Anima
During the spring semester of my sophomore year at High Point University, I enrolled in a Level Design course where I got to build my own level from scratch. The pictures shown to you on this page are from the final product.
During the first few weeks of the course, I began to work on creating a unique door that would have animation as it opened and closed. During the next couple of weeks, I began to work on the puzzle aspect of my level. I ended up creating a plinko-like puzzle where you have to roll a ball down a slope and temporarily move blocks out of the way whilst also trying to avoid sending the ball through the gaps in the walls. Afterward, I expanded on the important architectural approach toward level design by including prospect and refuge spaces, storytelling through environment art, rewards, audio, and sound effects.
Platform: PC
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Duration: January 2021 - April 2021
# of Developers: 1
My Role: Everything
Anima is a first-person shooter game in which you play as a novice soul collector who travels to places around the world with large amounts of death. However, it is becoming quite clear to you that many souls hold a grudge against what wound up killing them and so they wreak havoc on passersby and sometimes cause casualties. It is up to you to finally put these souls to rest.
LEVEL WALKTHROUGH
LEVEL DESIGN ITERATIONS
PROBLEM: Players did not know what was behind this red wall, thus making the player not prepared for the sudden release of enemies.
SOLUTION: Have the player spawn at a refuge space where they immediately notice the enemies and the red wall.
PROBLEM: Although the puzzle has negative punishment, a player can completely avoid fighting any enemies if they complete the puzzle in one go.
SOLUTION: Once the player collects the first soul, the wall rises and releases the enemies, making sure that the player has to fight the enemies regardless of their success with the puzzle.