Compound Level Design
2023
Context
FPS | Coumpound | Unreal Engine | 22 Hours | Solo
Tasks
BlockOut | Level Design
Information
Creation of a blockout map for "Hunt Showdown" following specific instructions given by DURON Hugo, a Level Designer from Crytek.
Requireents
Bayou, Louisiana themed compound
80m x 80m maximum compound size
1 Boss Building in the center with 2 floors
1 - 3 secondary boss building
9 - 12 chokepoints
MoodBoard
For the theme of my compound, I wanted it to be a big abandoned farm house from a rich family, with their own chapel and cimetery, barn and fields. I then assembled a moodboard of Louisiana environment, farms, and other structures to get inspired from.
Boss Building
I made a simple rectangle structure for the ground floor for the main house, then transformed it a bit to make it look more natural and asymmetrical. For the stairs leading to the first floor, I made them symmetrical in this case, so that the players have an easier time locating and using them.
I then placed covers to create small, mid and large loops to fight the boss building. Also, I made sure that there was no dead end in any place so that the players have atleast one way in or out.
Lines of sight
The players are given 2 - 3 lines of sight at a time to limit their choices and make the fights more impactful.
I separated the ground floor into 3 different parts to ease even more the navigation inside the house and each zone feel different. Two fight sections against the boss building and one "safe" section where only players can enter and serve as a rest zone.
I put 5 entrances to the boss building. 2 doors, 2 windows and 1 hatch. The doors are the main entrances and have more navigation opportunities. The windows make a more discret way to enter the house. Soundtraps are placed beneath them to let watchful players know their position. The hatch is the sneakiest way to enter the house, but also the longest one as the players need to go through the swampy waters to get access to the hatch under the house.
1st Floor is based on the same principles. However, there is only one entrance, which is harder to access than the other five. It includes doing some tricky jumps from the right-side compound.
Compound Structure
