Mantra
Art Director | May 2022 - Present
Encounter Design Lead | May 2021 - May 2022
Project Overview:
Rubyshark Games is a non-profit learning program that offers work experience to hobbyists, pre and post graduates and juniors in the games industry.
The Leadership team is comprised of Industry Professionals who give up their free time to mentor their team members.
Its a great way for young and aspiring game devs to get some experience under industry standard while building a strong portfolio of work.
Unreal Engine 4 and 5
Pre-Production Art Demo for Steam Next Fest. I directed all the Art featured here and worked on the level.
Design Lead Objectives:
- Help our Level Designers with arena combat theory and space identity within artistic vision.
- Reinforce Director's Principles while designing original, fun and diverse arenas.
- Have in depth one on ones, listening to Designer's intention for their levels.
One of my first tasks was to create some example combat spaces in the form of Demo Arenas that the Level Design Team could use as reference, below are two of them:
CANYON | Demo Arena
- Emphasis on relaxed and satisfying pathing was the main focus to help players explore and enjoy the movement mechanics while evenly distributing low level AI for practicing combat.
- Spiralling pathways help gradually introduce new sightlines and direct players while maintaining a natural formation appearance that correlates with art direction.
- Multi-use geometry that acts as structural cover, platforms and macro dividers allows the map to have as much functionality and replayability.
DOCKS | Demo Arena
- Hardcore gameplay ensure players have to focus on spacial awareness, but also enables them to fall and land somewhere with reasonable protection.
- Mirrored design lets players quickly understand flow while dealing with a lot of enemies, so their focus can always remain on combat.
- Containers offer multi-use in the form of wallruns, sightline protection, safe pass-throughs and jump platforms to launch off of.
Examples of Combat Spaces I Directed
Here are some of the combat spaces I worked on, directing Artists and Level Designers. For most of these, they take place towards the start of the game as we're making our way through each level. This page will likely be updated with more spaces I direct as and when my assistance is required on the Level Design Team.
Tutorial Zone | Introduction To Combat
- Transforming a simple arena into a lesson on how to pick fights in a very controlled environment with an emphasis on forward motion and player choice.
- Segmenting the space to give 3 distinctive points of interest, rather than showing everything in one go. We want players making quick decisions so they're never over analysing their options.
- Bringing key movement mechanics into the tutorial space such as wall running to get players failure with our systems early on.
Original Blockout
A quick sketch example I provided
Final area based on my feedback
Level 1 | A New Enemy
- Introducing a new enemy, I wanted a more memorable encounter than the flat open space we currently had.
- I created a very simple sketch to demonstrate how we could have multiple routes through the space to improve flow within the combat encounter. However it became clear that adding interest to the environment would be the best way to create the memorable experience we were looking for.
Original gameplay area
Quick sketch to demonstrate flow enhancements
- I directed one of our concept artists in creating a notable point of interest piece that this combat encounter could take place in. I kept the idea of rising up to the new challenge, but ultimately we kept the arena simple with loose cover as this was still within the first 15 minutes of the game.
Initial concept I directed
The stunning concept key art shot, Elliot T-F created
The finalised blockout based on art concept and my gameplay direction
Level 2 | Final Arena
- This area was to be the first truly challenging area for the player where they'd have to fight a variety of enemies and use their movement skills to navigate the space.
- There was a big emphasis on movement to avoid enemy fire, rather than simply using cover like with the combat areas that precede it.
- The lime area in the main control room, with doors at either side flowing out into the open space, even with them closed there's plenty of movement options utilising the control room as a central hub.
Key:
Blue Lines - Wall Run
Orange Sections - Ramps
Cyan Dashed Lines - Mid-Air Transition Routes
Initial top down design I suggested
Final blockout based on my concept looking north-west
Final blockout based on my concept looking south-east
Original gameplay space
L3-E1 | Elevating Engagement With Realism
- Adding to the geometric interest while elevating narrative world building is perfect for a simple area like this. As the entrance to a mine, we should focus on making it believable with robust designs. Because of this, I favored my sketch on the left as it felt more realistic.
- I also wanted to use structure and prop cover that would make sense in a cave to both ground the experience while creating more interesting interactions.
Concept sketch I created
Final area based on my concept
