My original idea for this level was to take inspiration from the Dishonored series and have multiple pathways to the goal at the end of the level. I drafted sketches and a short document for details, but some of these ideas would be later revised:

• Mechanics
  • Player movement and jumping
  • Static, moving, and falling platforms
  • Doors to open by using buttons or collecting coins
  • Respawn Checkpoints
• Intended Player Experience
  • Feeling of exploration and freedom from a player's route choice
  • Feeling of challenge to speedrun and find the quickest route
  • Feeling of satisfaction from solving puzzles
• Scope
  • 2-4 minutes depending on path
  • 2-3 paths to reach final flag objective
  • Large and open starting area

However, I quickly realized that without any combat or stealth, the level design used in something such as the Clockwork Mansion level from Dishonored 2 would feel pointless and less impactful. The lack of mechanics forced me to instead focus on more exploration and platforming rather than puzzles. I still wanted the player experience to include having a choice, so including coins as a measure for opening doors would be a good motivator.

Despite being a blockout phase, a lot of final assets were used as we already had access to them. I started by making a path that would involve climbing a mountain cliff to reach the top, where I planned to have the ending flag objective. I tried to divide it into three sections, where the difficulty would ramp up as the player progressed.

After playtesting my level with two different paths, I immediately recognized some issues with my design and its intended experience:

• Same path was always taken
• Platforming sections were too difficult
• Lack of incentive to explore whole level

To address these problems, I decided to opt for two interconnecting paths so the player would experience the whole level no matter which area they started in. I moved the final objective to be behind a locked door that would be opened with enough coins. Then, the coins I spread throughout the level would act as a motivation to not only finish the level, but take the time to explore more of it too.

Developing the first path, I wanted to create it so the player had to climb up the side of a cliff, almost emulating a 2D-type view. I sketched out a base idea where the cliff was divided into three sections based on difficulty. The first section would have simple jumps with no way to die, the second would introduce spikes (icicles), and the third would introduce moving platforms and falling spikes. The ramp in difficulty would serve to keep the player engaged but still be fair in its challenge.

The second path was originally a secondary path on the side of the cliff. It was too similar to the first and felt repetitive, so I decided on designing a cave instead. I planned to have the cave start from the ground level but have an exit that was above where the entrance was, almost in a loop shape. This allowed me to easily connect it to the first path, which felt better for giving the player the choice on where to explore first. Similar to the cliff path, I split the cave into three sections with each one hosting a slightly different platforming challenge.

After the main blockout was set up and ready for more playtests I had:

• Cabin door as final objective requiring 30 coins to open
• Open starting area with two interconnecting paths (a cave and a cliff)
• Coins on paths and spread around platforming sections
• Winter theme half implemented

The main feedback I received and gathered from watching classmates during playtests was:

• The main objective was unclear
  • Solution: I adjusted the player's starting position and camera angle to face the cabin door before adding a large sign indicating 30 coins to open
• The speedrun timer felt like it was rushing players
  • Solution: This was directly combating my intended exploration experience, so I removed the timer.
• Some platforming sections felt difficult and some players struggled to advance
  • Solution: I wanted the focus to be on exploring and not difficult platforming, so I adjusted the length of different jumps, the hitboxes of spikes, and added more checkpoints to be more forgiving

The final stage in making this level complete was to polish the rough edges and bring the theme to life. I had a shortlist of items to achieve this:

• Add particle effects for immersion (snow outside and dust in the cave)
• Adjust sounds for different objects and add background holiday music
• Detail the side of the cliff faces and inside the cave with more aesthetic meshes and detract from any boring walls
• Liven up the space with some friendly faces, aka Rudolph, Charlie Brown, and a snowman (I was able to do this using primitive shapes and kitbashing)

Lastly, there were two sections I decided to tweak to better align with my intended player experience. The bottom section of the cliff path was meant to be easy and introduce the player, but the falling icicles were tripping up some playtesters. So, I switched the beginning of the path to the other side, away from the icicles, which in turn gave distance from the cave entrance. Inside the cave, I adjusted the pipe section to instead be a broken bridge with falling stalactites because it fit the theme better than the pipes and was easier for players to traverse.

This project was constrained from the beginning with a focus on creating a level based on what we were already given, with the exception of kitbashing. Our lecturer, Ferruccio Cinquemani, told us this was to simulate the real-world environment of a level designer, specifically one with junior-level experience. I found it very helpful to be able to focus on level design without having to script new mechanics or create new assets. It challenged me to think of new ways to make my level unique, but still make it coherent and abide to the standards of level design.

As my first time truly exploring level design in depth, I had a proper pipeline to progress through. I had ample time to concept and plan, create several blockouts, playtest, iterate through issues, and then polish my level to a final product. While I did have ideas change throughout the project, they were only to address design issues or increase the project's effectiveness. In the end, my core idea is still here and I am proud of the short level I was able to create.

There are always things that can be improved or worked on further, so if I were to revisit this in the future I would probably tackle lighting first. I feel that my theme is accurate and consistent, however, proper lighting would elevate the level further. Also, I think I would revisit the cave path to introduce a different type of platforming than reusing the falling stalactites as it can feel repetitive to outside. An alternative or additional idea could also be to add a third path that introduces new gameplay so the player has more chances to explore and feel engaged throughout.