Project Type
Solo
Role
Level Designer
Tools/Engine
Maya, Unity
Timeline
3 weeks
About this project
This is an arcade racer game made in Unity. This project showcases my ability to follow a complete level design pipeline - from custom building a circuit track in a 3D modelling package (Maya) to seamless integration within the game engine (Unity). Emphasizing player engagement, the track featured three distinct paths - main, alternative, and shortcut - each offering challenges and rewards. This multi-path design adds excitement and replay value to the race experience.
Key Features
Three distinct paths - Main, Alternative and shortcut
Risk/Reward - player can finish the lap faster if they are willing to take a challenging shortcut path
The track communicates about the landmarks using signifiers and affordances - player has enough time to observe, act and recover
Design Challenges
Creating custom geometry (the spiral) required some testing to fine-tune the radius against height, as if it was too small, the track felt too challenging to turn, and if it was too large, the track felt too long and boring.
Design Approach
Designing spaces for speed, the focus was to leverage on the Action Awareness Cycle to optimize player engagement. Careful consideration was given to providing ample time for players to observe, act, and recover within each segment of the race track. Furthermore, the pacing and flow are balanced, creating a sense of progression with a mix of challenging and room for relaxation.
Research - LDD
This is just a quick LDD to jot down ideas and communicate clearly about the game world and environment. View full LDD here:
Game Narrative
Scavenger Racers brave hazardous dirt roads in a post-apocalyptic world filled with sandstorms and acid rain. In the ruins of decaying cities, they dodge toxic barrels and breakable barricades while being pursued by rival scavengers and shadow creepers. As they race along spiraling paths and through crumbling building tunnels, Dysto-rush reveals the struggle for survival and dominance in this chaotic dystopia with each twist and turn.
References
To effectively communicate my ideas about the level's intended atmosphere, gameplay, etc., I collected some reference images.
Diagrams and Sketches
To add excitement to the Dysto-Rush experience, I created a unique gameplay beat: a spiral path ascending a ruined building. A strategically placed ramp at the apex launches players into an exciting jump that requires precise timing and skill. To effectively communicate this vision, I started with a simple sketch that captured the essence of the idea. Following that, I created detailed diagrams that clearly illustrated the track layout and the thrilling jump sequence, ensuring a smooth integration into the overall race flow.
Metrics
Metrics of the race car model
Each tile piece was 10 units long and the curved pieces were used to determine the ideal turning radius of the car.
Did some rapid testing using existing track tiles to figure out the exact radius required to make the spiral.
• Time for racers to observe and react - 3 tiles
• Radius for optimal turning - 4.3 units (approx.)
• Inner radius - 5.4 units
• Outer radius - 10 units
Level Greyboxing
Initial track designs inside Maya showcasing the main, alternate and shortcut path along with the special gameplay beat - the spiral.
Iterations after Playtesting
After a round of play testing and focus testing, it was evident that the players enjoyed driving along the spiral path and the jump. But also the shortcut felt too powerful since it reduced the lap timing by almost half and the alternate path was also providing a larger lead compared to taking the spiral. So even though the players liked going through the spiral, it didn’t provide much incentive to do so, since the other paths were providing more rewards of reduced lap times. So I had to tweak the designs based on the feedback
View the playtest questionnaire and feedback here.
Modified the alternate path and integrated it along the spiral so if the player’s cant make the turn, it acts as a failure path and it takes almost the same time as the main path to complete the lap.
I also worked on optimizing the collisions for the track, since its a racing game, and they play a vital role in it. Making sure the player car can’t leave the game bounds, get stuck while jumping or turning, etc. These are some screenshots of the collision mesh inside of Unity.
To enhance the greybox experience within Unity, I implemented a basic fog effect and post-processing techniques. These visual cues provided a more immersive atmosphere for the players. A blockade of barrels were also added to add some challenge within the track.
Extras: AI NPC
This project went beyond level design when it became an association with the scripting module. Here, I had the opportunity to contribute by designing interesting AI behaviors for the racers. While I may not be a programmer myself, the project developed my understanding of scripting AI logics and behaviours and its potential to create engaging gameplay experiences.
Player car - the speed and acceleration values have been tweaked to make sure the player gets a balanced experience, he's not the fastest in the track, but can use the track to his advantage to finish the race quicker.
There are 4 different types of cars made out of 2 to 3 behaviors.
Race car - Fastest amongst the bunch, but always takes the long route
Ambusher - Drives normally, but will reverse at random points to ambush you into crashing or slowing down
Maniac - The silent killer, the turtle of the race - he is a maniac who drives his car reverse and is quite slow, but don't let him fool you. He takes a shortcut and can reach the finish line comparatively faster than others because of how this track is designed.
The cop - The main cop car chases the race car once it's in range, his assistant tractor will support him in pursuit by chasing you.
