EVACUATION
PROTOCOL

Evacuation Protocol is a level blockout for a singleplayer first-person action game which takes place in a city at the start of a mass parasitic infection . Feedback and instruction led by industry veteran Tid Cooney.

Level Designer

2 Weeks

Solo

Summary

Evacuation Protocol is a level blockout for a singleplayer action-survival game which takes place in a city at the start of a mass parasitic infection.

Core Gameplay

MELEE COMBAT

Eliminate the infected through close-quarters combat. Discover weapon upgrades that increase your dwindling chance of survival.

STEALTH
Gain the advantage by sneaking up on enemies and take them by surprise.

EVASION

Get out of the city and aboard the USS Viking ship. How much blood will you spill to get there?

Project Role

Level Designer

Created a level from the text document stage to refined blockout.
Implemented basic scripted events and a sound pass to further convey my intention and mood for the player experience.
Conducted daily playtests with colleagues and implemented feedback.

1. END

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3.

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7.

8.

9. PLAYER START

Level Flow

Subway crash wakeup.

Explore construction site.

Gridlock encounter.

1.

2.

3.

Garage encounter.

Point of no return.

Enemy ambush.

4.

5.

6.

Window grab.

Flee to ship.

Safely board ship.

7.

8.

9. TENSION GRAPH

DESIGN TECHNIQUES

One-way valve

By reducing backtracking, focus is emphasized on the path ahead. This also strengthens the player's sense of progression.

Pacing

I added combat encounters and scripted events in order to showcase the core gameplay. This helped me balance high-tension gameplay with lower-tension moments of environmental storytelling.

Multiple Paths

While the level is linear, there are opportunities for the player to express their playstyle. Completing an objective can be done in more than one way.

LEVEL BREAKDOWN

I designed five combat encounters for Evacuation Protocol. Here, I wanted to showcase the core gameplay. Therefore, the first three must:

Allow the player to choose how to approach enemies.
Present clear, multiple paths for direct combat, sneak attacks, or evasion.
Bring the player closer to their end-goal, The USS Viking ship.

I wanted the last two encounters to subvert the player's expectations. In order to achieve this, they must:

Introduce a reduction in player agency.
Dramatically increase tension.

GRIDLOCK

GARAGE

Evasion

Sneak

Direct combat

THE GARAGE

One problem I discovered is that the player can miss the melee weapon if they take the sneak path.

I solved this by placing a second weapon in the garage ahead.

Create and pitch design sketches
Align with team before creating in-engine blockouts
Conduct both internal and external playtests
Refine blockouts in response to feedback by colleagues and industry representatives
Place props throughout the level
Create and establish collaborative workflow using Unreal Engine's sublevel system
Close collaboration with artists in order to define the modular kit used to construct the level

THE GARAGE

Enemy foreshadow

Direct combat

GRIDLOCK

Evasion

Loot

DERAILED

Sneak

This second encounter is optional.

I reward the player for exploring the garage as well as reveal the weapon upgrade and foreshadow the enemies through the garage door.

If the player chooses to engage, they can successfully sneak attack one of the enemies. This provokes the second enemy, leading to a fight in a narrow space.

With limited mobility, succeeding here is rewarded with a weapon upgrade.

DERAILED

GARAGE

Sneak

Direct

combat

Loot

Evasion

The third encounter is the largest combat space and contains the most enemies. I designed it as a type of transition space. Soon, the player will lose their ability to exercise full control over how they approach enemies.

Players will also be introduced to new enemy behavior in the next area. Therefore, it became essential that I firmly establish familiarity here to provide a stronger contrast to the last two encounters which reduce player agency.

If the player chooses the evasion path, they will spot a previously concealed enemy hunched over a corpse. Players may ignore this enemy. However, the enemy will pursue the player if they get too close.

This makes platforming on the vehicles by the subway tense, and builds nicely into the next scripted event.

CLOCKWATCHERS

Sneak

Hidden
enemy

Derailed

After traversing the crashed subway car, I create a point of no return. The subway car serves as a nice narrow funnel, and brings the player into the administrative office of the train station.

