GATEWAY SHUFFLE
LEVEL OVERVIEW
Development InfoGame: Unreal Tournament III
Genre: First-Person Shooter Game Mode: Multiplayer level Engine: Unreal Engine 3 Development Time: 80 manhours |
Level Features
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High Concept
Battle other players on an space station in low orbit over an enormous planet while massive starships come in and out of gigantic warp gates.
Design Summary
"Gateway Shuffle" is a remake of the classic Quake 3 multiplayer level, "DM-17". In "Gateway Shuffle", players fight on the deck of a bustling space port where starships come in and out of massive warp gates on either side of the station. On the deck of the station, players experience regular gravity, but all around the platform is Zero G. Players can utilize the interplay between these two gravity zones to perform incredible jumps and maneuvers.
Design Goals
- Maintain the integrity of DM-17's gameplay, while still offering a fresh twist that enhanced aspects of the original experience
- Create a futuristic, other-worldly space port worthy of any decent science-fiction movie
- Create a level that lets players feel the immense and dramatic nature of the vacuum of space
- Utilize the low gravity environment players expect in a space level in a new and unique way
Re-Imagining Quake 3's DM-17
As per the requirements of our level design course, "Gateway Shuffle" is a remake of Quake 3's prolific multiplayer map, "DM-17". From the outset of this project, I decided that I wanted to maintain the integrity of DM-17’s intense, fast-paced gameplay. Because of this, I spent considerable time in the beginning of production working on adjusting the scale and proportions of my level to compensate for the gameplay differences (jump heights, movement speeds, etc.) between Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament 3.
After much playtesting of the original map, it became apparent that one of the most significant features of "DM-17" is the omnipresent threat of falling off the level with one false step. Because of this, I decided to set my level in outer space to truly emphasize this crucial element of "DM-17".
After much playtesting of the original map, it became apparent that one of the most significant features of "DM-17" is the omnipresent threat of falling off the level with one false step. Because of this, I decided to set my level in outer space to truly emphasize this crucial element of "DM-17".
Level Highlight: Creating a Bustling Space Port
At some point in their lives, any level designer who's a huge sci-fi fan has wanted to try his/her hand at creating a futuristic space port. At least that's the story I'm going with, because this was very much the case for me.
Sci-Fi Visuals
Almost all good science fiction draws from reality in some way or another, so that its audience can relate and believe the fantasy. To capture the feeling of a futuristic space port in "Gateway Shuffle", I used an abundance of holographic signs and ads that flash by on screens much like the travel adds one might see at an international airport.
In "Gateway Shuffle", a gargantuan planet with twin moons dominate one hemisphere of the level’s skydome, letting players know immediately that they are somewhere very far from Earth. Let's be honest, what sci-fi setting would be complete without a ridiculously large planet or one too many moons?
To capture a common Hollywood visual, I dramatically increased the bloom of every light in the level using a custom post-processing volume. This gives the whole level an ephemeral effect people have come to expect from a setting in space.
Making It Feel Alive
On either side of the level, massive space docks hover in space. Periodically throughout a match, enormous space ships warp in and out of inter-dimensional warp gates.
Finally, one of the platforms players use a jump pad from, is actually a hovering ship that constantly adjusts its position based on the firing of its attitude thrusters.
Level Highlight: Conveying the Immensity of Space
It was extremely important to me that players feel the endless vastness of space while playing on this map. To accomplish this, everything in the level intentionally dwarfs the player’s playable space.
Dwarfing the Player
A massive planet looms below the entire spaceport, dominating an entire hemisphere of the skybox. This gives players immediate reference for how expansive this environment is.
Ships that dock next to the space port are equally massive in scale. Because of this, when these ships come in and out of the warp gates, massive sonic booms shake the entire play space giving players an even greater sense of scale.
Don't Look Down
The space port the players play on dangles precariously above the atmosphere of the gargantuan planet, Primus, without a single thing to support them.
To further emphasize this, I made all of the floors in the space port glass so that players see the massive planet underneath them the entire match. The fragile quality people associate with glass makes this particular aesthetic effective at conveying the precarious nature of this space station.
Level Highlight: Utilizing Gravity in a Unique Way
Everywhere in the level that is not a solid platform the players can stand on has zero gravity. This allows players to make extraordinary jumps they would otherwise never be capable of. For example, players can jump from the bottom platform out into space, and then float all the way up to the top platform.
When players who are out in space hover back over solid ground, the normal gravity sucks them back to the ground. As mentioned before, this zero gravity also allows players to wrap around the entire playspace because they never lose height.
In order to encourage players to utilize these unique mechanics, I placed health pickups hovering in lines out in space in spots that players can only get to by utilizing the zero gravity jumps.
Once players learn they can actually perform incredible moves using this gravity, they begin to rely on it almost entirely to surprise unsuspecting enemies on the platform below.