Sanctuary
Unreal Tournament 4 Deathmatch Map
Project Brief
Set in an abandoned Sanctuary, this deathmatch level makes use of the game’s high mobility mechanics and diverse selection of weapons and boosters to create an adrenaline-heavy experience.
The team consisted in myself and two other designers, and we all worked collaboratively on each part of the level’s development, from greyboxing to asset placement to play testing and iterating.
Approach
Approach
The first thing we did going in was to play the game extensively to really understand Unreal Tournament 4, with its movement, weapons and upgrades. After thoroughly understanding the mechanics, especially advanced movement and weapon subtleties, we planned out a small map with a circular flow, to always give players options to find cover or cut off an escaping victim.
Level Areas and Design
The Statue – high risk, high reward, being the most exposed area but offering access to the Railgun and Flak Cannon, while also offering a quick exit from the risky area via jump pad.
The Canal – the central area, players have limited exit options and good health/ammo rewards, as well as a Quad Damage powerup in the center of the arena to keep players coming back regularly.
The Altar – contains a Rocket Launcher and some health pickups. Getting cornered here without the launcher is a death sentence.
The Prayer Room – one of the more circulated areas, if players manage to stay inside long enough to perform the parkour necessary, they can get access to an Invisibility powerup.
Most corridors are specially created to allow wall jump boosting for experienced players, and some areas around the map reward players for rocket jumping.
Conclusion
The project taught me a great deal about constant player testing and how to observe players, as well as how important it is to go through the loop of constantly replaying levels -> finding out exploits or underperforming areas -> balancing them out.