The encounter is blocked out to give the player a false sense of security, as there is a hidden second enemy.

Once the player enters the space, the hidden enemy in the corner will ambush them.

My goal is to set new expectations of the player, and for them to discover new enemy behaviors.

PLATFORM 17

GARAGE

DERAILED

CLOCKWATCHERS

Surviving the ambush at Clockwatchers, the player discovers a balcony with a nearby platform.

Building on the previous encounter, I want to reinforce the irregular enemy behavior. Therefore, the player is grabbed by an enemy, and pulled through a window. This transitions them into a new, unfamiliar space.

Since the player is nearing the end, I wanted to increase tension and a sense of urgency. Therefore, all the player can do is run or die.

SCRIPTED EVENTS

One of my goals for this level was to deliver a tense action experience. Each scripted event delivers that tension through environmental storytelling, while also supporting my design techniques.

Points of No Return

During this gameplay beat, I wanted to progress players and surprise them while doing so.

I chose to use planks here as I felt they told a story of recognizable utility. I wanted to explore that, have the player "walk the plank", then have it break under their feet.

To make vertical traversal contribute to the environmental storytelling, I added a sound cue when the player enters the subway car. It communicates questionable structural integrity as the metal groans under your weight.

Once the player enters the second subway car, it rotates downward, and the first car detaches and falls down to the street.

As the player closes in on their end goal, I wanted to subvert their expectations.

While platforming, I added a trigger which causes an enemy to grab the player and pull them through the window.

This continues the level narrative that enemy behavior is changing and becoming more unpredictable.

I designed this encounter to give the players a growing sense of helplessness the closer they got to the USS Viking ship. I wanted them to feel like they almost wouldn't escape. So that when they do, they feel a greater sense of accomplishment.

Leaving Gridlock, players who take the critical path towards Derailed trigger an event showing mobilized soldiers defending the city.

I added this piece after playtests revealed that the soldiers firing from the ship at the end felt disconnected from the narrative of the level.

By placing them earlier in the level, and showing players their function in the level's narrative, player's recognized the soldiers on the ship as allies.

Unleashing Chaos

Establishing Familiarity

EVACPROTO

ENCOUNTER

GRIDLOCK

GARAGE

CLOCKWATCHERS

PLATFORM 17

ROLE

LEVEL FLOW

TECHNIQUES

SCRIPTED EVENTS

WORKFLOW

THE TEXT DOCUMENT

Inspired by Steve Lee, I create a brief text outline describing the key features of my level. It serves a dual purpose:

1. At the start of a project, it helps me conquer the blank page problem. By formulating design goals, challenges, and questions, the level begins to take form.

2. Throughout production, it can be revised and polished in order to serve as a reference for the team and myself.

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WORKFLOW

THE DOCUMENT

THE SKETCH

THE LEVEL SKETCH

The sketch serves as my statement of intent. I've discovered that it helps communicate my design and gives me a chance to align my goals with those of the team.

THE BLOCKOUT

Modular kits are an essential part of my workflow. They help to provide a consistent scale throughout the level and make iteration quick and simple.

A simple before picture of what would become: The Construction Site, Gridlock, and Derailed.

At this stage, the player path was slightly unclear. I initially wanted to allow the player to explore a much larger area, believing that to be a meaningful decision.

However, the introduction of enemies encouraged me to create a more linear path, where pacing could be better controlled and player-decisions would have a richer context.

Additional elements such as the vehicles helped me guide the player between areas.

The more detailed structures are points of interest, and the player will be able to explore them.

Early versions had the player start the game facing a wall. There was a significant lack of meaningful information provided. Players would simply have to turn and look to the right to see the construction site and subway crash outside.

My solution was to immediately introduce relevant information to the player without requiring any additional inputs. Now, both the construction site and the subway crash are framed in the windows from the first moment of the game.

There is lack of leading lines, which I feel serve a nice supplementary function when reading an environment.

