My Role(S):
Lead Level Designer + Game Designer
Game information:
- Virtual Reality for Quest 2
A shape-shifting, interactive nature adventure.
The goal of this project was to give newcomers to VR and Video Games a wondrous adventure from the many different perspectives of animals.
I designed 4 levels while collaborating with the art team and another level designer to populate each blockout with assets and lighting.
Collaborated with programming team to iterate on all animals’ navigation abilities as well as the core constellation tracing mechanic.
Level 1: Campsite and Beetle
The player starts off sitting by a campfire until they notice a dancing fire spirit that ignites the fire. Following the fires flames the player will see an interactable constellation that transforms them into a bug.
For all of our maps we scale the level up in actual size, to give the player a sense of size / shape shifting.
Considering the player is the size of a bug, we designed it to be a linear level with a few open areas that include vantage points, other creatures, and plant life.
Level 2: Swamp (Frog)
With the frog level we gave the player a hop and lunge feature. Opening the player up to different movement allowed for us to add some vertical play to the level. With a new map size and some platforming puzzles for the players enjoyment, we thought it was a great second level that was still paced to the player's skill level and familiarity with VR.
Level 3: Underwater (Fish)
The underwater level is still my favorite as it is basically a vr rollercoaster. The majority of the level takes place inside of a currant tube that carries the player along, however the level is also designed to give the player free roam pacing breaks. Those take place is 3 open ponds. Two of the three have multiple exits that take the player down differentiating paths.
Level 4: The sky (Spirit Owl)
The last level in our game. The player plays as a spirit owl that has the abilities of speed and flight. The main path of the level is similar to the Fish level where the player can ride a wind currant to be carried to the level end. However there is plenty of space for the player to simply fly around outside of the currant. There are several sky islands to land on where the player can revisit some of the creatures they transformed into in previous levels.
What I learned: