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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Level Discussion
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 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 my level design class, "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 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. Thus, in my attempt to correctly recreate the gameplay of "DM-17" I decided to set my level in outer space to truly emphasize this crucial element.
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. Thus, in my attempt to correctly recreate the gameplay of "DM-17" I decided to set my level in outer space to truly emphasize this crucial element.
Map Overview
Level Breakdown
Creating a Futuristic Space Port
To capture the feeling of a futuristic space port, 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. On either side of the level, massive space docks hover in space. Additionally, periodically throughout a match, enormous space ships come in and out of inter-dimensional warp gates. A gargantuan planet also dominates one hemisphere of the level’s skyline and twin moons immediately let players know they are somewhere very far from Earth. To capture a common visual seen in science fiction films, the lights in the map have heavy bloom on them. This gives the whole level an ephemeral effect one might expect in an area with no atmosphere. 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.
- Large ships come in and out of warp to temporarily dock at massive ports on the sides of the playspace
- Futuristic, holographic ads flash across screens in the space port and a small ship hovers as a usable platform
Conveying the Immenseness 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. A massive planet looms below the entire spaceport, dominating an entire hemisphere of the skybox. This gives players immediate reference for how massive this environment is. The space port the players play on dangles precariously above the atmosphere of this planet, 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 most people associate with glass also makes this particular aesthetic effective at conveying the precarious nature of this space station. Finally, the 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.
- All of the platform's floors are glass so that players may see how precarious the position of the station is above the planet's atmosphere
- The massive planet, Primus, dominates the skybox in "Gateway Shuffle", giving the player a true sense of scale
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.
- In “Gateway Shuffle”, players can make incredible jumps from one platform to another if they use the exterior zero gravity
- I placed health pickups out in open space to let players know they could actually go off the platform because of the zero gravity
