GRIMWAR (WIP)
Project Type: First-person mobility shooter
​
Date: September 2024 - May 2025
Location: UCF
Contribution: Level designer
​
Defy gravity and enemies alike in a high-speed world where magic and momentum collide. Use spells and fluid movement mechanics to traverse levels while defeating rooms of enemies along the way. How will you escape the GRIMWAR?
Platforming
A block-out of an early section of the second level. The focus of the second level is verticality, which has the player focusing on gaining height and strategically climbing the tower. Using both spells and wall-running to build and maintain speed is key to mastering GRIMWAR. Such flexibility in mobility allows the player to complete areas in their own way.
Enemies
Levels are built with both the player and enemies in mind. In this example, a wide open space is laid out for flying and ranged enemies to shine. The player is given room to accelerate and outmaneuver the enemies as well as the spells to exploit them.
Arenas
Sometimes the player will find themselves in a room swarmed with enemies with no way out. Equipped with a variety of spells and terrain to work with, arenas are built to allow for freedom of expression in how the player wants to clear the gauntlet.
Verticality
The level in this image is focused on verticality. The player is focused on climbing higher into the tower, and will cross this room many times throghout the level. Creative players may find other ways to cross these gaps using their spells if they're unable to efficiently wall run and jump across.
A Change of Pace
After scaling the tower, there is a much more open space where the player will be changing pace for the final stretch of the level. My design here was to maintain height instead of just gaining height, which was a change from the design of the previous sections of the level. There is skill involved in balancing speed, distance, and height while platforming, and through feedback and play testing, I have found the balance to keep the design of the game feeling consistent.
