The objective was to create a new level for Quake set in a medieval castle, applying the modern view and approach to level design to create an experience that would fit the original title and appeal to the veteran audience.
Solo
8 weeks
Trenchbroom
Singleplayer
PC Windows
ROLE AND TASKS
Using the tools and tech available to modify the original Quake, I developed and followed a pipeline that brought me to the creation and release of a single-player experience for Quake.
Scripted, developed, and designed encounters and gameplay beats
Gathered playtesting data from the Quake community and iterated following the results
Built and applied a modular kit to the design process
Designed, built, and iterated on the layout and playspaces
Designed and applied the four-step level design process to the level flow
Lighted, textured, and iterated on the visual aesthetic of the environment
Playable Slipseer
PILLARS
Gameplay beats need to be interesting situations that players understand and solve thinking on their feet to manage the situation and overcome the challenge.
ORDER TO CHAOS
Every challenge has to be built on the relationships and dependencies between weapons, enemies, and spaces, presenting them with a new light.
DEPENDENCIES
Each encounter has to keep the player in a constant state of movement, creating a dance between them and the enemies, bringing flow and rhythm to the action.
MOVEMENT
Level Design Pillars have been used to drive the design decision during the various iterations and ensure coherence with the original game, design intent, and player experience.
COMBAT ENCOUNTERS AND SCRIPTING
VERTICALITY
The vertical space is used to foreshadow and lead the players through the interconnected environments, and to use the limitations of the enemies’ behaviour to create memorable combat sequences.
SIGHTLINES
In the arena environments the placement of covers and geometry aimed at creating sightlines that could create a false sense of security in the players, while being active tools at their disposal during combat.
SCRIPTED SEQUENCES
Various scripted sequences have been developed to manage the waves during combat and push the player through the level’s flow, delivering twisting beats in accordance with the level design pillars.
CIRCULATION
The environments of the game builds upon the dance between the players and the enemies, exploiting their behaviour to push players to strife, move, loop around the space, and be an active part of the conflict.
RISK AND REWARD
To test players’ strategies and planning, pick-ups placement baits players into dangerous situations, from which they will have to crawl out and fight their way back to control the action.
TRICKS
Researching and applying correct metrics allowed me to create effective gameplay spaces that could comfortably host combat, but also deliver on the advanced movement expectations of Quake players.
The various gameplay beats have been developed using the Level Design Pillars, focusing on the player experience and ensuring coherence between the different components.
The level and the experience are heavily based on combat, and to ensure a smooth and engaging progression of the players through the level I adopted the four-step level design process and adapted it to the flow I was creating.
Kishōtenketsu
INTRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
TWIST
CONCLUSION
PLAYTEST AND ITERATION
The contact with the Quake community has been instrumental to the development cycle, providing critical and expert feedback that allowed me to make informed decisions that improved the flow of the four-step level design approach and have been crucial in ensuring faithfulness to the original formula and in delivering the intended player experience.
THEME
Early medieval castle which is now the final stronghold of Quake on Earth.
PLAYER GOAL
Conquering the final relic necessary to free Earth, navigating the fortress, and annihilating everything that opposes their path.
USP
An unpredictable and ever-changing environment that reacts to player's actions and stuns them with unforeseen events.
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
Players should feel an immense sense of pressure and apprehension, where the few quiet moments they have are interrupted abruptly.
LAYOUT AND DESIGN INTENT
To speed up the process, my effort also focused on the development of a modular kit, allowing me to concentrate on the gameplay, iterate faster, and deliver a better more polished player experience.
The modules greatly improved the iteration process, increasing the speed with which I could tackle issues and go back to testing. This approach also allowed me to work and iterate on other crucial components of the level, audio, and visuals, bringing the player experience much closer to the design intent.
The modular approach has some limitations, but also incredible strengths that I managed to exploit to reach the design objectives even through strong constraints, taking advantage of modularity and enhancing the quality of the output.
MODULAR APPROACH
The implementation of the level was done using the Trenchbroom editor, using it to create the geometry of the space, various art passes, and scripting combat beats that could be faithful to the original Quake experience.
Collecting data through testing, the environments of the level went through numerous iterations, updating the geometry, but also working heavily on tuning the encounters, balancing enemies, weapons, and pick-ups to deliver the intended player experience.
SPACE AND LOGIC
STEP BY STEP
Research in both Quake and architectural references has been instrumental, in gaining material that could inspire the process, give better understanding of the necessities of the level, and create faithful playspaces.
UNDERSTANDING
Each iteration was supported by intensive work and sketching on paper, using it as a vehicle to speed up the ideation process, gather feedback, evaluate solutions, and make informed decisions on the implementation.
DRAWING BOARD
Using the Quake community to playtest the level, verify design decisions, and update the gameplay beats has been an essential part of the process, allowing for the refinement and delivery of the intended player experience.
TEST AND ITERATION
Managing the development of an entire single-player level for the original Quake has been an exceptionally taughtful experience.
It allowed me to put my competencies to the test, approaching an already established title, studying, learning, and formalizing its systems and gameplay dynamics, and creating an experience that was both new and familiar at the same time.
One of the toughest challenges has been applying the architectural knowledge required by the brief to the environments of Quake, making sure the identity of the game would not get distorted but the environment had the medieval look it needed to have. Thankfully, the thorough iteration process and the dialogue with veteran Quake players allowed me to truly understand the necessities of both sides, driving the development toward its successful conclusion.
The iteration process has been the highlight of this project. Every step brought the level to new heights and successes while adding never-before encountered challenges that needed to be tackled to reach the ultimate goal, crafting an experience for the players to enjoy.
