Control
About
Control is an FPS experience made with the intention of practicing Unreal and level design. I built it with premade assets from a handful of resources on the Unreal Asset store. This is to demonstrate experience designing a cohesive environment, without the ability to manipulate the art or request specific pieces to bridge any gaps. My primary focus with this project is on immersion and guiding the player.
In Control, you find yourself alone in a space station on an unusual planet. Normally I describe the main plot for the game here, but I would recommend playing the short experience instead. My aim is for the narrative to unfold through the environment. I also used this project as practice and the chance to learn new skills such as managing terrain editors and creating different types of VFX.
Links
What I Did
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Designed a 3D Level Experience with Specific Goals in Unreal Engine
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Utilized unrelated Assets to create a cohesive experience. (Modular Kits)
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Polished an Immersive Environment with a focus on environmental storytelling.
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Programmed game events, player controllers, etc.
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Built and Implemented a wide range of VFX, SFX, and Post Processing.
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Learned new Unreal Engine tools and troubleshot development issues.
Level Design Showcase
I split this level into three sections, and intend to stop development as I come close to the completion of each section to review and try to get some feedback on the project so far. Though it is just one level, as a solo developer and with little free time, this project has taken quite a while so this feels like a good plan for me.
Part One:
You awaken in an abandoned space station. It is time to get to work. You seek orders from your master...
Level Creation Process
Here I outline a broad overview of the steps I took to build this level.
1. Determine Project Goals:
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What do I want to practice/learn?
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What skills do I want to demonstrate?
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How long should the project take?
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What inspires me and how can I infuse that into this project?
3. White Box & Iterate:
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Determined the Base Layout through drawings.
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Gathered more references and inspiration to base white box around.
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Created simple layouts within Figma so I can move elements when necessary.
2. Ideation Process:
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First I started with a general idea and gathered references to flesh out the concept.
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I discussed the idea with people in my circle to get feedback and do my best not to echo-chamber myself.
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I began building a narrative structure, plotting out the story I wanted to tell explicitly while getting an idea of the type of story that players might concoct implicitly through the mystery in the environment.
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I plotted out key moments. Certain pieces of the environment that I intended to act as centerpieces or to be the driving visual element in invoking the intended emotion for that portion of the level.
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I scoured the Unreal store for fitting assets, then drew inspiration from any that I found. I tweaked aspects of my idea to work with my resources and determined how I may utilize certain assets in creative ways to build a cohesive space.
4. Build in Sections:
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Next, I started building out lighting. I did this once I had the foundation of the environment started but not too far into the process as lighting informs the area layout.
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I got the foundations of the lighting, and then iterated on the lighting as I went.
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I iterated in building this level in sections. I would build each room and iterate as I developed the transitions between them. This style of building was ideal for conveying a strong tone in each environment.
5. Level Highlights & Playtesting:
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As I iterated on building out the level, I stopped to take time to program and set up key level highlights. For example, in this level the player comes upon the alien, and I wanted the reveal of the alien to invoke a strong emotion from them. I programmed and setup the movement, triggers, and animations of the alien before I completely finished the environment because I knew it might alter the layout as I worked toward the environmental tone I was going for.
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I playtested often to ensure I maintained proper sizing, tone, and collisions.
6. Final Level Features + Polish:
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Lastly, I programmed and set up the final level features/mechanics necessary for the player to progress. For example, working door animations, integration of the quest system, and other aspects of player guidance.
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I consistently iterated and polished until I found myself satisfied with the feel of the environment and gameplay.