Portfolio artifact development blog

Week 1 -

This week I have been figuring out an idea for what I can actually do for this project.

I want to base it off a game I already know and play, but I still want to give myself a challenge.

I have been split between creating part of a POI from Apex Legends, or creating part of an Overwatch map. However I have made a final decision to create the first capture point for an Overwatch 2 hybrid map.

This is a capture point the attackers must capture from the defenders, before the payload can be revealed and pushed through the map.

(example of first capture point from the hybrid map "Kings Row")

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Week 2 -

This week I have been trying to focus on refining the idea I want to do.

I have looked at all the maps in Overwatch and chosen to do an American lumberyard/forest type map. This isn't a level setting in game and I also personally have wanted to do this sort of design for a while.

I have also looked at the aesthetic of the game and played the game to get an idea of the different areas of the level design and how the game plays.

My overall idea is this -

The attackers start on a road in a forest, the spawn area being the inside of a big truck/trailer. They have to travel on the main paved road until they get to the dirt path that leads to the lumberyard. The objective is to capture the point in the centre of the logging area. This would then reveal the payload which is a logging vehicle.

The defenders would start just behind the lumberyard. This is to fit with the original game and the other maps (the defenders spawn is further from the first objective than the attackers.) They spawn in a logging shed behind the main lumber warehouse.

I have created mood boards on the different maps already in overwatch, and of the theme/setting I want to use.

These will help with the design of the level and how different buildings look etc.

I do want to look for an asset pack, if I can, to add a bit more depth to the project, and to also have some consistent sizing of assets such as walls/doorways.

I want to do a bit more in depth research of the level design for these types of maps. This is to help with things such as choke points, high grounds and flanking routes.

I also want to research the different abilities of the characters in game. This is especially important because certain characters might be able to get to certain areas such as Widowmaker (a sniper character who can reach high areas with a grapple,) or Symmetra (a character that can create a teleporter if in LOS of an area.)

After that however, I want to start creating a first blockout in engine to get a feel for an asset pack if I have one, and getting a feel for the scale of area/buildings.

Hopefully by the end of next week I can have my research done and be either ready to, or already be in engine creating a first blockout.

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Week 3 -

Since finalising my idea, I have been going into Overwatch and actually walking around each of the hybrid maps and looking at the main routes to the first point, as well as all the flanking side routes and high grounds. This has actually really helped me understand what is the best amount of

routes around the objective for players on each team to keep track of.

I now understand that a good player is able to keep track of where the enemies are as well as their allies to either kill an enemy or save their ally. Having awareness is very strong in Overwatch, but this is because the player isn't overwhelmed by too many areas in the level design.

ADD VIDEO OF GAMEPLAY

This has really helped and I can use this now I have started my own design. So far I have created the attackers spawn area, a clearing in a forest along the road opposite the track towards the lumber mill.

There is the initial choke point area, which is the most direct route to the objective. It does not lead directly onto the objective, but instead leads to a more open area where the attackers have options to go from there (similar to Kings Row**)

(Images of kings row first point choke point)**

There is a choice for the attackers to go from the initial choke point:

- The high ground building on the left that wraps around the objective.

- Toward the objective directly on the ow ground on the left side under the high ground.

- To the right side of the lumber vehicles/equipment then going directly to the objective or taking the high ground from the stairs or hero abilities.

- To the right high ground either from the forest path or from character abilities.

All of these are visible to the defenders in some way or another such as being positioned at the back of the objective or on the high ground etc. which makes keeping awareness of where all players are (including allies) not overwhelming for the defenders.

As for attackers, having awareness of where everyone is (allies and enemies) is just as important. This could be to know if an defender can be dived on and killed or if they have a power position.

For this, The main area around the point is going to be open and have good sightlines. There will still be indoors areas where players can flank and sneak or even hide, or avoid LOS of enemies but keep LOS to allies. (kings row is another example)

ADD PICTURE(S) OF KINGS ROW INDOORS PART NEAR MEGA

There is also a side route through the trees. This side route leads to a high ground around the point. This high ground however has sight lines that the defenders can see. If attackers use heroes such as Genji or Widowmaker, they can teleport to/climb to the high ground further along from the initial high ground.

Defenders on the other hand have this same access if they choose similar characters, or they can access it from the stairs underneath the high ground platform.

ADD PICTURE(S) OF CHOKE POINT

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Week 4 -

Since I finalised the ideas for the layout of this project, and have made the initial chokepoint as an area to start from, I have been working on the main objective and getting the overall size and area the objective will cover, as well as how close or far it is from the choke point. On some maps like blizzard world, the objective is pretty far from the attackers spawn. However on maps like kings row the objective is fairly close to the attackers spawn and is not far from the initial choke.

ADD PICTURE(S) OF BOTH MAPS

I need to take this into consideration because the size of the objective area can impact the length of the level from the attackers spawn to the objective and vice versa for the defenders.

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Week 5 -

This week I have been focusing on the right side on the objective (high and low ground). I have made a staircase that links the low ground inside to staircase and the outside path.

I also added more to the low ground underneath the high ground walkway. I took some inspiration from low grounds in Overwatch 2 already and how it works for the game already. I added some wooden poles to support the walkway, as well as some objects like piles of wood and a small vehicle etc. as some cover. I have kept this similar to how Overwatch 2 already does it and tried to keep to the style.

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Week 6 -

I will be 100% honest about this week. I have not been able to do work on this project.

I have some pre booked personal things going on, as well as having to work on the journeyman project to catch up on work I missed. and because of this I will be away from university until the Wednesday.

So for now this week I haven't been able to work on the project yet. I will be able to in the next days, but for now I have been unable. I hope to finish all my other work so i can focus on catching up with some work on this project by the weekend.

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Week 7 -

This week I focused on the gameplay and feel. This is mostly to do with angles the player can see and be seen and some areas of cover not being too oppressive for attackers of defenders to name but a few.

I first noticed a that the first choke was hard to attack. With the trees being in a straight line and there only being one truck as cover from the choke, the defenders had easy lines of sight. This means the defenders will have a really hard time attacking from the choke and may need a certain character with a shield etc.

To get around this I have changed the shape of the choke so that it curves more to the left to help the attackers get to the truck as well as adding some boxes as cover. It isn't too strong so that the defenders cannot shoot attackers, but the attackers have an easier time getting to the choke and can decide where to go from there.

The next area I looked at was the path to the right side of the attackers spawn. This area felt balanced for both attackers and defenders. Attackers can access high ground or low ground and still have cover, but defenders can have an idea of where they are going and track their movements.

Attackers can also catch defenders off guard and punish their positioning if there is a lone player stuck in that area. Defenders can have good positioning by playing a different area of the high ground or playing the low ground and forcing the attackers to drop down to them.

Also this week I have added to the attackers spawn room after capturing the objective.

I have changed some small things but they make a big difference.

I added the shelves, making the back of the room longer and wider to allow players to move easier.

I added slants to some corners to make the room feel smoother.

I changed the size and shape of the stairway a little to make there more room for players to move around easier.

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Week 8 -

This week has been focusing on the defenders spawn and the back side of the initial objective (the payload route)

I wanted each area to have some personality and the defenders first spawn is a truck shed. This leads to the low ground payload route which further leads to the objective, or it can lead to the bridge above the payload that further leads to the high ground.

The low ground area has enough cover for both attackers and defenders, with the payload adding to this once it reaches this area.

The high ground bridge has pros and cons. It is a high ground where both attacker and defenders can attack each other, but it can be an exposed area where players can be punished from the stairway and can be forced off the high ground.