Project Overview
As a game and level designer on this project I have been responsible for level design, weapons, abilities, upgrades and challenges and implementing these as prototypes in blueprints. I was also responsible for both internal and external playtesting
and was frequently involved in discussions about UI/UX.
Levels
When making levels I would start by defining the specific setting in collaboration with the environment artist. Since the game is company/corporate themed with some Bond villianesque elements, most of these settings would be traditional
office spaces, but we often pushed the limits of what could be in this corporate building. For instance we made levels that were VIP bars, in-house subway stations for people to get around the megabuilding and even an underwater Human Resources office.
After deciding on a setting I would gather reference images of real spaces and from games in similar settings or that were doing interesting things I wanted to incorporate into the level design. Then I would draw 2D sketches for the layout and sometimes even
isometric sketches to get a quick "3D feel" for the environment. But most importantly I would then rapidly block out the level using existing assets.
I was eventually tasked with writing a level design direction document where I outlined do's and dont's and the philosophy of how a level flows well for LMS and how to use its unqiue mechanics.
Gameplay
For gameplay design, such as weapon upgrades and abilities, we wanted to push it over the top. Explosions everywhere! When I first started at the project, the existing upgrades were often interesting, but felt more like upgrades suited for a game like Counter-Strike
or Starcraft. Together with my project lead we naturally concluded that inviting the players to hop onto the crazy train for one helluva ride was a much more fitting direction for LMS.
That being said, I did also design some interesting upgrades. One of these allowed you to spam your ability (such as spawning a sentry turret) for the cost of some health. This combined with my reworked version of a health generating upgrade gave way to
crazy builds that sparked the imagination of players.