MOST RECENT GAME TRAILER
Level Designer | 02/2022 - Present
Lightyear Frontier is a farming simulation game with exploration in an open world setting, in a Mech. The player needs to explore the world, gather resources, farm, build their homestead and send their resources to other planets.
Created in Unreal Engine 4 Available on Xbox & Steam (EA)
MY ROLE
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3 Levels Created
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2 Currently available in the game
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Level Design
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Layout drawings
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Landscape whitebox
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Whiteboxing ruins
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Placing out all gameplay related content in the level
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- Gameplay Mechanics
- Collabs with other disciplines on some Mechanics & Features
- Achievements
- Concepted and implemented Achievements for Xbox & Steam
LEVEL DESIGN
Shifting Gears Level
Created in World Creator, collaboration with our Environment Artist. Later on iterated on with the Unreal Landscape Tool.
LEVEL DESIGN
Legacy Level
We created a level which we had when the game launched, this world was created through whiteboxing and later on went through iterations in the Unreal Landscape Tool.
LEVEL DESIGN
Swamp Level
(Unreleased)
WIP - Soon to be added
SHIFTING GEARS MAP
Me and our Environment artist created a new map which was 9x times bigger than our previous map we had in the game. We created this map during around 6 months. We started by drawing maps on a whiteboard, later on our environment artist created the layout in World Creator. Once the World Creator map was in Unreal Engine, I iterated on the landscape to create alternate paths and a smoother experience. I placed out all other gameplay related content in the level.
This also entailed moving many of the relevant ruins from the previous map and iterating on them to fit the new map.
When we were working on the map, some important things we kept in mind was:
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We wanted the traversal to get increasingly more difficult as they navigated the map
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We wanted to make sure the players could build farms in each Biome, but it could be more difficult to built it in later Biomes
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We wanted the player to feel agency in where they would explore first on the map, and where they would eventually build their farms
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So that not every player would build a farm in the same location (something we had seen on the previous map)
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We wanted them to had some obstacles in the world that they would have to put in work to traverse around or through
FIRST DRAWINGS & WORLD CREATOR ITERATION
The first layout that we drew that felt like a good direction to try out in engine
Based on the previous layout with some iterations
The first World Creator map that we had in engine, which we later decided to scrap
The first layout that we drew that felt like a good direction to try out in engine
In the first map design we tried to go for a more open approach where the player would start in the middle of the map, to open up to exploration in any direction. We made smaller biomes that were scattered in different directions to create choices for the player and for resource availability no matter where on the map they built. However we felt like it was a bit difficult for players to navigate and it put a lot of pressure on the progression, since you could unlock late game resources early.
We also noticed that having smaller biomes didn't make the world feel as realistic or magestic since the biomes could not take up as much space. The map also was a bit too big compared to the old map since it created a lot of running, which wasn't so fun gameplay wise.
In the end we landed on a map that was more linear, a bit smaller, with larger biomes, and with a larger obstacle in the middle of the map (the river) that the players could have as a carrot to proceed further in the level, and to create a shortcut for the player later on, as they progress.
FINAL DRAWING & LIVE MAP
This drawing was when we addressed some of the issues we felt like the old map had, and what we wanted to iterate on in World Creator
This is the map that is based on the previous image, and the map that is available in Lightyear Frontier today
This drawing was when we addressed some of the issues we felt like the old map had, and what we wanted to iterate on in World Creator
Legacy Level
There was a base map created using whiteboxing when I started working on Lightyear Frontier. As time went by we noticed that using boxes to create the whole world was a time consuming process and we moved over to me creating the world using the Unreal Landscape Tool without using textures, and our environment artist went in and created a more polished version when I was done.
We expanded the map multiple times as we worked on the Legacy Level, due to noticing it was a bit too cramped and there were no larger farmable areas. When we expanded the world we felt like the pacing became a lot better, there was more breathing room for the player, and options to expand to a larger farm. It also allowed me to create more shortcuts through the map, which is something I always tried to keep in mind for it not to be too long periods of running back and forth.
The Vault
The Vault was the "end" of our first level when we released in Early Access. It was the biggest narrative reveal we had, and the ending of the progression of the level. Therefore we wanted it to feel special and rewarding. At the end of the Vault the player also unlocks a new traversal mechanic, which is being able to surf on water.
We saw a great opportunity to tutorialise this ability by raising the water levels so the player needed to use the ability to manage to get out of the Vault structure.
I also focused a lot on what we wanted the player to feel in every part of the structure, and tried to follow that flow throughout the level.
Ruins
In Lightyear Frontier you can explore the world and find Artifacts, picking up the Artifacts will give you information about the lore of the game. I created Ruins in whitebox with Artifacts placed for the player to find, they were supposed to be of Easy-Medium difficulty. After the art had been placed out, I tweaked them and went over the ruins a second time to make adjustments. Some were hidden and some were a part of jumping puzzles.
The pictures below are a mixture of ruins from the Legacy map and the Shifting Gears map
Water Walking Mechanic
When we added the Water Walking mechanic, I really wanted to utilize the opportunity to have places on the map that the player could visit after unlocking the mechanic. So some parts of the old map where inaccessible until the player had unlocked this. Tornado Rock Isle was an area that player could reach after finishing the main progression of the game. I also wanted to utilize this mechanic more in the level so I created a ruin where the player needed to use this mechanic, and we made the island include more water-related gameplay.