Action Physics 3D Platformer Mobile Game published on Google Play and App Store. Designed 40+ levels.
Level Design Pillars:
- Create sets of 3 levels that are 30-45 second long each to complete
- Early challenges of the game should be focused mechanical execution of basic maneuvers (air flips, double jump, etc)
- Provide opportunities for players to perform stunts at high speeds, allowing the player to enter into a flow state
Gameplay Loop:
Designing Levels to Teach & Challenge Players
Using the design pillars set for the game (listed above) for the first region I kept the levels simpler to reinforce teaching the players mechanics introduced in the tutorial.
Designing levels in the beginning started with the goal of giving players an opportunity to practice basic mechanics. Difficulty was slowly introduced as the player would have to chain stunts in order to successfully land on a higher platform or reach certain collectables.
As the difficulty progressed, each level had a unique mechanical challenge. I ideated variations of challenges and prototyped them to test and prove out the design.
For example, in Region 2’s level 2-3 Destruction (a level that focused on destroying as many objects as possible), the challenge was focused around the player to have better control of their truck in the air and to maintain certain positions.
- The player must approach the ramp with a speed boost to gain enough height.
- Even after enough height, the player must maintain the nose of the truck upright to reach the hanging destructibles.
- If the player enters the levels with certain trucks, using their Monster abilities will allow them to reach these destructibles.
Once tested, I expanded the design by creating variations of the challenge in the level through combinations of different mechanical and contextual tests. The goals were to implicate ways to solve the challenge using previously taught knowledge but still allowing space for the challenge to be solved in many different ways.
(Left to right) Using stunt button for extra boost, maintaining high speed when approaching ramp to gain airtime, maintaining high speed and timing Monster Ability to destroy unreachable objects
Expressing More Creativity & Fun in Levels
Other ways in approaching level design were more creative! As I began designing for late game levels, I had space to go more wild to bring more fun and novelty to the linear game mode.
The process of ideating, designing and implementing a level usually started with experimentation. I would note down ideas and directly start building a small subsection of the idea in Unity Editor to test it out. Because handling the physics was often delicate, it was faster to immediately block and test rather than theorize and plan the entire level.
Most times the experiments didn’t work out as intended and were scrapped. Sometimes new ideas were born from the experiments.
Seesaw animating platform experiment (first test with moving platforms), ultimately scrapped the idea because it wasn’t fun to maneuver through the moving platforms in a tight space.
Repurposed the idea of moving platforms to spinning treadmills. Changing the shape and movement of the platforms to wheels worked with the physics of the truck much more cohesively, allowing for smoother truck control/movement making the level more fun.
Storytelling in Level Design
Example 1: Dragon Cave
I approached these levels thinking about visual theming and imagining a climatic moment in the level when the player will have the most fun. Since art and engineering resources were tight, I had to use existing assets and mechanics in various ways to create new experiences for the player.
The new Campaign content was going out with the Dragon truck, which was featured in the store. I designed a cave-like level set on flames to reference a dragon’s den or cave. The trucks jumping over the flames is also a callback to real life Monster Truck stunts jumping over deathly obstacles.
Example 2: Vegas City Skylines
This level is an obstacle course built to look like climbing a city skyline. The player must strategically ride the green rails and bounce up and around the triangular roofs to chain the rails without touching the ground.
Example 3: Pinball Machine
Since the region was Vegas themed, I designed a pinball obstacle course in a level where the player can ping pong the truck around the area to collect points.
Example 4: Abstract Loops
In a Tournament level “Infinite Loop,” I was visually inspired by bitten fruits/apples and pendulum axes. The pieces were designed so if the player correctly positioned the truck correctly and kept up their speed, they could infinitely loop the same area.
Josephine Ryu 