MAGNETARIA

Magnetaria is a single player platformer that is all about momentum and flow. Nova is a curious space explorer, who has now landed on Magnetaria equipped with a magnetic suit. Find the best way to traverse through the level by switching between the two different polarities of the magnetic suit, negative and positive, and try and contain the momentum and flow to pass through the game with ease. If not done correctly, Nova might fall to their death.

PLAY GAME

CORE LOOP

GAME PILLARS

ROLE

Game & Level Designer

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Sketched and mapped out the second part of the level and structure, introducing a new mechanic
Worked efficiently with another level designer
Decorating of level

Determined placements of gameplay assets
Collaborated with the team on the general gameplay design of the project
Created tutorial for main menu

SCHOOL PROJECT

YEAR

2021

GENRE

Platformer

PLATFORM

TIMEFRAME

Four weeks

TEAM SIZE

Six Developers

LEVEL DESIGN

LEVEL OVERVIEW

SIDE-SCROLLER OR SINGLE SCREEN?

A discussion arose early in the development process regarding having a side-scrolling platformer game, or a single screen platformer where the player would go from one “room” to another. An attempt to find the best choice resulted in a pros and cons list. The suggestions were based on the player mechanics, putting emphasis on the most important design pillars; flow and momentum.

SIDE-SCROLLER

ONE ENTIRE LEVEL

Can keep momentum throughout the entire level
Possibility to move both vertically and horizontally on a large scale
Levels doesn't have to be of a particular size

PROS

Player might have difficulty being prepared of what's to come
Distribution of work between two level designers might be an issue considering creating one entire level
Changing a part of the level might affect the level as a whole. Redesigning might take some time

CONS

SINGLE SCREEN

ROOM 1

ROOM 2

ROOM 3

Entering a new room gives the player a breather
The obstacles and challenges are presented very clearly in a confined space
Easy to design small rooms and make changes to them without affecting large areas
Easy to keep track of what challenges that has been presented

PROS

Losing momentum going from room to room
Rooms might need to be quite large because of substantial character movement
Rooms need to be about the same size and fit within the frame of the camera
Camera might end up being very zoomed out

CONS

The level design team was in disagreement about which option to choose. In order to make a decision we decided to experiment and try out the two different approaches in engine. From creating levels with the different options and through playtesting, we later decided to go with the side-scroller option since the single screen option interefered with keeping the momentum and flow throughout the level. The game felt more fluid and the player could move around on a larger scale without losing momentum.

LEVEL DIAGRAM

In order to facilitate efficient cooperation and an interesting level layout between me and the other level designer, we decided to create a level diagram. Creating a level diagram also made sure that we focused on specific mechanics and challenges, to avoid a confusing level structure. We stated the different mechanics and established how we wanted them to be presented in the level. We wanted to make sure to teach the player a certain mechanics before moving on to another.

Initial thought:

6 mechanics/challenges = 6 level segments

End result:

4 mechanics/challenges = 3 level segments

Level segment layouts and structure

The idea was to introduce the player to one mechanic in a safe environment, make them familiar with the rules and the functionality of that specific mechanic. The same process would happen in the next level segment. However, the two mechanincs would then be combined at the end of that level segment. This process made sure to keep the player interested and challenged throughout the whole game.

LEVELS

MECHANICS/CHALLENGES

LEVELS

MECHANICS/CHALLENGES

LEARN

PLAY

CHALLENGE

SURPRISE

FROM 2D SKETCH TO 3D LEVEL

I got the responsibility to create the second level segment where I had to present a new mechanic:

Orbital Magnets

Since the first segment introduced the player movement, switching polarity, spikes and magnetic pads, I had to incorporate those into my level as well.

Early sketch from the development process, explaining the Orbital Magnet's functionality

The player can orbit around the magnet by having the opposite polarity as the magnet. They get pushed away if they have the same polarity.

The general rule of the of the magnets:

SAME COLOR = REPELS

DIFFERENT COLORS = ATTRACTS

Since the game was going be played as a side-scrolling 2D platformer with 3D graphics, it felt reasonable to start drawing a 2D sketch in Photoshop.

Since the timeframe of the project was really short, I was very eager trying to find a level that I could start working on in engine as soon as possible. Drawing is a good starting point. However, a 2D sketch doesn't answer the question:

Is the gameplay entertaining?

FIRST ITERATION

The above picture shows the first iteration of the level as a 2D sketch and its legend

Introduce new mechanic. Force the player to engage with orbital magnets in a safe environment.
Small challenge introduced: spikes. Player need to use the correct polarity at the right time in order to progress. Failing = respawn at latest checkpoint.
Player need to be quick and use momentum in order to traverse. Player is in a safe environment without any external challenges. Teach the player how to traverse from one orbital magnet to another.

BREAK DOWN OF LEVEL IDEA

Player stumbles upon magnetic pads and gets reminded of their functionality.
Combination of orbital magnets, spikes and magnetic pads. This area is the biggest challenge where a mistake can cost the player to redo the entire area. This segment enhances the gameplay flow and enforces momentum.

WHITEBOXING

I eventually started blocking out the level in Unreal Engine using BSP's.

The blockout was tested with a basic character movement and the first iteration of the orbital magnets and magnetic pads. Some alterations were made to make sure the player could traverse from start to finish. As soon as the level was playable, I started doing some basic decorating of the level with the chosen asset packs. I knew it would take some time to get familiar with all the assets, and wanted to guarantee that me and the other level designer would use them in the same way.

I quickly realised that the player did not have enough space to move around without hitting walls or the ceiling. It interrupted the flow and traversal of the level. The player could easliy get stuck and it felt unnatural.

To solve this problem I made sure to increase the space for the player to move around in by moving and adding platforms. Extensive changes were made where major parts of the ceiling and ground got erased. It didn't feel logical to frame the entire level resulting in an enclosed space where the player felt blocked.

A picture of the starting area after rearranging and adding platforms to create more space to prevent unsatisfying disruptions when playing

Small breathers were also placed in between areas to prevent the player from feeling overwhelmed after every challenge.

All spikes placed on the ground were erased since "holes" in the ground filled the same functionality. I also decided to replace a large area with spikes with lava, to create a more interesting environment.

Some examples of breather placements

Most importantly, I had to make sure the player were forced to change polarity once in a while to enhance the challenge of the level. This was enforced by placing a positive and negative magnet after each other, and creating different types of combinations of patterns with negative and positive magnets.

The last area focused on combining magnetic pads, orbital magnets, polarity spikes, and switching between polarity.

A section of the final area with the biggest challenge

FINISHED PRODUCT

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