With an understanding of shape language, composition and pacing you can create an emotional journey for a player throughout a level’s design. In this blockout, I modeled tall structures and caverns to give the player a sense of permanence as well as design narrow spaces with sharp angles to create tense moments of agitation and uncertainty. Pacing these spaces out creates an emotional journey for the player with the use of simple shapes. I wanted to achieve a strong Uncharted feel for this level, so I took much of my inspiration from the Madagascar and Scotland levels to compose this level.

The design of this level opens up in a cavernous prospect space with high walls in order to give the player a sense of security and confidence, as well as a strong incentive to observe and explore further. This establishes a positive start to get the player wanting to set out for an adventure!

As the player proceeds up the stairs they reach a ruin providing a slightly lesser sense of security, with numerous ledges and a clearing that makes the player feel more exposed. Using rectangular shapes for platforming, the player must jump up numerous cliff sides to reach the next area. Rectangles have a sense of stability and each jump ascends the player higher, rewarding their progression with a sense of dominance over the space. This is short-lived however, when the player reaches the top of this platform they are greeted with a very ominous and narrow cave. Surrounded with sharp rocks and roots, this conveys a threatening agitation to unnerve the player as well as stir confusion and a lack of confidence to think that maybe they could get lost.

However, the player is rewarded with a few pickups in this tunnel if they are brave enough to explore the space and even more so when they reach the end of the tunnel to have a reveal of their primary goal—the tower. The player then drops down into this narrow space, leading around into another intimate space with ruins and alcoves to explore—the player can collect coins which rewards their curiosity in exploring the space.

The overall notes of this level start the player off high while then dipping to a low, only to be rewarded with another high that carries them through more neutral intimate spaces before finally hitting a harsher more challenging low where the player reaches the final cave. This final cave has a few more disorientating twists and turns with even more agitating roots that occlude the player’s view. I wanted this to be the lowest part for the player in the level, that almost makes them want to sprint through this area to get through it as fast as possible. The growth of the roots increases and the space narrows even more so as they reach the end. But the player gets a breath of relief when they finally breakthrough the exit. Another view of the tower emerges, showing that the player is now closer and their destination is in sight.

The level comes to a close with one final rewarding high, as they navigate the grounds of the tower taking in wide open vistas and discovering other surrounding collectibles. The player is funneled through one final opening, descending into a room with a collapsing floor to spark some tension while also creating awe as they carefully walk across the connecting floor seeing the ocean rocks and debris below. Finally, making their way through the crack in the wall, tension rises a little more again as a body is discovered and the narrow winding stairs lead them through a path of uncertainty. The final staircase upward occludes the player’s view just enough until they reach the top revealing the final treasure and enormous atrium that they have now discovered, peaking the player at this final emotional high.

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