Level – Resistance 3

Singleplayer and Multiplayer maps build for functional engine training.

The SP map tells the prelude story of a nameless survivor on a chimera ship.  This introductory level takes the player on a brief tour of the weapons, enemies, and factions the player would find during the course of the game, before control is taken over the main character.

The MP map is set in an alien base, fixed between two buildings overlooking central park in NYC.  The buildings provide sniper vantages for ranged combat, with connecting avenues across the lower, middle, and upper areas of the map.  The buildings provide a maze of rooms to fight through, and hidden entryways to flank unsuspecting players.

Tools

  • Luna Engine (Insomniac Proprietary)
  • Lua (Scripting)

Roles

  • Level Design
  • Block Out
  • Event Scripting
  • Encounter Design
  • Scenario Design

Assets Acquired

  • All game systems
  • Characters / Weapons
  • Environment Models

Level Planning - Singleplayer

This map was created as a conceptual introduction level before the player takes control of the main character.  In this, a sole survivor on a chimera ship has awakened from a broken pod.  As they venture out, they find weapons and hostile forces.  However there are additional problems for the chimera.  Feral grims have overrun the ship as well, causing three faction combat within the crashed ship.  As the player emerges they see they are in the center of a major city.  A final wave of enemies will overcome the player, killing them and establishing the overall scope of the threat as the game transitions to the main character’s story.

Playthrough / Screens

Regions Descriptions

Capture Pods

The player awakens, nearly dead and alone in a shattered abduction pod.  A chimera sentry can be seen out the window.  Health canisters scattered on the floor introduce the player to the health system.  The door is locked, so the player needs to find a different way out.

First Combat

The player finds a vent that leads to the sentry’s hallway.  When the player rounds the corner, the sentry is missing.  Cautiously approaching, the player can see the sentry standing by a Bullseye rifle.  If the player is careful, they can get the weapon and take down the enemies.  A locked door gates the player, but as the player opens it, a wave of chimera enter and shoot at the player.  Moments later, the wave’s attention is turned.  A pack of feral grims rush the chimera and start to tear them apart.  A few grims jump the railing to attack the player as they slip out the door.

Central Chamber

An ominous chamber.  Spinning energy fields and alien power supplies move around the room.  As the player enters the center of the chamber, the giant doors open, revealing a massive enemy swarm heading right for them.  No escape and complete exposure gives the player a moment of panic, looking for options and shooting at chimera spilling out.  Suddenly, the bridge is diverted, dropping a couple of chimera into the abyss, and closing the doors again.

Feral Grims

After finding some shotguns and health packs, the player rounds the corner.  A door opens and a single chimera flees, followed shortly by a massive pack of feral grims.  The grims quickly kill the chimera and turn to the player.  Quick use of the shotgun in this close quarters space reduces the feral pack to severed bits.

Control Room

The player enters the main control room to find a group of rocket launcher chimera rush the balcony, firing explosives onto the remaining feral grims.  A single escape passage is visible under the balcony, apartment hallways of a human building.  As the player runs through it, a giant Ravager fills the hall.

City Reveal

The player now sees the gravity of the situation, a full scale assault on the city.  Buildings on fire, a Leviathan in the distance.  Long legs jump onto sniper perches and the player equips a rifle of their own.  The player finds the devastating atomizer to take on the Chimeran rush.  Endless waves appear until the player is killed.  The player now has first hand knowledge of the scope of the enemy threat, the kinds of weapons and enemies to expect, and the leathality of the enemy forces as they pick up control of the main character.

Level Planning - Multiplayer

An alien base, constructed as a watchtower over the central park terraformer.  The map is designed with potential for team combat, so there are three main sections, the human and chimera bases at the edges of the map, represented by 4 story apartment buildings, and a connecting center control platform.  The human and chimera bases are similarly laid out without being mirrrored.  Fire escapes and broken ceilings help the player move through the arena, getting the advantage on their foes if used correctly.  Torn faces offer unique sniping opportunities.

Playthrough / Screens

Regions Descriptions

Human Base

To visually separate the human from chimera bases, the human base has additional floors of non-playable facade above the top floor.  This facade also contains some of the spawn points in the level.  Fallen floors and hallways provide ramps and openings to traverse up and down, and gaps to jump across.

Central Platform

This is the most exposed space to the vantages of the torn faces of the apartment buildings.  The central tower provides cover, and access to a large gap in the floor.  Jumping down into this leads the player into the sub-platform area with covered access to either building.

Chimera Base

Similarly laid out, but not directly mirroring the human base, this base is visually distinct by the Chimeran drop ships hovering overhead, which also offer some spawn points for the Chimeran team.  In contrast, the human base is constructed with parts that a person would normally move through, the rooms of an apartment building.  By giving some of the Chimeran base rooftop features, it creates a sense of being in a place that is uncommon, or alienating, as are the chimeran forces on earth.