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Arcane Ascent

 
Level blockout

3D isometric adventure platformer

inspired by Metroidvania and dark fantasy games

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Unreal Engine 5

3D platformer

 single player

solo project

10-20 min


Overview

 

Level Goals

- intro tutorial level blockout

- 10 -20 min

- teach the player basic skills & mechanics

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Tech

- Unreal Engine

- UE custom made Blueprints

- Top-down game template

- Cubegrid Tool for modeling

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Inspirations

- Tunic, Death's Door, Hollow Knight

- soulsborne games

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Themes

- dark fantasy, medieval fantasy, grimdark

- adventure, exploration, magic

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concept art by Raphael Lacoste

 

Level Blockout


Top Down Map
 

Level Flow & Beats
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Level Features

 

Some of the mechanics and features I scripted in the level blockout using Unreal engines Blueprints

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Full Playthrough
 

 
Design Process


Mood & Atmosphere
- gritty, dark fantasy, medieval
- crumbling, abandoned medieval castle with ancient alchemical and mystical technological contraptions
- vegetation and foliage reclaiming parts of the castle
- architectural style - mostly early medieval and fortification architecture with gothic details in the interiors
Landmarks
- the great entry bridge
- the gates / portcullis
- inner courtyard
- grand staircase
Puzzles
- open the castle gates which lead to the staircase and the rest of the game
 


Level Design Document

The sum of research and brainstorming can be found in the document in the link for download below.

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Layouts

 

For the initial diagram I determined the main areas that would be traversable. These areas were then connected by paths of varying importance - main path, optional path, blocked path, one way route, etc.

 
Level Setup


Blockout Iterations

 

The blockout for this level was done completely in Unreal Engine 5 using the new Cubegrid Tool.

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Custom Blueprints for the Level
 


Testing


- playtesters liked the staircase and the entry bridge areas the most, so I lengthened this sections and added some more elements that could enhance the gameplay experience
- most of them also found the Mana Essence collecting fun and requested more additional essence items to be found
- on average the testers found the level length and pacing satisfactory and very well balanced
 

Level Bugs and Fixes
- in the initial testing the thing the playtesters disliked the most was the jumping and the jumping sections - so I changed the jumping parameters to make it more controllable and predictable, and I also changed some of the blockout sections in which the testers struggled the most while jumping through platforms
- some of the default level mesh collisions were confusing and inconsistent so they needed to be swapped for custom collision meshes, or even some places required adding hidden collision meshes - like the transparent purple blocks seen in the bug report screenshots - to help streamline the players experience even further
 
 
Conclusion

Working on this level was a great experience to learn a lot about designing levels for single player fantasy adventure type of games, and also it was a great venue to upgrade my skills with Unreal engines Blueprint system.
If I had to do it again I would definitely dedicate more time to shaping the geometry to better suit the perspective view. In some spaces it felt like the level geometry was concealing too much to the player, and in others revealing too much.
Also the level could benefit from a lot more dynamic assets in the areas, maybe even more scripted sequences.

 
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