Dead of Winter

Type of Project: Personal Solo | Role: Level Designer | Size: Independent | Duration: 9 weeks | Year Created: Late 2024 | Software: COD Radiant Black Edition Level Editor

Overview

CO-OP PVE Map Design

  • Created a 4-player objective based

  • Applied knowledge from single-player encounter design and multiplayer map design principles.

  • Focused on highlighting player cooperation and built space to create intense gameplay moments to encourage teamwork and collaboration.

Work Summary

  • Learned a brand new level design tool and the GSC scripting language.

  • Researched published maps from several Call of Duty games to support the player fantasy that COD zombies have delivered over the past decade.

  • Focused on crafting a compelling factory environment to pay homage to Call of Duty: World at War zombie maps, and to help keep the scope for the map reasonable.

  • Scripted custom gameplay events and weapon pick-ups to reflect the gameplay of official maps.

Planning & Research

  • Analyzed map progression, pacing, and layout of Nact Der Untoten and Verrückt.

  • I studied map structure and architecture in World at War and Black Ops 3 zombie maps.

  • Developed a top-down layout based on research findings.

  • Gathered feedback from peers and professors before moving forward.

Planning and Playtest Documents

Developing for Cooperation

  • Designed each room with

Designing for Black Ops 3 Zombie Experience

  • Designed a lower section to add depth and strategic value.

  • Initial playtests revealed players ignored the lower area in CTF due to the direct central route.

  • Iterated on the design to make the lower section more viable in both modes.

Ending Notes

Learning Outcomes

The main takeaway from this project was that adding more doesn’t always solve problems. I spent more time on this project than expected and felt dissatisfied as the constraints introduced new challenges. My initial reaction was to make drastic changes to the map, but after discussing it with my professors and peers, I realized complex solutions weren’t the answer.

Instead, I focused on elegant solutions that kept the map’s core aspects intact, like adding teleporters to make light bridges more accessible and color-coding the sides to help players orient themselves. This experience taught me that frustration can cloud judgment and that seeking feedback is crucial to finding simple, effective solutions without overcomplicating things.

Complications/Issues

The constraints I worked under were a great challenge, but testers revealed core issues with my map that were difficult to change. That was because, in the early stages, I designed my map for the constraints, but I built my geometry in a way that was extremely difficult to make major changes to.

It became a back-and-forth of trying not to remake the entire map but to address issues users had with my constraint-driven design. Designing for the constraints put me in a challenging position since adjusting geometry in Halo Infinite Forge is difficult once there are a lot of objects. Through this project, I learned that creating a map is easily modular via organization in order to mitigate the challenges of Forge and to make maps that can easily be edited.

Top-Down Layout

©Call of Duty: World at War. (2008) . Treyarch

Fusion