Role: Lead Level Designer
DLC: Dustfaire (2023)
Engine: In-house CTG Engine
Highlights:
Lead Level Designer: team of 5
Designed the map for Dustfaire.
Worked closely with Environment Art and Directors to develop district
More Dustfaire info coming soon
Mountain top Jump back onto the scenic drive below. No dead ends
The scale map of the Vallejo District. The final expansion city.
Ambient life place done by me. Trumpeter on the rocks
weirdos lurking in the corners
Building a District
Every district would start with concept art and documentation written by directors detailing the high level vision, narrative goals, and key inspirational references. With that in hand I would collaborate with the Environment Art Lead on specific details for the district such as architecture styles, points of interest, the socioeconomic status of the district. We’d gather tons of photo/video references, then start arranging ideas into reference boards. I’d work with Narrative, Missions/Open world designers to figure out what the specific gameplay needs were. From there I’d organize all the various data points and begin painting 2D maps of the district, planning out the main navigational routes (on-foot and vehicles), landmarks, vistas, and shortcuts. Making sure it all stayed within gameplay metrics.
Using Volition’s in-house City Planner tools I’d quickly create playable district in a few hours. Get feedback, iterate, gather more info, draw another map, and repeat.
Design Creation Process
Below is a simplified walkthrough of the district creation process at the start of the project.
The starting point is always references, sketches and ugly painting overs. The goal is not to be pretty but just to workout ideas for myself and bounce them off others.
Next step is working out the topography, and the major landforms. Using my target reference city I pick and choose the natural features that I like and paint in what I need for story/gameplay/etc. I never want to start flat or on the grid. Spaces always feel more interesting and natural when building with terrain.
Next is the scale map. Every building and block is drawn to scale. Here I pencil in every Landmark, gameplay, mission space, shortcut, easter egg, etc. I'm also taking into account the memory zones, the blue grid. I'll do many version of this type map. Once it is greenlight by directors & leads the blockout work can begin.
As the block work develops another top-down map will made with layers named and numbered. Everything feature is called out. This map will be updated and maintained throughout production as a reference sheet for the team
Mid-production: Through the efforts of the World Team, Level designers and Environment Artists the map will become a playable space. Where it is iterated upon for as long as possible
The finished District
Vallejo Drive Through
A drive through of the final district.