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DOME

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ROLE

 Level Designer 

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GAME ENGINE

 Unreal Engine 5.5 

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TEAM SIZE

 2   

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TIME FRAME

 10 Weeks  

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DESCRIPTION

Open World prototype developed around exploration, parkour and gliding.

YEAR

2025

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GENRE

Open world, crafting, exploration, free movement

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PLAYER MODES

Single-player​

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CONCEPT

Core Gameplay Mechanic ​

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In Dome the player can explore a part of a small city through parkour and gliding while scavenging for parts to build their own weapons, gadgets and gliders. 

 Goal 

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My goal with this project was to learn new tools and expand my knowledge of Level Design by creating an open world experience by myself. The intention was to create an outline of a city that can be expanded upon with quests, interactables, people, challenges and explorable indoor spaces. ​

DEVELOPMENT

The Rebel Camp

​Goal

  • Create a hub for the player to come back to. 

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  • Provide a space for resources.

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  • Provide crafting space.

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Challenges: ​

  • Because of the shape of the dome, the area I was working with wasn't very intuitive to build upon.

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Solutions: 

  • I focused on blocking off the edges of the camp site first, using a tunnel and a derailed train. Both structures aid with swift traversal into the city and give the player some height. ​

  • I based the area around a shipping yard utilizing shipping containers and trains to define the area and navigable paths. 

The City

​Goal

  • ​​Provide interesting spaces for quests and gameplay challenges. ​​

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  • Create interesting verticality.

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  • Encourage exploration and scavenging.

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Challenges: 

  • ​Making monolithic spaces often found in cities interesting to traverse.

  • Creating a convincing city centre in the limited time available.

  • Making sure there are enough landmarks to encourage exploration of the whole map and help the player navigate easily.

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Solutions:

  • I put the city on a slope so I could create more high and low points, adding some variety to the space. 

  • I did end up making the city too big so I used the rooftops to create smaller parkour areas for a tighter gameplay experience.

  • I created landmarks through either broken buildings or unique architecture and placed them in key locations aided in navigation and made the area more interesting to explore.​​

The Rooftops

​Goal

  • Lean into the parkour and gliding aspect of the gameplay.

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  • Make the city feel easier to navigate and more traversable. 

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  • Give the player easy gliding access to other areas of the map.

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  • Provide new areas to explore.

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Challenges: 

  • Making each rooftop a fun experience.

  • Making the most of small spaces.

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Solutions:

  • I took inspiration from parkour and placed differently sized assets in the level to create different paths leading higher and across buildings. 

  • I took the freedom of expanding beyond the borders of the roof which made the level more interesting as a bonus. 

Player path & guiding

Goal

  • Provide the player with an easy to spot, recommended path.

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  • Make sure other paths also support easy navigation and a good experience. 

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  • Make sure the player can always spot something they want to explore. 

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  • Provide easy access to rooftops.

Challenges: 

  • Trying to imagine an intended player path in an Open World study not focused on the implementation of quests.

  • Finding effective ways to signpost paths to the player.

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Solutions:

  • I used foliage and framing to make paths clearer.​​​

  • There are paths that provide height to give the player an idea of where they can go next.

  • I placed ladders in the level for extra guidance and an alternative way to climb.

  • I added climbable window panes, balconies and frames on the buildings to make sure the player can reach the rooftops from anywhere. 

CONTRIBUTIONS

Level Design

  • Layout

  • Implemented vaulting, climbing and gliding mechanics from a template into my environment. 

  • Created the city foundation using Landscaping tools including splines, landscape - and foliage painting.​​

  • Placed pick ups and upgrading material. 

Technical Level Design

  • Developed tools

    • Scripted my own spline tool to create the trains and the dome. 

    • Scripted a building blockout tool that can adjust the number of floors and the size of the building. ​​

  • Set up Engine tools​

    • Set up scatter and foliage actors for foliage painting. ​

    • Created a Landscape material to paint the landscape with a variety of different materials. ​​​​​

REFLECTION

During this project I learned how to use and set up systems such as:

  • Scatter

  • Foliage actors

  • Landscape Splines

  • Creating Construction Scripts to create various objects rapidly for layout purposes

  • Implement vaulting, climbing and gliding mechanics from a template into my environment​​

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If I had more time to work on this project I would create more explorable areas using crumbling buildings, man made caves, and indoor environments. I would also utilize trash and ruined structures to create blockades and create paths that would allow the player to stay on the rooftops and still get around. 

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Although the end result isn’t perfect, I feel like I reached my goal with this project. I learned new tools, challenged my design knowledge by creating my first Open World map, and I feel like I did it with a reasonable scope. 

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I'm very happy with this experience and I feel like I have, once again, taken a small step towards becoming a better designer.

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