r/leveldesign

Hey! I’m Jiyan, the level designer on Undertaker, a gothic FPS being developed by a team of just three people.

For the past few months, I’ve been working on this massive interconnected map, slowly losing my sanity over every path, landmark and suspiciously placed rock haha. After many long days of work, almost the entire world is finally connected and playable!

Each biome has its own atmosphere, landmarks and gameplay identity, while still feeling like part of the same world. There’s still plenty of polishing left, but seeing the whole journey finally take shape feels incredibly rewarding.

Which area is your favorite?

I'm new to level design, and this is my first serious level sketch. I'm looking for feedback to improve. So I decided to post it here. I attach the sketch and a bit map, to visualize different sorts of activity are equally displaced in the level. Orange is horror, green is exploration, purple is a "wow" moment, red is action, and blue is calm moments.

I also attach photos with a detailed text - walkthrough.

I'm especially interested in feedback on:

pacing and progression

backtracking

boss encounter

environmental storytelling

whether the player is given enough information to understand where to go

The initial brief for this level was:

"Underwater Research Station"

Setting

Several kilometers below the surface lies a scientific research station.

During an experiment, an accident occurred.

Communication has been lost.

Most of the station's sections have shut down.

Water is beginning to leak inside.

The player is an engineer who has found himself as the only person left in this sector.

Player's Goal

Reach the central control room and restore power to the station.

Restrictions

The player starts with only:

a flashlight;

an adjustable wrench

a Level 1 access card.

There are no weapons at the beginning.

Level Requirements

The level must include:

at least 2 branching paths where the player has to choose which route to take;

1 short safe area where the player can take a break;

1 moment of surprise;

1 location that the player can see in advance but can only access later;

1 new tool or item that changes how the level can be navigated;

1 large final room where the main objective of the level takes place.

Thanks!

We’re looking for multiple environmental artists who are experienced with creating stylized, unique environments, buildings, and props.

We’re currently working on multiple maps and need artists who can help with:

• Map layouts and environment design
• Stylized, unique buildings
• Environmental props and set dressing
• Creating interesting locations that feel distinct and memorable

Since we have multiple maps in development, we’re looking to bring on several artists.

Interested?
Please reply to this post with your portfolio.
Do not DM me, I will reach out directly if we’re interested.
Looking forward to seeing your work

Budget: $125/Map Set

We've been working on the visual direction for our indie game, Hell Roulette, and wanted to share a screenshot from an in-game round.

We're going for a stylized 3D noir aesthetic, mixing cartoonish mafia characters with a darker Hell-themed environment.

This is one of the current versions of the game's table, characters, lighting and UI. We're still iterating on everything, but we're pretty happy with how the overall scene is coming together.

What do you think of the visual direction?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4791340/Hell_Roulette

the only bad side is that you need to mark open spaces with an material that will delete the geometry on the node setup or else it will bug the face orientation calculation

This week I am working on improving the editor and collections. For those that don’t know you can chain boards that get unlocked into collections to create multi level boards.

I am adding in the leaderboards for these collections, specific post types, making it easier to immediately drop into the editor.

I got a request to add more cosmetic options for the boards. So those will arrive soon.

I would like to again make callout to everyone that has joined and enjoyed or raged at playing MarbleMazes. Please come forward with
your frustrations with the editor,
bugs you come across,
Marble skins you want.

I’m open to hearing how you want the game to evolve and eager to build more.