Townhall Alley - The Last of Us
Introduction
In this project, I set out to create a small level segment for The Last of Us set in an urban environment.
This project was focused on level design.
Project Details
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Unreal Engine 4
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50 hours (Winter 2021)
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Level Design
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Blockout
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Unreal Marketplace Assets: Blocking Starter Pack by Xavier Loux
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Interaction with ALS by Jakub W Version 1.6 (available via Patreon)
Pre-Production
I began my project by playing and watching The Last of Us and gathering ideas for the setting, the pacing, and the overall gameplay of the level.
First Concept
To start the project, I created a very rough idea on paper on what I wanted the layout of my level to look like.
From Concept To Engine
After having a rough idea of what I wanted to create, I got to work and started to create the first blockout version of my idea.
Iterations
After receiving feedback, I started iterating on the blockout to increase the overall gameplay quality.
The videos below show the progress of the level from multiple views.
Top Down
Enemy Placements Encounter 1 - Soldiers
Enemy Placements Encounter 2 - Zombies
Enemy Placements Encounter 3 - Zombies (rooftop)
Pacing
In order to control the pacing not only in this small segment but also in context to the game, I started by thinking of a backstory. This consisted of where the player would come from before this part and where the next goal would be, how intense the combat was in the parts before and how intense it would be after this part.
Shiv Door
By showing good loot through a blocked entrance, the player is teased and wants the loot. By not obviously placing the door leading into the room and foreshadowing the loot, exploration is encouraged and rewarded.
By using a shiv door ( a door that has to be opened using a knife, the knife will break when opening the door) as the entrance, the player now has to make a decision instead of just walking around and spamming a button to pick items up.
"Do I use a shiv knife to get access to better loot? Or should I save the knife in case I might need it later?"
Screenshots of the Level
