Underground Cathedral
Length: 2 Months
Role: Level Designer
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A 2-month Level Design project using a basic walking simulator as a template. The goal was to plan out and design a 3 part level.
Overview
Using a very limited walking sim as a template I would create a 3-part level. Limited to only real world-like settings I settled for having an Underground Cathedral as the level's focal point. After planning, blocking out, and designing the level with assets I would pair up with 3 others who had done the same and we would work together to combine our levels at their start and end points, making one big level. This process would take 2 months.
Team Nephrite
My Level
Planning
I first started figuring out what I wanted to create. I needed a big idea for the Start, Focal Point, and End of the level. I knew I wanted a cathedral as the focal point of my level but I thought that was too basic and wanted to make it a bit more unique. While looking up reference images I got the idea of placing the Cathedral underground, giving it a more interesting setting. I knew I wanted it to feel like the player was an adventurer or hiker who just stumbled upon this magnificent discovery, so I started the player in a camp, ready to take off on their adventure.
So with the start and focal point set in I just needed an end. A friend gave me an idea when they mentioned having the player look up into the sky. This gave me the idea to have an observatory, but not any old observatory. I wanted it to be atop a giant mountain.
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Now that I had the 3 sections of the level I needed transition areas or trails to guide the player to them. I came up with a few things. In transition 1 I would have a burning tree struck by lightning, a short track up a small mountain that would show a view toward a bridge that led to an arch in a mountain wall, a giant cherry blossom as a landmark toward the cathedral's entrance, yet another campsite of those who came before, and finally a canyon that led down to the Underground Cathedral. The next transition would have Crystal Tunnel, leading to an old medieval-style elevator. This elevator would lead up to the Observatory.
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Now that everything was planned I just needed references for the Mood Boards.
Level Start - Mood Board
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The Level Start consists of the Campsite at the start to the Cathedrals Entrance. Despite not being the Focal Point, this was easily the largest section of the level by far. For reference I looked for campsites with big trees, tunnels in the wild, canyons, underground tunnels, and lastly the front doors of a cathedral.
Focal Point - Mood Board
The Focal Point entails the entirety of the Underground Cathedral, from its courtyard to its crypt. For reference material, I looked for a big statue in a lobby, a sermon room with pews and a hidden passage behind the altar, stairs leading down, and images of crypts.
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Level End - Mood Board
The Level End holds the back third of the level, from the end of the crypt to the observatory. This section starts off with a bang, required to get through to the next section the player is forced to look for dynamite down in the crypts. After blowing a hole in the wall the player is greeted with a crystal tunnel that leads to an underground island beneath the mountain. In the middle is an elevator that leads up to the observatory. After a long time planning I ended up cutting the elevator and just having the observatory down beneath the ground, removing the mountain idea entirely. This is shown in the blockmesh.
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Blockmesh
Once I had a great idea of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it, I started blocking out the level, starting with the Level Start. Blocked out the campsite all the way to the observatory, making very little changes to the initial plan. I started making blueprints of assets I needed a lot of like trees, rocks, and tents, this way it would make replacing them easier. I used the trees as Leading Lines, rocks as breadcrumbs, and a ton of Landmarks, Valves, Gates, and mini parkour segments to keep things interesting.
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Level Start
Initially, I found myself constrained in the design space, particularly within the campsite section at the Level Start. I envisioned the campsite as a cozy retreat for players, offering a brief respite before venturing into the next section. However, it ended up feeling cramped and difficult to navigate. To remedy this, I expanded the campsite area, providing players with a more spacious and inviting environment.
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As players embark on their journey, they are greeted by a visual cue: the distant sight of the Level Start's endpoint, framed by trees. These trees serve as a guide, directing players' gaze towards the mountain's arch and the bridge beyond. Throughout the Level Start, players encounter various obstacles and challenges, such as climbing and jumping sections, which progressively increase in difficulty. The pinnacle of these challenges lies in the parkour segment beneath the bridge.
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Leaving the comfort of the campsite behind, players set off towards their first landmark: a charred tree recently struck by lightning. Passing by the tree and overcoming the initial parkour obstacles, players ascend the mountain and delve into a cave segment, offering a unique perspective of the level's endpoint. Descending from the mountain, players encounter the level's largest landmark: The Giant Cherry Blossom. As they ascend a fallen log towards the bridge, they encounter an obstacle: the bridge is blocked. Guided by rocks and a damaged fence, players navigate through the most challenging parkour segment, hidden beneath the bridge, before emerging on the other side.
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Upon reaching the opposite bank, players ascend a flight of stairs and pass through the mountain's arch, marking the beginning of their transition towards the Focal Point.
<Top-Down Map>
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Focal Point
Once the player has made it past the bridge and through the arch in the mountain the player is met with a giant canyon. To the player's left is a rock formation. One of the pieces of the formation has fallen off and rolled down the mountains to the entrance of the Focal Point. The player would follow the small rocks left behind by the piece that fell, leading them to the Cathedral Courtyard. Past there, the player enters the lobby and goes through the Sermon Room. The Sermon Room leads to the Crypts beneath the Cathedral, where the player must do a little parkour and find dynamite to blow a hole in the wall.
Level End
This section is very short. Includes the Crystals Tunnels and the Observatory. After the Crypt wall is destroyed the player runs through the crystal tunnels which lead to this big open area underground with a mini island in the middle holding the observatory/ The original idea was modified by this point to remove the mountain and elevator, replacing it with an Observatory underground.
The Design - Asset Replacement
(SECTION WIP)
Using assets from the Unreal Marketplace and some I found elsewhere online I started to replace assets. Make sure to use only a few assets for things like rocks and trees, rotating and scaling them instead to get a different-looking asset. For example, for the massive mountains and walls around my level, I used a group of 3 to 4 different rock types, 1 of which was for platforms. For assets that were far away from the player I lowered the LOD on their textures, is used low-poly assets. An example of this would be the Giant Cherry Blossom Tree.
During this part of the process, I decided to cut the canyon area altogether and instead have a minecart take the player to the focal point. I did this because I was running out of time for the project and due to a mishap in perforce lost all the progress I made in the canyon. Also decided to cut the observatory section and just end my level at the crypt in a later build for the same reason.
Level Start
Focal Point
Level End
