Stack-O-Bot Postmortem -
Level Design
Stack-O-Bot is a third person, sci-fi adventure game where you play as a robot. This robot has the ability to reprint itself from save points and fly around using it's jetpack. With tons of objects to play around with and interact with, the possibilities for adventure and puzzle solving are endless.
Stack-O-Bot
Introduction to Level Design
This project was the first project where I got to showcase my early skills as a level designer. At this time there was still so much I didn't know about Unreal Engine and what makes a level "good" or "fun". Using the mechanics, features, and assets this that Stack-O-Bot kit on Epic Games Marketplace, I was able to create a factory filled with platforming, obstacles, and interactable objects.
Stack-O-Bot
Puzzle Design
Solving puzzles in games is always a good feeling, but I never knew how to go about making a puzzle of my own. I realized here in this image that everything needed to be scripted and streamlined. Since I knew the answer to my puzzle, it was easy to play test and debug my issues if I ran into any. In this puzzle, the player needed to collect batteries to move onto the next floor in the tower. Here, they need to place a box into the pressure plate to open a door in front of them. They can use the boxes or reprint a robot body onto the pressure plate to keep the doors open to gain access to more resources.
Stack-O-Bot
Creating a mechanic
I wanted to add onto the gameplay that Stack-O-Bot already has, so I created another collectible. This is a battery, the player would collect these batteries to power close doors, when they collect all the necessary batteries, when they go to open the door, it will open at the press of a button inside of the level. It was really fun creating the art for this battery. I took a cube and sized it down a bit, then stretched it. Then added some reflectors on the edges so players can see them in dark areas.
Stack-O-Bot
Putting it together
When I finished my battery mechanic, I needed to create a space where the player will be presented with the new mechanic so they can experience it. Here in this image was my attempt to create a platforming battery filled room. The doors on the other end also possess collectibles that the player will need to collect to progress.
Stack-O-Bot
Experimenting with the player character
When looking through the different blueprints in my asset pack, I looked at the checkpoint blueprint, I re-sized it in the viewport and when I reprinted my player after getting to that checkpoint, the player respawns the same size as the checkpoint. I used this create more unique gameplay in the final level of my project where the player will have shrink in size to fit through the hologram gates.
Stack-O-Bot
More Level Design
I wanted to go the extra mile to create some visuals for when the player comes across a window in the level and gets the chance to look at the outside world. I wanted to go for a secluded laboratory so I tried to build different buildings and have extra structures to take up space and cut out the void or the endless world. To give the player that immersion that they are in a building in the center of a campus like setting.
