This was created for a self-initiated University project during the winter semster of 2020/2021.
I decided to create a fully polished Quake campaign featuring 3 levels. I wanted to improve level design, because it’s one of my favourite aspects of game development, and it’s the area where player comes face-to-face with the mechanics of the game.
I chose Quake so I could focus 100% on level design, without worrying about programming or game engine problems.
Download the campaign! 🔫I analysed the first levels of several FPS games to draw inspiration and see what their commons themes:
I stuck with the linear and shorter style, but threw out the last two points. Instead of a hero slaughtering hordes of demons, I wanted the player to feel like a regular guy who, for reasons outside his control, is forced into this scary and unusual situation. A feeling of being somewhere you’re not supposed to be against your will, instead of deliberating trying to save or conquer/liberate something.
Building on that feeling of vulnerability, I decided to make the level have a more atmospheric and investigative start. You’re just walking around exploring this weird unsettling place at your own pace as tension builds up. Until it eventually explodes. When you do find the first enemy encounter, it should feel a lot more impactful. You’ll be able to take out a few of the enemies, but then you’ll be forced to run and run until you escape, as the slow walking gives way to a frantic claustrophobic chase.
When the level does end, and the next one beings, the player should hopefully start thinking whether they truly escape or if they ran straight into a trap. All this to give the feeling that the player is just some regular character being toyed with and not a superhuman hero. Until they prove themselves on the next level.
These are the features I strived to include in my second level that are common in the main levels of a retro FPS campaign:
I also wanted to flesh out the story behind this house from a narrative and world-building point of view. It starts as a normal place, with a storage room and a laundry room, but you soon encounter weird ones like a bloody workshop with esoteric purpose-built machinery. Another subtle-ish clue is the industrial cold room: why would a family house need to store so much meat?
The crowning jewel of weird is a concealed button in the cellar that opens up a secret door, revealing a passage built into the rock. This passage leads to a monitoring room, where a military solider is keeping watch on the house from many cameras. Hopefully these areas will get the player’s imagination wondering what’s going on with this house and why the military is here.
The first level was mostly exploratory/investigative, with one combat encounter and a chase scene. The second level was focused around enemy ambushes and big encounters. On this final level, the roles reverse. After their intense training, the protagonist of this campaign emerges from the basement as a combat veteran. Now, the player is the predator: the one who ambushes the soldiers.
This is why every enemy in this level is just minding their own business, with their backs turned to the player. This allows the player time to formulate their own ambush and mercilessly slaughter them as they run around in a panic.
This was the entire gameplay idea of this level. The other main concept was the narrative. This level would have to offer some kind of narrative explanation for what’s going on, as well as a satisfying ending. This is why, throughout the house, you can find many photos of the family that used to live here, the soldiers who now occupy it, as well as some mysterious individuals. I put a lot of effort into making this look like a normal house that was taken over by dirty careless cultists and I hope it shows!