Third Person Climbing Village Level

This level was made in the Unity game engine and took much inspiration from the Uncharted series from Naughty Dog. I wanted to create a level that utilized space vertically with a climbing system I purchased from the asset store Climbing System by Dias Games. This starting area features a wreckage starting area. A lot of the Uncharted games use these huge cinematic set pieces in the form of vehicle chaces and climbing challenges so I wanted to illustrate how I could visualize previous events in the level to tie a expierence the player has together visually. The area is a run down and deserted village somewhere is a foriegn country. I wanted to tightly pack smaller buildings together to give a more claustrophobic feeling to the area and to encourage players to climb up and around buildings instead of staying on the ground.

Images

The player character grabbing onto a ledge. Main Path in the starting area of the level. Additional collectables path the player can use to grab extra pieces of lore.

The River

The river section was the next part of the level I wanted to focus on. The rubble around the starting area needed to interact with the environment so I decided to make a simple water material using URP (Universal Render Pipeline) Shaders. Once I added some of the junk objects to close the ends of the river it only made sense to put some platform objects (could be crates) in the water so the player can use the climbing system to jump across the river to the other side. I also wanted to put a additional secret path on the other end of the river that the player could climb back around to the other side and have another opportunity to get any collectables or items they missed.

Images

Main path of the river section where you jump across using a floating box. An optional backtrack path that will take you past the previous area and allow you to pick up a missing collectable. A small path near the start point of the river area that allows players to use a damaged sign to get down on some debris. A overview of the damaged debris jammed into the river itself.

Combat Area

The combat area is important because almost every action / adventure game has an area to allow the player to participate in some combat and the over all layout of this section needed to be much more symmetrical to layout points where the player can shoot and be shot from. The most challenging part of this section was designing an area without a proper combat system in place. With that said I did my best to add walls and boxes the player could hide behind and take cover and tried to incorporate some verticality to the area but make it easy enough that players wouldn't have to think about climbing but climbing up to a platform fast.

Images

Apart of the big middle tower in the zone of combat where enemies can shoot the player from all sides. Many different side towers and barricades allow players to take cover and shoot with a proper combat system in place.

The Church

The church area was a fun little section to work on because it was the first big spacious area in the level so getting the spacing inside was critical but also designing the climbable edges needed to feel not so close together and playing the level there are some edges that really do make you feel you are about to miss the grab but the system does recognize the edge and you hold onto it. I am sure it is a small bug with the system but with enough polish you could make certain edges either fall or move to make the player feel like they had a close call and I love making a layout that feels challenging and thrilling. I wanted the player to climb up to a high point so that is why I decided on a church. I wanted to make sure the climbing in the church was totally optional though and at the end the player could pick up a collectable or item if they get through it. You can exit the door at the botton floor at anytime which I wanted people to be aware of so I added a subtle spotlight going through the door to give the sense of a way out in a what would be considered huge and dark building.

Images

The optional climbing challenge starts right next to the ladder when entering the building. Once you circle around to the next wall you are met with more ledges and a back jump onto a hanging chandelier The next way up is throught a hole in the ceiling where the players will have to climb up and around a tight chute in order to get to the very top. An additonal collectable is waiting for those who climb up to the top of the church, just climb back down the way you came and use the smaller chandelier to get down.

Rooftops

The rooftop area was another climbing section that I wanted to player to navigate but this time was a direct challenge the player would have to get through but I opened up several paths so the player could have a choice of how to approach which direction to go with. One path does allow the player to get a collectable though. Another collectable could also be in the building that is accessible through the main path of this section. The idea is that the drop is too far down so everytime the player missing a ledge or jumps off and doesn't grab anything the player restarts to the checkpoint that would be set either at the start of in the church.

Images

The rooftops start with two ways, one not so obvious way is the additional route. The main path is more front and center and provides a way for players to jump across buildings to get to the other side without falling. The alternative route does lead to a collectable and a way to jump across rooftops to the other side unscathed. Either path will then take you right next to ledges attached to the church and require you to follow the ledges around the building next to the church. The last bit of this section requires you to jump across to one last building and then circle around to them drop onto the safe patch of ground in the next section.