CTF Space Race

Identifying the Opportunity in Gameplay Mechanics​​​​​​​

What can the player do?

• Run, jump, crouch, wall slide
• Collect and shoot weapons
• Collect and carry the flag
• Respawn

What can the environment do?

• Provide weapons
• Provide health
• Provide shields

Creating the Space for those Mechanics

Basic Principle Behind the Level

I wanted to create a space where any weapon has a viable space to use, including the starter weapon. Pistols, Akimbo Pistols, Sniper/Beam rifles, and the Rocket Launcher are all in the map, and spawn in locations where that weapon playstyle would be suited best.

Keeping in mind the power scale of weapons, the center of the map holds the only Rocket Launcher; it acts as an additional item to fight over outside the team’s maps.

Each floor of the map also serves a certain playstyle (alongside the weapon choice). The bottom floor is more open, suited for 1v1’s or quick firefights. The middle of the map is a general floor; most weapons are viable here. Players can fight across either of the floors, but will mostly focus on a beeline to the objective. The top most floor is a sniper alley. Not only do the long hallways give way to long range fights, but the window openings provide a vantage point over most of the map. The close walls also make mobility and close-quarters combat an option.

Inspiration and Justification

A lot of the inspiration was drawn from Halo maps. The open spaces near the bottom with tighter surrounding areas above provided a great firefight environment. Additionally the mobility mechanics of Unreal Tournament are similar to that of Halo; the jump and sprint are two of the biggest assets to the player in terms of movement.

Iterations in Development

Blockout Updates

After an initial playtest, 2 major issues emerged. The middle lane, while having the most opportunity to to beeline the objective and see players above or below them, was too exposed moving towards the Rocket Launcher. Cover was needed to obscure the player from the sniper lanes from above, and to provide a space to pause if the player along the middle lane needed to recalculate battle options.

The second issue came from sniper alley. While providing a great area to snipe other players, the gameplay to get to that area was dull and flat. There was little variety in gameplay; no skill based outplaying could be done in the hallway and it was simply which player could aim better first. By adding recesses along the wall, and cover to the top of the stairs entrance, wall slides between cover and to lower floors made the top lane more accessible to different playstyles and added layers to the gameplay.