DIOGO GUERREIRO
GAME DESIGNER
FLOATING VILLAGE
Platform: PC
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Team Size: 1
Role: Level Designer
Overview
Floating Village was designed during the CGMA Level Design for Games course, where each week I would create a playable blockout in a different genre or theme that would have to adhere to certain broad guidelines. For the week where this level was created, the goal was to create a level that focused on platforming.
Narrative Context
Play as the mailman of a small village who has to make a couple deliveries before going to have fun on the county fair.
Platforming rhythm, flow and variety
When designing this level, I focused heavily on making sure the different platforming sections not only felt comfortable to play but also that they felt varied and offered the player different challenges. For making sure the level felt comfortable to play, I aimed to give the player enough space to build up to a jump, as well as enough space to land, and focused on the "rhythm" of the platforming sections, making sure the level flowed nicely from start to finish.
Platforming section making use of the Flying mechanic for a longer period of time
Platforming section making use of the Flying mechanic for short periods followed by jumping to keep the movement fluid and dynamic
A harder platforming section requiring the Player to use the Jump mechanic with precision.
Using the wind to guide and lift the player up
The character blueprint used for this level did not have a way of gaining altitude when flying, so to make it so the player could move up throughout the level I decided to use colliders that essentially function like ramps. To provide visual context to those ramps in the game world, I added wind effects that would make it look as if the player was being lifted by strong winds. On top of that, the wind effect could also help guide the player and showing them where to go next.