Labyrinth (2024)
LEVEL DESIGN
RESEARCH
UNREAL ENGINE 5
MIRO
This prototype is a short puzzle-oriented level in which I applied a level design protocol build on my research in puzzle design as part of my specialization in this field. The goal given to the players is to find their way in a maze to three different interest-points to unlock the exit. In the maze, they can find projectiles to break colourful walls to pave their way to their goals.
Project Goal
This project was my first prototype as part of my specialization in puzzle-oriented level design that I began in my classes for my BAC in video game design. Its goal was to be a short level in which I applied the knowledge I acquired on making a level design for puzzle-oriented levels and applying a UX methodology on its production.
In short, I did:
- A short tutorial in a maze-type puzzle.
- Applied the puzzle design concepts of Jesse Schell (The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses, Second Edition, 2014) and Wallace Wang (The Structure of Game Design, 2023).
- Applied UX concepts learned in Celia Hodent’s book Dans le cerveau du gamer : neurosciences et UX dans la conception de jeux vidéo (2020).
Research
This project began as a research for my first specialization class for my baccalaureate in autumn 2023. One of the aspects that I love in action-adventure games are puzzles, and I wanted to learn how to make them. In my research, I found two books that discussed about puzzle design and decided to base my research on them. They were The art of game design: A book of lenses (2014) by Jesse Schell and The structure of game design (2023) by Wallace Wang. With these theories, supported by UX theories found in Celia Hodent’s book Dans le cerveau du gamer : neurosciences et UX dans la conception de jeux vidéo (2020), I began my analysis paper. I chose to analyze puzzles found in two video games, which were Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal, 2018) and Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab, 2021). At the end of my research, I had a list of do’s and don’ts to guide my future projects.
Design Process
My objective for this prototype was to see if a good puzzle-oriented level design supported by a UX methodology would be enough to maintain players’ game flow in a frustrating puzzle level. To achieve this test, I decided to make a maze-type puzzle for my level.
With my puzzle type decided, I needed to find an interesting twist to the design of the labyrinth and a simple game mechanic. My brainstorm concluded with a shooting mechanic, in which my player could pick up projectiles of different colours in the environment to destroy colour-matching walls that blocked the players’ progression into the maze.
Building the Design Protocol
To make my prototype as perfect as possible for a puzzle-oriented level, I made a list of the puzzle design guidelines found in Jesse Schell’s and Wallace Wang’s books and of criterias to maintain players’ game flow found in Celia Hodent’s book. I tried to implement as much of these design guidelines as possible in my current level that were appropriate for the size of the project.
Level Design
When my design protocol was finished, I began my « paper plan » in Miro. I began by separating my labyrinth in three main parts, as each part would have an interest point to be visited by the players to activate pillars that acted as « keys » to the exit door. Since I wanted to increase difficulty gradually as it was in my guidelines list, I designed my first zone to be easy and simple for the players to test their control of the mechanic. Then I offered them the choice of going to the second or third zone that has similar difficulty level. When the spaces were separated, I began to construct the labyrinth and made a golden path. Once my golden path was determined, I added some destructible walls to block it. Since it’s a labyrinth type level, I also added unnecessary paths to make the player feel in a labyrinth and that they have a choice in the path they choose. When all was built, I added the projectiles’ places in the maze. To finish my plan, I added a small tutorial zone at the beginning to show the players how the mechanic works as one of my guideline was to implement a tutorial in a significative context. After my plan was finished and confirmed by another student, I implemented it in Unreal Engine 5.
Conclusion
To conclude if my guidelines list helped me design a puzzle that would support players’ game flow, I got 6 people to playtest the level and answer a short questionnaire after. The playtest went great and I was happy to know that players loved having the mirror as a help. Most of the design choices that I took made the game a pleasant experience and players were not frustrated inside the maze. The only item on my checklist that did not work as intended was that players didn’t know where to start once they were in the maze. During the playtest, I saw that 4 playtests did not take the time to analyze the maze before going in. I am wondering if I made a scripted event where players enter the maze and direct the camera on important element would have helped like the game Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal, 2018) do in the tomb Temple of the Sun.
Ressources
My analysis paper on puzzle design (in French): https://arianelaferriere.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PuzzleDesign_Analysis.docx
My Miro board (in French): https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVMofFZ0Y=/?share_link_id=829074920367
My talktrack explaining my research (in French): https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVMofFZ0Y=/?playRecording=dea55838-393b-4284-a9e9-9256f3632e0c