Level Design Case Study - Time to breach

Overview

A combat-focused shooter level built around a strong compositional decision: relocating the main prison structure to control scale, readability, and player focus under a fixed tilted camera. The project demonstrates spatial composition, player flow control, and gameplay-driven use of VFX through iterative level design.

Core Design Decision: Prison Composition

Problem

In early layouts, the prison structure was placed centrally, dominating the space. Under the fixed tilted camera, this collapsed the perceived scale, caused frequent occlusion, and competed visually with combat spaces, making the level harder to read.

Design Decision

The prison was moved from the center of the level to the edge of the playable space.

Cells were repositioned below the main combat area rather than stacked vertically.

The prison became a compositional anchor instead of a navigational obstacle.

Result

• Improved spatial hierarchy and depth perception
• Clear separation between combat spaces and background structures
• Stronger visual framing of the level without blocking player movement
• The prison reads as a dominant landmark without interfering with gameplay

Why this matters

This decision allowed the level to maintain scale and clarity while fully supporting the fixed camera, turning a potential technical limitation into a compositional strength.

Camera Constraints & Readability

The compositional shift enabled further camera-driven iteration:

Before

Full-height walls and central structures frequently obstructed the camera view and flattened vertical scale.

After

Wall heights were iteratively lowered and aligned with the new prison placement, ensuring uninterrupted visibility of combat spaces and routes.

Player Flow & Combat Pacing

Before

Secondary traversal routes allowed players to bypass combat encounters, weakening tension and pacing.

After

Optional routes were removed to establish a clear critical path, keeping the player consistently engaged in combat scenarios.

Enemy Placement & AI Interaction

Enemies used sensing-based behavior rather than static placement.

• Improved spatial hierarchy and depth perception.
• Enemy positioning reinforced forward momentum and positional decision-making.

Navigation & Narrative Layer

Narrative ideas were present but subordinated to gameplay clarity.

• Abstract, narrative-driven area naming was replaced with functional labels.
• Narrative remains as environmental cues rather than explicit guidance.

This ensured fast decision-making during combat without removing thematic context.

Gameplay-Driven VFX

VFX were used strictly to support gameplay and readability:

• Grenade effects communicate blast radius and timing.
• Projectile and enemy effects provide immediate hit and state feedback.
• Fire and smoke signal a major environmental event and intentionally break long sightlines.
• Effects reinforce player decisions without relying on UI.

Tools Used