Gaea is a project that two colleagues of mine and I developed during our Level Design class.
The objective of the project was to develop an interconnected environment in three parts, one per member of the team, in which a character needs to collect a certain number of collectibles placed throughout the level.
The challenge I proposed to my colleagues was to select a few inspiring concept arts upon which we would base the feel, type and points of interest in our level.
Having a more cohesive structure in the three parts of the level was a bit more challenging since we were three designers with different approaches and designing techniques. It all worked out however, and I am proud of the accomplishment and structure of our level.
Émile developed the starting series of small isle that leads to the coast upon which most of the action in the experience takes place.
This section of the level was conceived with a slow pace in mind and great viewpoints on the shore and the towering mountain upon which the Giant and the Tree of Life sits.
Louis designed the Tree of life portion of the level, which is the final challenge in the experience. After a rough climb, the player can see the journey he's travelled and reflect on his progression.
Finally, the part of the level that I designed was the mountain that is at the center of the player's journey. It is composed of the side of the cliff that leads to the caverns, that are composed of an array of middle range challenges that are meant to prepare the player for the challenges of the tree of life.
To break the long stretch of dark caves in which the player climbs and jumps, I conceived a mountain pass that gets the player out in the open before his final tests.
As a designer that has an artistic background, I was the one who suggested the concept art approach, a method of level design that is practised in the industry, when collaborating with environmental artist in the design process. I also positioned the artistic assets to give a more cohesive feel to our level. I used assets from the Procedural Nature Packs 1 and 2 by PurePolygons to make it look nicer, since it's a project solely developed by designers.
The stone giants were integrated in the landscape of our level to give a soft narration and some nice points of interest.
