LD3 Solo Project Proposal

 For our last LD project, we were asked to come up with a level with no constraints on the idea. Below is what my proposal looked like:

The idea I'd like to attempt, would be an Elden Ring Catacombs-style level. These levels often have a clear goal at the beginning of them, like a big locked door leading to a boss fight. The trick with these levels is to find the lever to unlock the boss door. However there is usually some form of navigational/combative puzzle to find this lever; you may walk right by the real path to the lever, without even realizing it. Throughout Elden Ring these levels get progressively bigger and more difficult, with the goal of exploring every corner to find the real path. I would like to attempt to do an early to mid-game sized level, where I'd estimate about 5-7 small to mid-sized rooms, including the boss arena. I definitely think this type of level must be meticulously planned to make the loop feel realistic back to the original entry. This also includes making the player not realize where they are in reference to the origin, to make the discovery of the correct path feel satisfying and surprising. So I will definitely be making a Top-down map to test the routes, and will likely have to have multiple maps for different floors within the level. Here's an example of a fan-made 3D top-down map of the very first catacomb level within Elden Ring: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fcatacomb-map-better-quality-v0-asyz4x1hqjy81.png%3Fwidth%3D1080%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D2dee02f853e8b3ffaee9dc89c8eb3c9ad3e310c0

Here's how I have my timeline written out for myself for this project:

July 3 First Checkpoint: LDD finished with Topdown maps written out. BPs for level created and tested out 

July 10 Second Checkpoint: Initial blockout done with functionality in place.

July 15th Final submission: Final blockout with polished landscaping, proxy models, and good level-flow.

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