Wild Magic
DESCRIPTION
This project was during my final year of University with a team of around 20 people.
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The vertical slice we made is a top down, Rogue-Lite, swarm game where the player will fight through an onslaught of enemies whilst completing a map objective.
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Once completing the objective they will defeat the boss, earn a new spell and have to escape to the next level through a tent on the map.
Inspiration
Vampire Survivors
Dungeons and Dragons
Slime Rancher
YEAR
2024
GENRE
Top Down
Rouge-Lite
Swarm
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
My role
Level Designer
I focused solely on the level designs and the implementation of the levels.
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From the initial sketches and iterations to the final product
Asset Implementation and Lighting
Assets were produce by Edward Hibbert and Alex Yu. With additional help with the lighting and composition from Edward.
The placement of assets were carefully thought about for the design and flow of the levels. The assets needed to fit with the overall design of the level but also the intended flow and player affordance.
Preview of all the Levels I designed
Game Trailer
LEVEL DESIGN
2nd Iteration
Ideas and possible layouts
Starting with the second iteration as these were the first designs that had the most direction based on the mechanics and systems the game would be using.
The design focus for these levels were to mix wildlife and hard man made buildings gradually
These iterations also further helped with the understanding of space and density around the map to vary the difficulty for the player.
Final Iterations
Final Maps
The task was to have at least 5 levels within the game for the gameplay loop. I created 5/6 of the levels present. I'll be showcasing three of them here.
The final maps were designed by using some inspiration from how different districts in the city were also designed for their use and purpose.
Industrial District
Design for gameplay
The industrial district was designed to have the player be most in danger around the outside the map. The middle being used to get some space or to block the enemy swarms temporarily.
Design for Distinction
The design of the building placements are for the industry so there are main buildings and many auxiliary buildings in-between. The buildings being split into their respective subsections whilst being close enough for direct communication.
Market District
Design for gameplay
The Market District was designed to be a lot ore difficult with very little open space for the player to use. That being the case the open areas do allow for some space to escape possibly dangerous situations.
Design for Distinction
Shop stall and small pop up shops line each road/path with a larger indoor market building in the centre. A central hub of inner city trade and consumerism. As the nature took over some stalls simply no longer stand and leave gaps in the symmetry and stability of the markets.
Suburban District
Design for gameplay
The suburban district provides a nice mix of open areas and dense choke points. The space allows the player to move through the area with relative ease and this gets increasingly more difficult the more enemies being to occupy the escape routes.
Design for Distinction
The suburban district has less rigid structure, and more space to personal use of its inhabitants. A space to allow for some freedom and fun for residence whilst creating a community lifestyle.