The Temple
Greek myth-themed single-player FPS level | | Do you have what it takes to defeat the horror that lurks within this temple of Poseidon?
Overview
Summary: The Temple is a single-player level made for Quake. Its theming was inspired by a set of greco-roman architecture-style textures. This loose narrative of the enemies and monsters inside defending their temple from the player, who is breaking in and desecrating it, emerged from this greco-roman theming. The further into the temple the player fights, the darker the textures and environment become. The chiseled perfection of the Greek god, Poseidon gives way to the more cruel nature of the Minotaur.
Software: TrenchBroom, Quakespasm Spiked, GitHub
Tags: Level Design, First-Person Shooter
Duties
Created documentation noting the design choices of the level: textures, narrative, enemies, and flow.
Created metrics documentation noting player height, the height of enemies, player jump height and distance, player run speed, standard dimensions for the size of rooms, standard dimensions for hallways, etc.
Created Top-down diagrams showing level progression.
Built out grey box models of the level to test overall flow and gameplay.
Conducted playtest sessions and recorded what elements of the level design were fun and which ones were frustrating for the player.
Iterated on the level design based on feedback collected during playtest sessions.
Textured and lit the scene to create the desired atmosphere and aesthetic of the level.
Utilized version control using GitHub.
Created publically accessible design documentation using GitHub’s wiki feature.
Publically released the level on GitHub for others to download and play.
Development Highlights
Initial Top Down Layout
Before starting to build out the level in-engine, I drew out this top-down layout of the game map in order to get a sense of the general flow of the map. Doing this allowed me to work out the overall level progression before spending too much time building the level in-engine. The final iteration of the level, however, did deviate from this layout to make the progression through the level more streamlined.
Establishing Standard Metrics
In order to make development more streamlined, a standard set of metrics were used throughout the design of the level.
Measurements like player height and width, enemy heights, play jump height and distance were noted. Standard room and hallway dimensions where then decided upon based on these measurements.
The specific metrics used for this level can be found on the metrics page in the documentation for this project.
Texturing and Lighting
Texturing
The Theme of this level is a Greco-roman-ish style temple. With the maze in the lower levels of the map, I wanted to gently convey the story of the Minotaur. Some of the modeling done does this, but I wanted to use textures that would enhance this narrative. As the player gets deeper into the temple, the environment turns from this bright white to a dark gritty stone.
Lighting
I decided to make it nighttime in the outdoor areas of the map. So, I lit those areas according to the direction of the moon in the scene. As the player progresses through the level, the lighting of the indoor areas slowly gets darker. The Labyrinth has more dramatic lighting.
