THE LAST OF US 2
LEVEL DESIGN
Explore snowy chalets with shimmer
but watch out for the risk of avalanche!
OVERVIEW
PROJECT BREAKDOWN
Deadline: 3 Days
Made with Unreal Engine 4
Team: Solo
Playthrough: 4 minutes
Implemented within TLOU 2's timeline
TOP DOWN MAP
2nd Floor
1st Floor
Cellar
2nd Floor
1st Floor
Legend
Player Start
Runners
Collectibles
Chest
End
Clickers
Artefact
Main path
TIMELINE
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Concept Phase
Prototyping Phase
Documentation Phase
INTENTIONS
The plot of the level : Avalanche.
Tease it gradually.
Playing with Shimmer.
Create a stronger link between Shimmer and players.
Creating scripted event.
Add more dynamism and linked the narrative with the gameplay.
Stealth Gameplay in fights.
USED BRICKS
Main Brick
Avalanche
In order to make the environment more credible and to avoid involving the weather only at the end, the avalanche is used in several ways:
Prevent the player from going back
Direct and block the player
Final Sequence : The Flee
Snow starts to enter the chalet
Players flee with Shimmer
Other features
Finally, there are other features that the player will use or encounter during the level:
Shimmer
Runners
Clickers
Switchblade
Rope
Movable Trash
LEVEL FLOWCHART
LEVEL DOCUMENTATION
Here is a part of the document explaining the whole level construction. Some of the information given by it has already been explained before. This information has been removed from this preview but is contained in the downloadable PDF.
This preview contains the level requirements that I have imposed, the level environment and lighting, the narrative context, and finally, all the situations explained more deeply.
Downloadable PDF:
DESIGN TECHNIQUES
The different design techniques used in the level are mentioned in the document above.
Here is a short list of them:
Teasing on start
Following the road, the player sees every possible entrance to the Grand Chalet. Each revelation is made one by one by blocking the view on the others.
Window on fights
Before some of the combats, the player can see the infected before fighting them.
For the first encounter, the player can even see the runner through the window on the 2nd floor.
POST MORTEM
In the time that I had, I'm happy with the result. However, my desire to prototype has limited my possibilities of iteration on situations.
During this project, I approached the creation of the level differently. I started by writing a script rather than designing a situation on paper. it allowed me to see the elements of a level differently by not starting with the gameplay.
This project allowed me to see ways of improvement that I was not aware of. The current rendering is very gimmick and scripted events sometimes guide the player too much by limiting exploration, making it less interesting.
I also became aware of the importance of a coherent color code. The current lack of a defined color code reduces the readability of spaces, especially top-down maps.
My next goal is to integrate these concepts into a project of a longer duration, allowing me to iterate much more and do playtest.