Level & Game Designer
After Us: Quarry
Note: This page is an overview of the level.
To learn about the moment-to-moment gameplay, please read this in-depth document I wrote.
Duties: Level, Systems, Puzzle, and Combat Encounter Designer.
Tools: Unreal Engine, Blender, Photoshop, paper and pencil.
Level overview (right). The orange arrows represent the main path, leading from the bottom to the giant sphere. The blue ones are detours to reach collectibles.
Behind the appearance of a complex stage full of secrets and paths, there is a fairly linear structure. Twists, branchings and different heights reinforce the feeling of exploration. There are plenty of spots from where the player can see past and future sections of gameplay, making the place more consistent and immersive.
Tasks
- Owned the level from start to finish.
- Translated the concepts provided by the art department into gameplay situations.
- Structured and built the entire stage, balancing pacing, visibility, composition, narrative and the conceptual requirements.
- Designed and built the combat areas for enemy encounters, putting special emphasis on their relationships with the setting, aiming to surprise the player.
- Set up the first light pass to show my intentions to the environment art team.
- Communicated with the environment artists and explained the layout and intentions of individual gameplay situations. During and after this process, I also made sure we corrected art elements that were making readability harder.
- Brainstormed and designed specific game mechanics. Seen in the videos:
- Carts on rails, which can be pushed along the tracks with the player’s special ability to solve positioning puzzles. There is also a rail switch mechanic to change their course.
- TNT cartridges and fuses. This was asked directly by the director. I helped define the gameplay. I designed, prototyped, built and made the technical setup of the different game challenges.
- Vanishing titans. Figures holding large blocks that can be disappeared using the player’s special ability, thus making the blocks fall.
Combat
Left. Carts can push the enemies and make them fall, adding more reactivity to the scene. This is a feature I proposed to the creative director.
Right. Final combat of the level, which unfolds through an ascending scaffolding structure. Enemies have scripted acting designed to look more alive and reactive.
Additional Credits
Ghost animals were placed by Laura Roldán.
Level-specific game mechanics were designed between the creative director (Alexis Corominas) and me, and programmed by Rubén Pineda.
Interactable sprouts were placed by Laura Roldán, while their “jigsaw” compositions with the grass patches were done by me.
