Devlog Level 1 Luke Sunner

Level Concept

The concept for this level one is based in a laboratory setting. This immediately what aesthetic the player should expect throughout the game. In this platformer the player has a total of five minutes to complete all three levels, if the player doesn’t finish within the time limit they lose. Some inspiration was taken from the resident evil franchise. The background of this level mainly consists of bright colours to portray its modern aesthetic. The players and enemies are pops of colour in the level making them stand out to the player. This level focuses mainly on the platforming rather than the other elements of gameplay. The camera will follow the player throughout the level, at times the camera will be in a static position to help with platforming.

White boxing

For this levels white boxing I wanted the player to be challenged by the platforming aspect. This white boxing contains platforms that move horizontally, vertically and in a circular motion. Spikes were also added to the white box of the level, which instantly kill the player upon impact. There are also three pillars which can crush the player in gameplay, these pillars also kill the player instantly. The player will start at the top middle of the level and work their way to the bottom left.

Playtesting

For the games playtesting my level 1 got some feedback that could be fixed to improve the quality of gameplay for the player. At the playtest session the play testers mentioned that checkpoints should be added along with improving the character control. Some other feedback that was mentioned at the playtest were to give the player some sort of indication on where progress in the level. One of the last parts of feedback given was the camera. Some of the play testers could not see the level in front of them as the camera focuses and follows the player the expressed how frustrating. Most of the feedback given at the playtest was implemented into the project.

Iteration

There have been a few iterations of this project with each of the developers trying out different mechanics and level layout. One iteration that I would like to point out is the art assets of the level. There have been different iterations of the assets, with every time they help to portray the theme more. With each iteration that passed more art assets were added to the project. The levels tile map has also been through a few iterations as the level layout didn’t really make sense from a player’s point of view. The background assets of the level didn’t go through much iteration as they encapsulated the theme in their first iteration.

Final Evaluation

Overall I am somewhat satisfied with the level that I created. I feel a few adjustments could be made to the level to make it a better playing experience for the player. The layout of the level also could have been formatted better to give the player a smooth platforming experience. I really liked the camera transitions within the level; this helps the player manoeuvre through the level easier. If theres something that I could change about the level it would be to have more background animations within the level to make it feel more alive.