Frits de Laat

Level designer

About FR-Fortress

FR-Fortress is a community level made for the Unreal Tournament (2017) Blitz game mode. Blitz is a 5v5 game mode where the attacking team has to bring their flag to the defender base to win the game. The defending team wins by exhausting the attacker's lives or reaching the time limit without the flag being delivered.

Project role

Level designer

Researching Unreal tournament and the Blitz game mode.
Creating a level proposal from real world references.
Creating a blockout based on the level proposal.
Playtesting and iterating on the level, improving map balance and flow.

Final version

Flythrough of the level

Research

Excerpts from Unreal Tournament research document

Research was focused around understanding both Unreal Tournament, as well as the Blitz game mode.
Weapon and pickup metrics were used to decide where to place my own weapons and pickups in the level proposal.
Research on game logic was conducted as well, to ensure a smooth process of getting all the necessary volumes and interactables in place.

Level planning

FR-Fortress map proposal

The node map was created based on research, combining all the information gathered on the existing Blitz maps.
A first draft of the level was made in Sketch Up, with all weapons and rally points planned in as well.
Parts of the level were based on real life references or images I found while concepting for the level.

Playtesting & Iteration

Iteration on the second combat bowl

Iteration on the defender base

Multiple iterations were done based on playtesting results and action points set with the feedback from those sessions.
Playtesting was done with community members from the Unreal Tournament discords.
Playtesting questions were prepared beforehand, but additional feedback was also noted down.
A heatmap tool was used to gather additional data on for example what weapons were commonly used, most crowded fighting areas etc. This proved useful for balancing weapon placement and proving combat bowls & choke points worked like intended.
For quality assurance, a test plan and conditions of satisfaction document were set up and maintained throughout the iteration process.

Level breakdown

Level flowchart

Going from attacker base to defender base

Attacker base

Combat bowl outside

Fortress entrance

Corridors

Turbine room

Combat bowl inside

Control room

Final rally points

Defender base

Design techniques

Vantage point

Using the control room above the reactor as a means of showing the attacking team the full layout of the defender base and enemy locations before they get there can help them plan out their attack strategy, as well as helps building a more believable space.

Leading the player

Using decals to guide the attacking team towards main combat areas helps them orient themselves through the level.

Decals are also used on edges to indicate danger to the player, as well as make the space more readable.

Highlighting important items

Lighting is used throughout the level to highlight weapons and pick-ups. For important items like the U-damage or rocket launcher lights were color coded, to make them stand out even more.

Level design document

Excerpts from the Level Design Document

This was my first level design document, including information on the design pillars and gameplay guidelines.
It explains in detail my design intentions and how they were applied within the level design.

Reflection

This was my first large solo project, entirely focused around level design. The goal was to make an entire Unreal Tournament level within the span of 8 weeks. I learned a whole lot of new processes and terms, that have stuck with me throughout my game development journey so far. I learned how to create a level from start to finish, sketching out ideas and gathering references, creating it within a game engine and making sure all logic is in place, to finally make iterations to create the full intended player experience you set out to make. I also did a lot of research into Unreal Tournament and the levels made for the Blitz game mode, trying to understand their approach on the level design, as well as how the player skill-set and weapons/pick-ups tied into the creation of a level.

Overall I am really satisfied with the level I created, getting a lot of player feedback telling me they enjoyed playing the map and it feeling balanced. Observing the play-tests also showed me that the intended combat bowls, choke points and final rally points were working as intended, making it an overall balanced level with good flow. If I were to create a new level for Unreal tournament, I would like to make the map less symmetric, to create more interesting gameplay scenarios, at the cost of needing more time for proper balancing.

Back to Projects

Frits de Laat

Level designer

About FR-Fortress

Project role

Level designer

Researching Unreal tournament and the Blitz game mode.

Creating a level proposal from real world references.

Creating a blockout based on the level proposal.

Playtesting and iterating on the level, improving map balance and flow.

Final version

Flythrough of the level

Research

Excerpts from Unreal Tournament research document

Research was focused around understanding both Unreal Tournament, as well as the Blitz game mode.

Weapon and pickup metrics were used to decide where to place my own weapons and pickups in the level proposal.

Research on game logic was conducted as well, to ensure a smooth process of getting all the necessary volumes and interactables in place.

Level planning

FR-Fortress map proposal

The node map was created based on research, combining all the information gathered on the existing Blitz maps.

A first draft of the level was made in Sketch Up, with all weapons and rally points planned in as well.

Parts of the level were based on real life references or images I found while concepting for the level.

Playtesting & Iteration

Iteration on the second combat bowl

Iteration on the defender base

Multiple iterations were done based on playtesting results and action points set with the feedback from those sessions.

Playtesting was done with community members from the Unreal Tournament discords.

Playtesting questions were prepared beforehand, but additional feedback was also noted down.

A heatmap tool was used to gather additional data on for example what weapons were commonly used, most crowded fighting areas etc. This proved useful for balancing weapon placement and proving combat bowls & choke points worked like intended.

For quality assurance, a test plan and conditions of satisfaction document were set up and maintained throughout the iteration process.

Level breakdown

Level flowchart

Going from attacker base to defender base

Attacker base

Combat bowl outside

Fortress entrance

Corridors

Turbine room

Combat bowl inside

Control room

Final rally points

Defender base

Design techniques

Vantage point Using the control room above the reactor as a means of showing the attacking team the full layout of the defender base and enemy locations before they get there can help them plan out their attack strategy, as well as helps building a more believable space.

Leading the player Using decals to guide the attacking team towards main combat areas helps them orient themselves through the level. Decals are also used on edges to indicate danger to the player, as well as make the space more readable.

Highlighting important items Lighting is used throughout the level to highlight weapons and pick-ups. For important items like the U-damage or rocket launcher lights were color coded, to make them stand out even more.

Level design document

Excerpts from the Level Design Document

This was my first level design document, including information on the design pillars and gameplay guidelines.

It explains in detail my design intentions and how they were applied within the level design.

Reflection

Frits de Laat

Vantage point

Using the control room above the reactor as a means of showing the attacking team the full layout of the defender base and enemy locations before they get there can help them plan out their attack strategy, as well as helps building a more believable space.

Leading the player

Using decals to guide the attacking team towards main combat areas helps them orient themselves through the level.

Decals are also used on edges to indicate danger to the player, as well as make the space more readable.

Highlighting important items

Lighting is used throughout the level to highlight weapons and pick-ups. For important items like the U-damage or rocket launcher lights were color coded, to make them stand out even more.