Connected games 04-Level Design and Map
Before actually building the level, I considered what I wanted it to be like, its atmosphere, its audio, and what players can see.
Our work and the game flow we're referring to:
Overall, in my ideal scenario, the intrinsic driving incentive mechanism of the entire game should primarily involve the player's own skill progression, with the impact of external equipment and other factors on the game being relatively minor.
A representative example of a successful game with this approach is the recent game: Helldivers 2. I did feel that intrinsic sense of enjoyment after playing it.
So, first off, let's discuss the game flow.
Upon entering the game, players will need to be matched with each other. Perhaps the game lobby could also incorporate some interactive elements akin to pushing and pulling between players, allowing them to get acquainted with the basic controls.
I envision the lobby being designed similarly to a tutorial level, drawing inspiration from Ultimate Chicken Horse.
The overall flow of the levels needs to align with the game's background story, making the entire level feel like a medieval knight training ground.
For the individual levels, as shown in the diagram, I'd like to incorporate some small mechanisms that allow players to use the terrain to eliminate or hinder each other. Traps aren't just tools for level designers to eliminate players; they can also be used by players for PvP interactions.
Because the endpoint of the level is the same location, I can only design a portion of the level on the branching paths. I also want the two levels to have some differences, so I started with a simple point-to-line diagram for the level design.
Horseback Riding Level
Game Objective, Victory Conditions: Players compete for horses and race to reach the finish line as quickly as possible.
Before mounting the horse: Players can push each other to keep others away from the horses, allowing themselves to mount the horse faster.
While riding: Horses can also push each other, pushing away other players.
River Stream - If pushed into the river stream, the horse's speed slows down, and they need to get back on land.
Design considerations: Introduce more tutorial elements in the initial levels to make it less likely for players to die at the beginning of the level.
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