Game Design     Level Design     Interface Design     Storyboarding     2D Art     3D Art
   Level Design

Paul Gunn
Game Designer
(925) 785-9954 m
(408) 370-0620 h

    In addition to Portal Runner, I have done level design work for The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (unreleased) and Army Men: Sarge's War for the Xbox, Gamecube and Playstation 2. Before working at 3DO, I did amateur level design with the Unreal and Unreal Tournament engines. Before that, I've run many a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, always from a game world of my own invention. I own piles of composition books filled with notes, maps, and various game design work for this purpose. It was this work and my Unreal work that landed me the job at 3DO in the first place. Recently I've done level design work for Golden Axe (Xbox 360), an unannounced project for Santa Cruz Games, as well as the 2D action-adventure game Chronicles of Annor: Quest for the Crystal Shards.

A sample level design document: Ancient Treachery (PDF)

   
Unreal Tournament 2004

    Here is some of the level design I have done in UT2004 recently. Telven of the Falls is a deathmatch level in a castle on a waterfall that I designed and laid out. I did all the modeling and texturing except for the Abbadon rock and Abbadon rock texture. Why reinvent the wheel? Fortune City is the map I created for the Master of Elements mod, and can be found here.

   
Portal Runner

    While working at 3DO as a Level Designer II, I worked on a Playstation 2 title called Portal Runner. This was a single player linear level-based action platformer with a two player deathmatch mode. The game's two major game mechanics were controlling the main character's pet lion and the "Hot Shot" mechanic of making trick shots with the player's bow.

    I worked on several levels for that game and two others. I was handed the game's design document and instructed to design game levels based on the story and gameplay described in the document. I used 3D Studio Max to place in game objects and create pads and waypoints. I did scripting for the game in VikkiScript, a custom scripting language designed specifically for Portal Runner. I helped ship the game and was awarded a 'Star Performer' award for both my diligent debugging efforts, and for single-handedly tackling all the design for the multiplayer aspect of the game.

    Following are various responsibilities I had while working on the individual levels in the game.

Single Player Levels

Raptor B
  • Created paper design based on a preexisting level mesh and art direction to "make use of the giant stone lion head we made".
  • Innovated the elemental crystal gating mechanism to incorporate the game's "Hot Shot" mechanic into the level.
  • Designed the entire level under extreme time pressure (a few months).
  • Placed objects, special effect emitters, NPCs and trigger pads.
  • Scripted the level's NPC encounters, gating mechanics, sound effects, in-game cinematics and ambient effects such as the subtle lighting changes and non-interactive critters.
  • Scripted culling of NPCs, special effects and objects to improve game performance while eliminating "pop-in".
  • Designed and requested art assets, sound files, special effects and other incidentals.
  • Expanded a small area into longer gameplay time through re-exploration and several secret areas.
  • Created several new game mechanics, which were then used by other level designers, such as the thorny tree obstacle.
  • Tuning, tweaking, and final testing before shipping the final game.
  • Simulated physics using objects following scripted paths when certain triggers are met.

img/misc_thumb_01.gif Raptor B walkthrough (WMV 4.9MB)


Heal the Lion
  • Created paper design based on the already created storyline and concept.
  • Placed objects, special effect emitters, NPCs and trigger pads.
  • Scripted the level's NPC encounters, gating mechanics, sound effects, in-game cinematics and ambient effects such as the subtle lighting changes and non-interactive critters.
  • Worked with artists to create the look and feel of the level.
  • Scripted culling of NPCs, special effects and objects to improve game performance while eliminating "pop-in".
  • Designed and requested art assets, sound files, special effects and other incidentals.
  • Simulated physics using objects following scripted paths when certain triggers are met.

img/misc_thumb_01.gif Heal the Lion walkthrough (WMV 9.7MB)


Multiplayer Levels
On each Multiplayer Level:
  • Created paper design based on a preexisting level mesh.
  • Incorporated the single player game's "Hot-Shot" mechanics into a viable two-player gameplay.
  • Designed the entire level under extreme time pressure (a few months).
  • Placed objects, special effect emitters, spawn points and trigger pads.
  • Scripted the levels' two player deathmatch gametype as well as the various special effects, sound effects, platforms and secret areas.
  • Scripted culling of special effects and objects to improve game performance while eliminating "pop-in" in a two-player environment (a tricky proposition, which had to be tailored for each level).
  • Designed and requested art assets, sound files, special effects and other incidentals.
  • Created a player spawning script that never spawns the player next to the other player.
  • Tuning tweaking and final testing before shipping the final game.
  • In the Moat Arena, I created a secret mini-arena, the Crystal Maze, which was tailored to using certain kinds of arrows. In this arena, I also performed all the above listed functions (scripting, spawning, etc.)
  • In the Jungle Tangle, I created a secret mini-arena, the Explosives Pit, which is tailored to using certain kinds of arrows. In this arena, I also performed all the above listed functions (scripting, spawning, etc.)
  • In Zero G Showdown, I designed a two-mode level. In green mode, gravity is normal and falling from a great height would hurt you. In red mode, gravity is super-low, falling was not lethal and the level itself would transform and take a different shape, opening up new areas.

In addition, on all the game's levels, I was asked to test and submit bug reports, as well as submit suggestions for gameplay improvements. For example:
  • I designed the concept for the lightning crystal puzzle in the Caves level.
  • I finished my testing on my levels early enough that I was asked to spend much of my time testing other designers' levels.