(UE4) The "Hello World!" of Level Design (WIP)

[Leigh]

Hey Everyone, 

 

I'm pretty much new to not only these forums but also Level Design, it's something I've always been interested in but never really took the time to learn when I was working in general Design. However after losing my job a short time ago and a lot of discussion with a Level Designer friend of mine I decided that this was probably as good a time as any to give it a try.

 

As such, I've been working on what is not only my first ever level in UE4 but my first level ever!

 

It's still heavily work in progress at the moment, I keep switching back and forth between 3D modeling props but not texturing many of them (I'm hardly a 3D artist sadly) and then just basic level geometry, materials and some basic lighting. 

 

I'm working from a combination of these two concepts

 

 

Although looking back on them now I probably should have chosen images with a little greater detail, as a lot of the props have been rough guesses at best. 

 

Anyway, without further ado here is my level.

 

 

 

 

 

As I'm using this level as a learning piece I've not followed the concepts 100%, I've also hand painted the wall, floor and the wood on the shelves and barrels (another first for me!)

 

Anyway, any feedback, general tips or advice would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[2d-chris]

Hi, and welcome!

 

First off, looks pretty cool, I think if your goal is to be a level designer, I would not focus on the art creation side of things, that is incredibly time consuming - what I would do is use what assets I can find and build some levels. As a level designer, chances are you won't be making actual textures, final models etc, those days are pretty much over. You'll be figuring out WHAT to build, and possibly helping to place assets made by artists. 

 

Level designers usually use grey or simple colored grids to work out their layouts, scale and game play. Artists then break the scene down and figure out the best method to construct the assets. Of course, these are just tips, as there are still level designers who can do art, and even completely different workflows to get to the same end result.

 

If your goal is to learn as much about level design as you can, then focusing on that, and not creating assets would accelerate your chances at employment - if that is you end goal. For this, ask yourself what is the purpose of the level, how are you going to show you designed a space for a game ... puzzles? small story? UE4 provides some great tools to demonstrate your design sensibilities. 

 

If your goal is to prove you can build pretty looking environments (still important for level designers believe it or not) then use assets made by artists and design a level with awesome game play using their art.

 

Cheers

Edited August 13, 2014 by 2d-chris

[Leigh]

Hey Chris, thanks for the reply  

 

It is definitely my goal to become a level designer now, although I'm sure it will take some time and I'm more than happy to put the work in. 

 

I had originally thought that creating all the assets myself wasn't the best idea but wasn't really sure of the best way to get my hands on some good quality assets to use within UE4. 

 

It's interesting what you say about what the purpose of the level is, I suppose for this one it was mostly about me learning the tools of UE4 and trying to stay close(ish) to a concept image but I think going forward I will definitely be looking more at the actual gameplay benefits of a level. 

 

Is it worth me carrying on this piece for now then? Or should I get hunting for new assets and try something else? 

 

Thanks again for the advice!

[Leigh]

Sorry for the double post but today I decided to work on the advice Chris gave and instead used assets from within one of the UE4 example projects. I'm pretty happy with what I achieved, any thoughts on these?

 

 

 

 

 

It's probably a bit too bright in places, and for those wondering it's supposed to be glass at the end that looks out into space but I've not quite figured out how to make it look like space out there yet. I've got stars but for some reason it only looks dark until I hit play. Something to work out tomorrow I guess!

 

 

[2d-chris]

that looks very promising!

 

I wonder what goodness can be done with blueprints in a small space like that ... hmmm  

Edited August 14, 2014 by 2d-chris

[Leigh]

Back again!

 

I've still been practicing in UE4 and am getting into learning the blueprints system but I've also taken a short break from it and created a level in Far Cry 3. 

 

Overall I’m pretty happy with it but as always a first level in any editor is never going to be as good as it could be due to learning the restrictions and quirks of the tools.

 This map takes place on a small tropical island that has in recent years built a small helipad to have greater contact with the outside world. Now a large international company comes into conflict with a group of rebels from the islands only town as they attempt to take control of the natural resources of the island.

 

 

The Rebels are held up in what used to be the islands church,with pews and other furniture quickly pushed out of the way to make room for a new command centre for the rebels.

 

 

 

 

On the other side of the conflict the helipad and surrounding buildings make up the companies only safe ground, all flights off the island are cancelled, with the helicopter ready to go at any minute should reinforcements be required.

 

 

 

 

For either side to truly own the island they will need to control all  three major locations:
 

The Village:

A once small group of houses has become cramped over the years, forcing the wood and corrugated steel shacks to build closer together, and even on top of each other. Between the beach and the river it is only a matter of time before the local villagers will have to consider expanding into the jungle they cherish across the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Jungle:

The natural heart of the island, known for it’s rough terrain and dangerous wildlife. The focal point of the fighting here has been focused around a small camping area.

 

 

 

 

The Coastal Battery:

A ruin from the second World War, it hides the islands dark history and has been left almost untouched since it was bombed over 60 years ago.

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned above, overall I’m happy with the map. Finally to finish off here are some bonus shots, including the almost mandatory hidden sunken submarine!

 

 

For players that find themselves swimming aimlessly in the ocean, a small surprise!

 

 

The rebels aren't always fighting, in their downtime they appear to enjoy relaxing on the beach.

 

 

A small island hides a weapon not found anywhere else on the map, swimming is unadvisable because of the sharks!

 

 

Anyway yeah... that's it. Sorry it's a bit image heavy I got a bit carried away with my little story

 

As always feedback is more than welcome. I'm thinking of uploading it soon or at least creating a video to show it off a bit better. 

 

[Chimeray]

Sweet dude, good progress! It's a bit random at times but you'll get the hang of it eventually!

One thing I love seeing is that you think of the areas you build, always think of environmental storytelling!

 

Sorry for not giving more in depth feedback but my advice is to keep building stuff like this for a bit till you feel confident with the tools and then create some gameplay! Right now you're mostly doing level art stuff but little design work, design is all about creating gameplay and iterating on it, you'll have to change stuff over and over till it works and has all your requirements so pick a game mode or prototype something yourself!

 

The advice with the gameplay stuff is exactly the same as what Chris said, don't get stuck programming your own stuff or inventing your own game, just mod something existing to learn faster. Once you know what you're doing you can create and prototype your own stuff. Nothing's stopping you from doing that right away though but it'll be a little bit slower (but maybe more rewarding?). Just piggyback on existing projects, there's quite a couple for Unreal 4 atm!

 

 

You're definitely on the right track, this is how you're supposed to do game stuff! (Not write a 10 page document of an MMO you're gonna make with 2 people, that's also procedural. Oh god I'm so bitter after reading the project proposals on the Unreal 4 forum. lawl)

Edited August 29, 2014 by Chimeray

[Sjonsson]

 

You're definitely on the right track, this is how you're supposed to do game stuff! (Not write a 10 page document of an MMO you're gonna make with 2 people, that's also procedural. Oh god I'm so bitter after reading the project proposals on the Unreal 4 forum. lawl)

You should totally checkout the Ideas forum on IndieDB. Literally drives you insane.