Free Lilly
Genre: 3D First Person Adventure
Type: Block out Draft
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Duration: 12 weeks
Role: Level Designer (Research and concept, blockout, scripting, encounter design)
Tools: Unreal Engine 5, Assets from the Fab Market Place
Fab Marketplace Assets:
Ocean System for Rendered Cinematics, Dylan Browne
Plug and Play AI Bundle, AlexH
First Person Movement Template V1, Treety
Stylized Landscape 5 Biomes + Stylized + Low poly forest : Orasot Bundle, Orasot
Full City Iteration 1
Full City Iteration 2
Full City Iteration 3
Mid-City Iteration 1
Mid-City Iteration 2
Mid-City Iteration 3
Goals and Inspiration
I was inspired to make this from media like the opening chase in Arcane, The Shape of Water, and by my ongoing love of European city structures.
I wanted to work on my ability as a level designer to create a dense urban city location, I wanted to create a level where the player had to navigate through a heavily populated winding town.
I got help from advisors and playtests from my peers in a level design bootcamp.
Beat Breakdown
Beat 1 - Escaped the tank The player starts the game right after Lilly has escaped the tank they were trapped in.
Beat 2 - Escape the yard The player is able to escape the yard of the Mad Scientist by using a plank to cross over to a rooftop.
Beat 3 - I see Home Lilly sees the lighthouse on the harbor and knows she needs to get there.
Beat 4 - Surprise Fall Lilly falls off a roof onto a patio.
Beat 5 - Zipline Lilly uses a clothesline to zip down to a lower terrace.
Beat 6 - Fountain Lilly Lilly finds a moment of peace in a gated park.
Beat 7 - Escape the Cops Lilly must maneuver around cops to get into downtown.
Beat 8 - Around Every Corner Lilly runs through downtown being chased by cops and guards lurking around every corner.
Beat 9 - Sewer Escape The only way out is down a manhole.
Beat 10 - He Found Me! Lilly runs into the mad scientist again in the sewers.
Beat 11 - I Escaped! Lilly outmaneuvers the scientist in the sewers.
Beat 12 - Smells Like Home Lilly makes it to the harbor.
Beat 13 - Finally Free Lilly jumps into the bay.
Process Breakdown:
Research, Ideation & Planning
LDD: I created a Level Design Document and Miro Board where I laid out all my plans for the narrative, level elements and mechanics.
Beat Sheet: Using Miro I created a beat sheet going through my planned beats throughout the level, though some things have changed from the original LDD to the final product, I'm proud with how I was able to stick to these emotional beats.
Playtest One
Results: After testing my first draft I found that although the middle section of the city had good pacing, the lower city wasn't as interesting and had less invigorating challenges.
Feedback & Problem: The lower city chase only had 1 turn back, where the player must turn around to avoid a guard, and 5 turns routing through the city, with no interesting interactions.
More Changes
Last of Us
Bioshock Infinite
Thief 4
Analyzing Games: I looked into three games, The Last of Us, Thief 4 and Bioshock Infinite for inspiration on how to successfully create chase scenes, interesting traversal, and warm lighting in a city setting.
Researching Real-World References: I took photos from various cities in Italy, France and Denmark for real references of densely packed cities and harbors.
Exploring Other Media: I was also inspired by the first episode of Arcane, The Shape of Water, and the chase scenes in Quantum of Solace, and District 13.
Solutions: I reworked the lower section of the city to have more turns, more variation in what the player is walking through, and more turn backs. The lower city now had 5 turn backs to avoid guards, and paths the player through a restaurant terrace, a villa, a store, and through more distinct alleyways.
