Swap Meat

LEVELS

SOFTWARE:

Unity

INSPIRATION:

3rd person rogue-like | Shooter | Hades | HellDivers 2

JOB TITLE:

Level, Narrative Designer

TEAM SIZE: 16

DURATION: 1 Year

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Rip through hostile alien worlds, harvest mutant body parts mid-combat, and adapt faster than the enemies before they overwhelm you. Every alien you harvest gives you new body parts with unique powers — triple-jump legs, turret-dropping torsos, grenade-launching turkey heads.

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LEVELS

SwapMeat levels are divided into Open World Levels and Boss Levels. Players are dropped into Planet Levels and given 4 Primary Events they must complete to escape. They are encouraged to explore other Secondary Events, resource hubs, and shrines to gain EXP. I was responsible for building new Planet Levels and innovating past levels. I added new pathways, more engaging locations, and new encounter points to help guide the player and increase their playtime per map.

MOST INTERSTING CHANGES

This level introduced the player to the mechanics while also allowing them to gradually test them against enemies.
Players were having difficulty understanding that their main task was at the end of the map, so I added high ground view (Picture 2) so they could see their directive from the start of the map
Players were also having difficulty understanding how to use their abilities. I communicated with the UI team and designed monitors to show player mechanics at locations where they were required

MOST INTERSTING CHANGES

Alpha 01 is the first Planet the player lands on after the tutorial. It was the most refined of the planets and serves as the benchmark. However, it suffered from an overwhelming amount of events, confusing pathways, and a stale challenge event.
I improved this design by reducing the number of secondary events that spawn on the planet. This allowed players to avoid being overwhelmed by things to do on the first planet they visited. especially when they are still learning new mechanics.
I also added a new location for the planted "Broadside Challenge Events." Originally, there was only one location, and the player reported becoming bored with the same event location on each play-through.

MOST INTERSTING CHANGES

Lunar 01 suffered from a lack of clear traversable routes and directives. Players also felt that the challenge event on this planet did not fit its environment.
I created two new areas to introduce a new challenge event for this planet. The results of these new areas were that players explored more sections of the map they hadn't needed to visit before.
This planet also lacked "Alien Faction" representation. To change, I communicated with the art lead and added new buildings directly associated with the Alien Faction.
This change not only brought repesentation but also helped guide the players to their objectives

MOST INTERSTING CHANGES

This level suffered from pathing issues and narrative significance. Please were not only confused about where they should go but also about how they ended up here in the first place.
First, I changed the pathing by adding opening doorways and Yellow mechanical pipes to draw the players' attention and guide them through the level.
Second, a more narratively significant challenge is around rescuing a kidnapped comrade and destroying the mechanical monster that had kidnapped them.
Players reported a better understanding of their purpose and ease of navigation after these changes

MOST INTERSTING CHANGES

This level introduces a car-body-part mechanic. So I built a racetrack to let players drive around the map.
Player feedback on the track was favorable; however, many players fell off and struggled to get back on.
I added extra jump pads around the track(Picture 2), and it helped, but not enough.
Finally, I added a second track beneath the first, with jump ramps(Picture 3) that launched the players into the sky. This allowed players to land on the second track if they fell and immediately jump back onto the first.

MOST INTERSTING CHANGES

This level's original design (Picture 2) suffered from a lack of events, pathing constraints, and purpose.
From our game's narrative, it was a level meant to train the player to fight the next boss.
I started by first creating a Platou a the top of the center mountain. This served many purposes, such as creating an open area for the Final event, creating the "completing your training" narrative beat, and giving the player a visible goal to strive for.
Next, I hollowed out the center mountain and added passageways. With this change, players reported being able to move across the map more quickly and effectively than before.
Finally, I added new environment locations and props, including large oak trees and sand dunes. This separated the levels' design from the original "Alpha 01" level.

MOST INTERSTING CHANGES

This level really focuses on the feeling of entering a toxic factory, so I played around with piping elements and water planes to help guide the player
The water planes messed with the Pathing of our nav mesh, so I created a custom Geometry mesh to place the water planes on.
The Mesh prevented the enemy monster from completely submerging and losing their pathing

Slime Heroes levels are divided into World Levels, Puzzle-Dungeons, and Boss Rooms. I am in charge of building World Levels and Puzzle Dungeons. World Levels allow players to defeat enemies, collect new skills, and take on bosses. Puzzle Dungeon serves as a challenging introduction to the player's newfound abilities.

FUNCTIONALITY