Level – Office Skyscraper

High above the city towers a corporate office.  This level layout was designed with a real world skyscraper hierarchical design in mind.  The dominant floor plan is based on a rectangular foundational grid, a standard tube structure, with embedded curved flourishes adding a modern flair.  These curved shapes form balconies and additional square footage for offices.

Tools

  • Unreal Engine 4
  • Maya
  • Figma (Illustrator)

Roles

  • Level Design
  • Block Out
  • Modeling

Assets Acquired

Reference

Level Planning

The floor plan was designed around a tube structured skyscraper, the central core of the building housing the majority of the hardware:  elevators, facilities, plumbing, which grants more usable space in the surrounding office area.  Private offices and conference rooms are spaced along the exterior windows.  Balconies provide a place to look down at the city.

The level flow directs the player through the space in a spiral, from the elevators, around the base, up and across past the executive’s office on the north edge, then down to the east side of the building.  The shift of power is evident in the space, as it gains structure and grandeur the closer to the executive’s office the player gets.

Maps

Playthrough / Screens

Regions Descriptions

Exterior

Designed with influence from the reference images.  I liked the split core samples, as they provided a lot of opportunities for a unique silhouette from multiple angles.  I started with a squared core, then added curved flourishes to poke out as balconies.  By tapering the building up and down, it emphasizes reaching for the sky, and creates a bloated importance for the dominant upper floors.

Reception

The player starts in the reception area, as would be appropriate for a floor high in a building such as this.  Security would gate a visitor from entering the office freely.

Open Floor - West

The first area the player would enter is a combination work space and break area.  In a corporate setting, it would be natural for a visitor to enter the office into a general space, offered water, etc. and a place to wait for the relevant parties.  Cubicles of workers and supervisors fill the rest of the space.

Offices - West

As the player moves further north to the executive’s area, the space gets more structured, more walls and corridors.  Offices line the edges of the space.  A large central conference room is surrounded by hallways.

Executive Office

The straight corridors of the offices are broken up by the curved aesthetics at the executive suite’s entrance.  With its own reception area and fountain fanfare, this area demonstrates a sense of importance and significance.  The bathrooms exist here, forcing any workers to periodically glimpse at the fancy entryway to their superior’s office.  The executive’s suite has its own restroom and study area, isolating itself out further from the rest of the staff.

Offices - East

A mirrored floor plan from the West side.  Offices, conference rooms, and a break room line the windows, and the central enclosed room contains a set of more isolated cubicle workstations.

Open Floor - East

Similar to the west side, but with a smaller break area, as there is less visitor foot traffic through the east end of the building.  More conference rooms and cubicles fill the space.