This week as we discussed the future of Grapple Grub, turning it into a multiplayer game with twitch integration, I began working on level design sketches and mockups for what the maps could look like in a multiplayer version of the game. I completed a sketch for two maps, one where the players spawn together and another where they spawn in separate corners. Along with the two sketches, I created a 3D mockup in unity to provide more imagery for the sketches.
I switched focus from the map mockups to individual gameplay moments for this week of development. The main focus was brainstorming and creating platforming pathways that creates more verticality in the city. With the original level, everything was on 1 plane, so I worked with Ryan this week to brainstorm how we can have players on all different stories of the city. We came up with grapple elevator designs, I created a fan that exerts force on a player while they remain in the fan's on trigger stay, we experimented putting delivery drop offs and food carts on higher stories inside buildings, and then created paths where players can easily transition from one story to the next.
This week I started working on a level blockout, following one of the level mockups I created earlier(The DownTown sketch). I mapped out the whole level and began creating platforming sections
This week, I took the the layout of the level into photoshop and began mapping out the individual pathways and parkour elements that could occur on this level. I listed out all of the challenges we have in the game(Grapple Challenge, Jumping Challenge, Running Challenge) and began labeling sections of the map that would have different challenges and the difficulty of that challenge. After this was done, I went back into Unity and began blocking out all of the parkour and platforming elements. At this point, most of the level blockout is filled with platforming pathways so the level is playable and can be used in testing.
This week, Michael and I met to create a level design document and we began fleshing out the how we wanted our maps to be created, the core level design tenants that all of our levels would need/be built around. I edited and recreated the Downtown level sketch and level blockout to be more in line with our discussion and new found fundamentals.
As the new building models and other art assets came in, Michael and I began creating a new level for our first and future rounds of playtests. We met to discuss the level and created a mockup in photoshop, then Michael laid out most of the city and we both began populating all the different platforming pathways.