AS HARSH AS IT GETS
Sanctum of the Knight - Doom 2016 level design
all images in this post can be clicked to expand
Level location & Feel
This level will be present very early in the game, right after the player has received the shotgun and before the plasma rifle. The feel of the level will be that of isolated dread that the game has in general. This level will be after the tutorial, a stage of the game where the player wants very little hand holding and challenging, but not very difficult gameplay. This level will reinforce what was learned earlier with ample resources and checkpoints. Since the player only has two guns.
One of which (the pistol) has infinite ammo, the only ammo that needs to be placed in the level is the shotgun ammo.
The location for this is the UAC facility on Mars. The player will step on the surface of the planet for a segment of the level, also.
Pre-Production
I knew that the level was to be one that told a story without narration or text and would serve as one of the harder levels that would transition the player to the end of the early game. The first step was drawing level concepts using pencil and paper. After a few tries, I had something I liked.
The next stage was taking the concept to Photoshop, a tool I am very experienced in and as such, can iterate very fast using. The first step was blocking out the concept I had come up with on paper.
Keeping in mind that each level should be able to provide fun play experience for different kinds of players, I added secret areas and paths with bonuses for those who want to explore the level instead of just moving forward. The reason I didn’t add more of these is because doing so would conflict with the game's core which has been described as “Push Forward Combat.”
After this step, I worked on adding verticality to the level. This includes variable and accessible heights in each room of the game that the player can interact with and staircases that connect the rooms.
Two pallets of grey, both of which were only two colours were used alternatively to separate a room from each other. A lighter shade in a room indicates that the surface is higher than the one that is a darker shade in that room.
To make sure that the heights didn’t conflict when put into a 3D space, I created a level in UE4 using the 2D image a reference. This was done using UE4’s BSP/ Basic Geometry.
The next step was adding detail to make the level more appealing architecturally & aesthetically.
Then I added pickups like ammo, armour and health, checkpoints, collectables and explosive barrels.
Doom allows for players to collect health and ammo, similar to older FPS games. The enemies in doom are distinct and each have a different way of dealing with. Since this level is early in the game, the enemies are on the weaker tier.
The five enemies used are - Possessed Worker, Imp, Lost Soul, Cacodemon and Hell Knight. I have linked the wiki entry for each enemy for reference. I will not be showing post gore nest enemy placements in the overview because doom has a unique way of doing enemy spawning which happens after the player performs an action in a designated room That will be explored later on in the document.
After adding all placeable, pickups and power ups and cordoning off inaccessible and hostile areas, the map looks like this.
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Lets go area by area to explain the number of enemies:
Area #1: Nesthall 1
This area will have 4 possessed workers. These are meant to be an easy test for the player and to get them amped up. A gore nest is present and the room is on lockdown. After destroying it, enemies will spawn out of the spawn zones. Namely, 4 imps, one from each spawn zone.
Total number of enemies in the area - 4 possessed(pre gore nest) + 4 imps (post gore nest) = 8 enemies
Area length - 3-4 minutes
Area #2: Transition Staircase
As the name suggests, the player is only given an imp and two
possessed workers to fight. These transition areas are a fairly
common practice in Doom, a game that swings between
intense action and quiet desolation. There is, however, a
hidden area that is dimly lit where, if the player chooses to
explore, will receive a nice 50 armour.
Total number of enemies in the area - 1 Imp and 2 possessed = 3 enemies
Area length - 1-2 minutes
Area #3: Mars Floor 1
This will bring the player outside the facility and onto the mars floor. To the north of all three mars floor maps, the player will be able to see a stretched out mars surface which will give a feeling of grandness to the level.
The player will only face one enemy in this area, the cacodemon. This is a higher tier enemy than the player has face before and as such, only one of them is present to allow the player to understand a new foe.
Total number of enemies - 1 Cacodemon
Area length - 2-3 minutes
Area #4: Mars Floor 2
This is where the mars floor gets more difficult. The orange is shown to be lava which will kill the player upon contact. The player will face two lost souls and an imp, fairly easy enemies to dispose, but the level layout will make it difficult. After the two lost souls and the imp are killed, three imps are spawned, after two of them are killed, 3 more are spawned and after all four are killed, a cacodemon is spawned.
Health pickups are low since the player is expected to use Doom’s Glory Kill mechanic to get more health.
Total number of enemies - 2 lost souls, 7 imps & 1 Cacodemon = 10 enemies
Area length - 6-8 minutes
Area #5: Mars Floor 3 & Transition Staircase
This area is a step down in difficulty to allow the player a moment of low action to catch their breath. The possessed enemies here are meant to be glory killed to get health that the player will need after the last area.
Total number of enemies - 3 possessed workers
Area length - 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Area #6: Nesthall 2
This area allows the player to get back into the action slowly. The player will face just an imp and 4 possessed workers upon entering. They can be glory killed for health. Upon the destruction of the gorenest, however, the game will spawn three waves of imps of 2, 4 and 4 respectively as soon as the last wave is killed.
Total number of enemies - 4 possessed workers & 1 imp (pre gore nest) + 10
imps (post gore nest) = 15 enemies
Area length - 6-8 minutes
Area #7: Infested Halls
These will serve as the final areas of the level before the finale. The players will face a few imps, have a chance to get a collectable through an optional door. These levels are meant to be easier that the previous Nest Hall yet just difficult enough to not let the intensity of the level die down.
It will also give the player ammo and armour in anticipation of the big fight ahead.
Total Number of enemies - 5 imps and 4 possessed = 9 enemies
Area length - 4-5 minutes
Area #8: Knights Sanctum
This area will not have any enemies when the player walks in, just two gore nests. The player has an option here, they can destroy one gore nest and deal with its enemies before triggering the second gore nest, or, they could trigger them both for a harder
play experience. This allows the player to have some choice in the game.
Gore nest one, which is on the left in the image, will bring out one imp and one Hell Knight, an enemy that is very hard to fight considering the player’s current skill level. The second one will bring out two imps and one hell knight.
A gate can be placed opposite to gate from where the player entered to seamlessly link it to a different level.
Total number of enemies - 2 hell knights, 3 imps (post gore nest) = 5 enemies
Area length - 4-6 minutes
The total length of the level will be 26 - 35 minutes, though, that number will depend on who is
playing. This length reflects that of an average player who is new to the game. The total number
of enemies will be exactly 54 enemies.
Intensity
To allow the player to enter their flow channel while playing, a level must be difficult enough to not be boring and yet not so hard that it becomes annoying. The line must also go up and down in difficulty because a steadily escalating line of difficulty is boring. Thus, there needs to be moments of silence between the intensity. I graphed what the intensity of this level is going to be.
What the players will remember most
This level is important because it starts taking the player away from the safety of the tutorial. In a very real sense, this level is allowing the player to be the player without the hand holding of the tutorial. A level like this is often overlooked in games, however, these are some of my favorite levels to play and design for. Some of the smartest design in hidden in levels like these, in my opinion.
This level may not be remembered by the player, however it is a necessary and engaging level nonetheless and it serves an indispensable purpose when it comes to the game