PROTOTYPE: My friend went to Bait Abdullah and all he got was this stupid Level
For our level design class at NYU, our midterm assignment was to create a level based on a real world location, with a simple set of mechanics we build the level around. We had two weeks, and so I went to the drafting table…
Gathering References
I started my process by thinking about what specific mechanics I wanted to do in the game. I decided to do a stealth concept, where you have to avoid enemies while collecting relevant objects. I wanted to give the player multiple ways they can approach the situation while also prompting certain actions through the placing of collectibles. I started by researching 3 different locations which seemed like interesting layouts for stealth: An abandoned house in my home country, Bahrain, commonly used for graffiti. Another was the Eldritch Street Synagogue in New York, allowing for a multi-floor layout with a lot of structures that provide options for sneaking around. The idea was that the player was a graffiti artist avoiding police patrolling the area.
Researching the Site
I decided to go with Bait Abdullah, especially because the prototype was based on a real experience from my childhood where me and my friends were doing a Graffiti Mural and had to evade police that had arrived at the scene. I got to work gathering references from when I was in Bahrain, as well as creating thumbnail sketches of various parts of the site as well as floorplans. The area had many doors and windows that allowed for unique ways to get around the environment as well as beams, and high vantage points for surveying the scene.
Prototyping the Mechanics
I started by prototyping Enemy AI with set patrol paths, and they could be distracted by stimuli such as seeing the player, or loud sounds, go to investigate it, and return to their patrol if the stimuli was not triggered again. I set patrol paths of enemies around the map, and triggered a loud sound stimulus every time the player jumped, forcing them to think before they took the action. I also made sure to place some collectibles at a height which required a jump, so that it could trigger surrounding enemies to investigate them, providing an additional layer of challenge.
Level Layouts
Intentions for the space:
Cluttered, yet also grand
Lots of places to hide and take cover
Top floor becomes a vantage point
Motivate jumping between platforms
Create opportunities for players to use space and move between areas (ie. Vents to hide and move to other areas, lifts to move between levels)
The player could also use vents to move between spaces as well as lifts that allow them to change elevation, get vantage points, and even make quick getaways from enemies.
