Open world area design
A one-month project to challenge my level design skills for world/level design.
- Unreal Engine 5
- Animation sample project
- Adobe Illustrator
- Clip Studio Paint
Deliverables:
Blockout
Featuring local & global content space, including the stealth sequence.
Applies playground design, open paths, leading lines, landmarks, and landscape variations.
Quest beat
map
One-page 2D map detailing an area’s local content: a stealth sequence.
World
map
Inspired by real geography, gameplay.
But most importantly, stories.
Design process
How to plan areas
Instead of planning all areas and critical player paths from the start, I decided on a simple difficulty flow.
From there, I can balance content placement—such as resources, local and global encounters—much easier.
Example: By making the map’s center intentionally more forgiving and accessible, players are more likely to move from edge to edge of the map by passing through the core. Placing healing resources here rewards exploration, and supports their journey.
How to design a world map
It wasn’t easy deciding on my preferred map-designing style. I had to experiment between mapping by geography, user experience, and gameplay.
In the end, I decided on ‘mapping by adventure’. I simply cannot accept mapping by gameplay, as if my only choice for making a user’s experience is to choose form structures we have already accomplished in our young medium. It limits innovation, and creativity of the designer.
before
after
plan
implementation
Good areas should be
a place
to play,
Monitor content density
What is content? It’s experiences crafted by designers: fighting enemies, riding your horse, potion crafting, etc. There are two flavors you can mould them into:
Global content
Experiences that are not confined to a single map area, if any. This generally involves game loops with beats scattered across the map.
Bounty hunting if forest A before delivering them to prison in town Z.
There are also abstract experiences, like the many interactions with gold, EXP and other economies.
Local content
Experiences that are confined to a designated map area.
“My chickens are scattered around this village. Please return them to my coop.”
Monitor content context
Content context is ultimately tested by playing, though beware:
- an area with strong local content can keep a player from exploring other areas.
- adjacent areas with the same global content can make the other obsolete.
- if an area completes non-repeatable content with nothing else to speak of, you have a dead level.
Even when unexplored, players must feel a pull towards exploring the area; a mysterious landmark, rumors of travelers, etc. At the same time, it must advertise and excite players to travel to other areas–fueling that perpetual wanderlust.
No matter if you merely pass its highways or spend the night there, reward players with something conducive towards their journey; replenishing collectibles to item economies, inform them about an area state (respawn timers, etc.) or simply entertain them with breathtaking visuals we know from real-life.
a place
to be.
Even after local non-repeatable content has been depleted, I’d like players to have a connection that draws them back to the area; be it in physical form, or a memory.
Give areas a personality
Presented by the visual shapes of the land, as communicated with art and sound departments.
Associate it with emotion
Introduced by feeling empathy for a local character or people.
Show player prints
Something in the landscape must remind players of a choice made, or a story they’ve helped create.
[Gallery images:
- Collecting treasure at sea and selling it at outposts in Sea of Thieves – global replayable content.
- Returning rampant cuckoos in many a Zelda games to their rightful backyard within the same village – local content.
- Traveling to an icy biome collecting [ice material] used to upgrade [ice character] and deal more damage to hot biome’s [fire boss] using said character in Genshin Impact – global non-replayable content.
- Collecting the favorite items found all over the world, gifting them to people in settlement A to then increase your relationship with each and every one of them in Xenoblade Chronicles – non-replayable, but very extended global content.
]