane and the weapon pickups, ensuring each path is viable
- Final polish came through fixing up inconsistencies in the geometry and doing a lighting pass, giving the map a specific feeling and making sure there are no huge shadows from the tall buildings by changing the time of day