MeltDown
Honors Winning Thesis Project
Level Designer / Scripter
GAME: Fallout 4
ENGINE: Creation Kit
DEV TIME: 2.5 Months
GAME MODE: Single Player
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Design Doc
Level Overview
Level Summary:
"Meltdown" is a single-level for Fallout 4, currently under development as the artifact portion of my thesis, which won the Honors Award for Level Design theses. I created this level using my own process for utilizing Game Feel with level design to enhance the player's immersion. The level is set in a decaying, Pre-War military base overwhelmed by raiders, which the player must destroy by detonating the nuke the raiders worship.
"Meltdown" gives the player three distinct Game Feels, one in which the player is constrained but powerful, another in which the player is powerful and unconstrained, and a final experience in which the player is both constrained and powerless. "Meltdown" accomplishes this by varying the player's weapons and armor, the spaces they are navigating, the difficulty of enemies, and their goals according to the desired Game Feel. Using this technique, I was able to align the player's interactions with their avatar's situation and capabilities in the game fiction, selling the narrative of the world while giving the player a memorable and engaging experience.
Screenshots:
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Development Timeline:
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Week 1: Created LDD and began Whitebox
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Week 2: Finished Whitebox and began working on major scripting elements
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Week 3: Refined level geometry, added first pass enemies, and finished major scripting
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Week 4: Improved enemy behavior scripting, brought level to 1st Playable state, playtested
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Week 5: Refined player flow and added additional cover based on feedback
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Week 6: Streamlined enemy and cover placement in exterior
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Week 7: Added conveyance to final defense section in level, balanced enemy difficulty
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Week 8: Decorated spaces and refined the themes of each, created the level's initial bunker space
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Week 9: Improved lighting and scripted the teleportation cutscene
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Week 10: Final bug-fixing and tweaking
PostMortem
What Went Well
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I created an interesting level with varied gameplay that aligned with the story being told
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I gave the level a lot of visual and conveyance polish
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I managed my time well and did not have to crunch
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The climax of the level was highly memorable to players and issues with balance and conveyance relating to it were successfully resolved
What Went Wrong
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I was not able to polish the look and AI instructions of the raider enemies to match their fiction due to time constraints
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I only provided one weapon option for the exterior section, which disappointed some playtesters who did not like the Laser Gatling weapon
What I learned
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Having a detailed plan helps development, but it is even more useful if that plan specifies what your goals are
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Conveyance, clearly communicated player goals, and tight encounter design are necessary prerequisites for the high-concept of a level to work
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The more different your level is from the rest of the game, the more interesting it is to players
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The more different your level is from the rest of the game, the more work needs to be put in on conveyance