Lastly, beyond this space, the player is left without meaningful visual data to help them feel oriented in the overall space.

I provide a few leading lines for the player which point nicely to their goal. The support beams also block visual elements I felt were non-essential, while revealing just enough to help the player feel oriented in the level.

The framing of the ship, along with moving the brick pallet to the side strengthen the suggestion that their goal is ahead.

These details, which I intended to provide as a comfort to the player, enhance the unexpected fall they experience once they approach the planks.

Players fall and land in a room where one of the next areas is framed in the window.

To further strengthen this foreshadow, I extended a roof piece and added exterior walls. Additionally, the dual-pane window frame further divides the visual data, and helps to focus on critical elements.

Lastly, the brightly lit exterior against the dark interior provides a strong visual suggestion to the player that their next goal is outside.

What became Gridlock was a simple transition space. It lacked enemies, a clear path, and features a small sail boat. This boat was initially the end goal I wanted to show the player.

I continue to experiment with roof extensions and exterior walls to create a type of funnel.

The modest sailboat has been replaced by the USS Viking, a large Naval vessel.

The path is carved from a series of car wrecks. Not only does the player see their end goal landmark, the upcoming combat encounter is observed from a safe perspective. This allows players to plan their approach.

Initially, navigating the wreckage at Derailed lacked several elements to improve path variety. Furthermore, the lack of enemies meant the core gameplay wasn't fully represented.

I decided to iterate and playtest to see about possible solutions.

In consideration of the size and location of this area, I added enemies and a scripted event.

The enemy presence gives players a chance to further practice their combat or evasion skills in the largest encounter space so far.

The subway car serves as a unique platforming opportunity as well as a point of no return.

DOWNTOWN, ROUGH

DOWNTOWN, REFINED

THE OFFICE, ROUGH

THE OFFICE, REFINED

CONSTRUCTION SITE,
ROUGH

CONSTRUCTION SITE, REFINED

GRIDLOCK, ROUGH

GRIDLOCK, REFINED

DERAILED, ROUGH

DERAILED, REFINED

REFLECTIONS

This project was a fulfilling experience in iteration and playtesting. I conducted multiple daily playtests and leveraged feedback to cut and add elements as needed.

I also used this project to practice working on the grid, closely following metrics, and ensuring the level had consistent and believable scale.

The greatest challenge I faced was my tendency to add excessive elements to the level which did not hold up under scrutiny. It became easy to add more enemies or scripted events. However, feedback helped focus my design on details that directly and significantly contributed to the intended player experience.

Overall, I am happy with this level. The feedback and guidance I received from Tid Cooney was a defining moment in my level design career.

EVACUATION PROTOCOL

Level Designer

2 Weeks

Solo

Summary

Core Gameplay

Project Role

Level Designer

1.

END

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

PLAYER START

Level Flow

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

TENSION GRAPH

DESIGN TECHNIQUES

One-way valve

Pacing

Multiple Paths

LEVEL BREAKDOWN

GRIDLOCK

GARAGE

Evasion

Sneak

Direct combat

THE GARAGE

THE GARAGE

Enemy foreshadow

Direct combat

GRIDLOCK

Evasion

Loot

DERAILED

Sneak

DERAILED

GARAGE

Sneak

Direct

combat

Loot

Evasion

CLOCKWATCHERS

Sneak

Hidden enemy

Derailed

PLATFORM 17

GARAGE

DERAILED

CLOCKWATCHERS

SCRIPTED EVENTS

Points of No Return

Unleashing Chaos

Establishing Familiarity

WORKFLOW

THE TEXT DOCUMENT

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THE LEVEL SKETCH

THE BLOCKOUT

DOWNTOWN, ROUGH

DOWNTOWN, REFINED

THE OFFICE, ROUGH

THE OFFICE, REFINED

CONSTRUCTION SITE, ROUGH

CONSTRUCTION SITE, REFINED

GRIDLOCK, ROUGH

EVACUATION
PROTOCOL

Hidden
enemy

CONSTRUCTION SITE,
ROUGH