VERTIGO
UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3
LEVEL DESIGN
2014 - GAMAGORA - Level Design class - Yannick Berthier (USUAL MAKERS)
Vertigo is a 'capture the flag' map for 3 Vs 3 players.
The core of the level design is a high use of verticality. The map is composed of two silos linked with a big corridor below the silos. Each flag is in the middle of these silos.
Here you can see several layouts of the map, click on images to expand them.
Side view with items and paths
Top view of the map, top part
Top view of the map, middle part
top view of the map, down part
This map was designed and built in one month, with multiple playtests in order to improve it and make it frustration-free for players.
The first challenge was to maintain a balance between the top and the bottom of the map. Indeed, players on top have a natural advantage, they can shoot more easily than players below.
In order to break this advantage, most weapons and pickups are at the bottom on the map. Furthermore, some platforms were replaced by grids, allowing players at the bottom to shoot at players on top.
This makes attacks easier and helps maintain the dynamism of Unreal Tournament's gameplay.
The level also aims to break the classic "three paths" level design style. There are many ways to climb to the flag thanks to the number of platforms and the jump possibilities. Moreover, jump boots allow one to make shortcuts in the level and clever players can reach the flag in only three jumps.
Image gallery
