Platforms:
PC

Engine:
Unity 4

Team Size:
Individual

Role:
Level Designer

Overview:

Boxy Adventure is a 3D platformer level created using the Complete Physics Platformer Kit for Unity. The level features launch pads, various enemy types, moving platforms, and a treacherous gauntlet, all of which were sequenced to rationally introduce and build upon each other to best teach and challenge players. There are also gems spread throughout the level which serve to guide players towards the direction of the goal, and encourage them to both take on more challenging routes, and to explore and discover hidden areas.

My goal for this project was to create an experience that harkened back to the colorful character-driven 3D platformers of the mid-90s. I referenced games which used a D-pad as the input method for character controls (versus games where an analog stick is used) because my level was intended to be played using the WASD keys on a keyboard, and both of these input methods are, similarly, constrained to 4–8 directions of movement (in, out, left, right, and sometimes 45 degree angles), compared to the analog stick which offers more free-form movement. I did this research in order to better understand how a level can be designed to accommodate its control scheme. In particular, I found that placing obstacles and other game elements so that they were flush with one another, almost in a grid-like arrangement, made it much easier to navigate them despite the rigid control scheme, and ultimately, resulted in a level which was more accessible and satisfying to traverse.