Prototyping and Sandbox
The conceptual phase began with prototyping the level's core mechanics, where I developed mechanics centered around manipulating lasers and reflecting them. My initial design philosophy emphasized:
- Creating an environment that encouraged player experimentation and exploration
- Developing puzzles that potentially offered multiple solutions
- Implementing three distinct difficulty sections to teach and experiment with mechanic combinations
- Establishing a base that balanced learning curve with problem-solving engagement
During the creation of the sandbox level, particular attention was paid to mechanical scalability and player engagement. The primary design challenge emerged around crafting puzzles that successfully taught the mechanics to the player while leaving room for player creativity.
Paper Map
Before conceptualizing my level's layout, I wanted to prioritize environmental storytelling, with gameplay complexity increasing proportionally to narrative progression. The spatial layout was structured into three distinct sections:
Introductory Section:
- Focused on introducing basic mechanics
- very linear and compact, easy for players to figure out the mechanics
Mechanical Development Section:
- Introduced new mechanics in combination with previously learned mechanics
- Slightly increase complexity, pushing the player to explore their environment
Culmination/challenge Section:
- Presents players with their primary goal, though it is up to them to find out how to further progress by piecing together environmental clues
- Multi-room layout, with micro and macro puzzles, that tests players' problem-solving skills and existing mechanical knowledge
- Focuses on spatial utilization to minimize redundant traversal and useless spaces
Final Design
After completing the paper mapping phase, I transitioned to white boxing the environment in UE5, transforming the conceptual layout into a physical, functional space. This initial design phase focused on establishing narrative pacing, environmental storytelling elements, and difficulty ramping that would form the foundation for playtests.
During playtests, I collected data on how players responded to the level, mainly focusing on three critical aspects: difficulty curves, mechanical clarity, and level flow. This data revealed several opportunities for refinement, including streamlining certain traversal sections and tweaking puzzle complexity to maintain engaging (and consistent) player engagement.
After numerous changes and refinements to the level's design and layout, the final production phase focused on placing placeholder environmental assets and a lighting pass to reinforce narrative elements while maintaining clear player guidance. By the end of this final pass, I had reached a cohesive level that successfully balanced environmental storytelling with various progressively challenging puzzles. Ultimately, I created a level that lets the player explore at their own pace, finding solutions to puzzles and aligning with the project's original design philosophy.
Reflection
Looking back on this project, I'm incredibly proud of how it challenged my approach to level design. What started as a straightforward concept with laser mechanics evolved into using these lasers to solve complex puzzles, balanced with an environment that teaches the player how the mechanics work. The days I spent creating the sandbox level and experimenting with different mechanical combinations have taught me how puzzle & adventure games use these to create an engaging player experience and highly unique levels.
The most valuable lesson came from the playtesting phase, where watching players play through my initial level completely transformed my understanding of difficulty progression, use of space, and environmental guidance. Seeing them discover unintended solutions or struggle with seemingly obvious paths taught me to trust in environmental storytelling to guide the player naturally. This project wasn't just a course assignment but a crucial stepping stone into learning level design.
