In-game video
This project was made in the context of a Level Design exercise in which I had to make a blockout following specifications on Unreal Engine.
I decided to tell the story of a devastated village still burning (based on a level in A Plague Tale : Requiem) by night so the flames could be seen from far away but also to use the moon's light to illuminate important elements.
Intention diagram
Village plan
I began the project by making an intention diagram in which I described every aspects of my level (the level design elements used such as lighting, paths, landmarks, negative spaces and so on...)
This allowed me to then begin the process of building a blockout in Unreal Engine which I hadn't done before. It taught me to use lots of useful tools built-in Unreal (landscape, modeling, brush editing, foliage).
By the end of the blockout, I did some playtests and based on the feedbacks, I had to modify it to enhance the experience.
I found solutions to make a less linear experience overall by trying to create rhythm (creating height differences, making the player jump over obstacles, going through destroyed houses...). By doing this, the player could feel that he was progressing through a path that he had found and not a defined one.
Finally, I added alternative paths leading to secrets/optionnal objects to reward the player's curiosity.