Always new dEPTHS Part 1 & 2 (2017)

My main objective was to create a symmetrical multiplayer map that had a key focal point in the centre that could be manipulated to a team's advantage. Traditional maps are normally static with small amounts of variation, I took inspiration from the battlefield series; in which the map can be altered permanently to the players desire by destroying objects/structures and creating havoc throughout the environment to pose an advantage to yourself or the team. In this case unfortunatley, there is no destruction; however the centre most point of the map contains a small fortress which can be accessed by multiple angles, once inside players can reach the top part and lay down fire across the map. To spice things even further, I have included an additional two switches which can draw up a barricade which surrounds the whole fortress making it more challenging to siege. Do not be dumbfounded by the perceived overwhelming advantage this fortress provides; the outer layer of the map is well equipped with cover and tactical advantages to pick off players who are sitting idly shooting from the fortress, it can be perceived as a heaven but can ultimately be a prison and lead them to their doom.

The aesthetical mood originated from a fictional planet called Voeld (an icy planet in the Nol system) from the video game "Mass Effect: Andromeda" developed by Bioware. My first impression from the planet was: beautiful and blue; what caught my eye immediately was the use of the blue hue for the ambient lighting; which was contrasted beautifully with warm colours (such as orange) in particular areas. A similar approach was also maintained in interior scenarios such as: caves and outposts. Once I had an extensive play though of the planet, I knew this was the colour palette that I would love to try and re-create, so I began collecting visual references for the lumination, saturation, brightness etc.

The planning of this level took significantly longer than I anticipated, initially I cruised though potential layouts highlighting the focal points and other objects of interest. However, the bulk of time taken to create this map was in the lighting and prop placements. I had gone through multiple passes to fully define and make the outer layer of the map stand out, I did not want to funnel all players into a bloodbath in the centre where the fortress was; there needed to be more variety and other ways in which to gain a suitable advantage. To tackle this, I placed light strips and warm colours to attract the players attention, The right amount of light and exposure was a daunting task that made my head sore, however it was totally worth it in the end!

The map was created from scratch in Unreal engine 4 using BSP brushes, the static mesh assets I have used came with an incredibly informative online tutorial that I had followed called: "The corridor project" by Alex Galuzin.

Always New Depths part 2: I later added some ramifications to the level, my aim was to see if I could adapt the level into a pseudo single-player experience; which made me add the following: 3rd person View, AI avatars, path nodes, cover points, ammunition drops & pickups. These additional modifications took roughly 18 hours to implement with the help of the "Third person shooter kit" from the unreal market place!

Platform: PC

Genre: First Person

Engine: Unreal Engine 4

Time: 3 weeks

Always New Depths PART 1

Always New depths Part 2

The Fortress

I thought that having a dominant object in the centre of the map would create a logical and tactical object that any player would comprehend. Having multiple players rush and contest the objective would be a lot of fun, whichever team gains the advantage would gain access to the higher segment and be able to hunker down and capitalize on exposed players down below. The fortress has four access points: north, south, east and west; each of these points have a switch that can be activated to bring down the main platform. Once the platform is brought down, players can embark on it and activate any of the switches again to raise it up to the higher segment. Once the players are up on top, they can access an additional two switches (both perform the same task) to bring up an outer wall/barricade to encompass the fort. This will keep out enemy and potential friendly players in accessing the fort so easily. Players can bypass this by jumping over the wall from stairs on the East and western wing, however this could leave them exposed and be picked off by players on top. The wall can be brought back down again by interacting with any of the two switches on the top segment. All the above features were constructed using Matinee along with the blue prints logic to make it fully functional.

Outer Area

I did not want the action to solely revolve around the centre of the map, the circumference plays a big role too. Players on the outer walls can focus fire and route enemies that are stuck in the fort (what use is that advantage if they can never pop their iron sights over and shoot below?) Therefore, I made sure to pamper these outer areas with suitable cover and doorways to plough through areas quite quickly and reaching the other side of the map with swiftness. That is the ideal scenario, However these doorways can be contested and guarded by players, adding multiple additional strategies that every player should be wary about.

Game modes

This map can be suitable for the following game modes: Team death match, death match, capture the flag and search & destroy/last man standing. Since the map is symmetrical, the balance was much easier to devise and handle; giving all players the same advantages and making the map itself easier to: remember and master.

With the inclusion of Always New Depths Part 2; the level layout was changed slightly: The switch and draw bridge functionality was removed due to it being a single-player experience and not a multiplayer one (Part 1) Four jump pads were added instead, to facilitate the player with quick access to the upper segment.