THINK ACROSS
PROJECT INTRODUCTION
For a Level Design Jam hosted by Steve Lee, Think Across was my first submission and participation to Steve’s Level Design Jams. Think Across was designed in mind for players to think and figure out the puzzle that is across the room from them. Inspired by Valve’s design pillars and philosophies for Portal 2, Think Across uses strong designs from Portal 2 itself to make sure players are familiar with puzzle concepts that help create unique solutions and ways to beat puzzles.
RESPONSIBILITES
- An entry to the Level Design Jam 002 created by Steve Lee, I worked solo in creating a fun and unique Portal 2 level using the in-game Puzzle Editor and the Source Hammer Editor.
- Designed & Blocked out in the in-game 2D Puzzle Editor
- Communicated with other level designers in the Level Design Discord
- Designed multiple Puzzles and as well as their introduction interactions
- Implemented the props and Art Assets to design the level’s aesthetic
PROJECT DETAILS
- Source Engine Hammer Editor
- Solo Project
- Role: Level Designer
- Source 1 Engine
Puzzle Introduction Philosophy:
- I wanted to introduce players to each puzzle in a unique way with laser reflection cubes, crushers, and turrets. I wanted to create an event or Communicate Visually to the players that there’s a tool, a way to die, and a direction to look at by implementing prop assets that had a goal to communicate to the players.
- This philosophy was introduced and used throughout all of Portal 2 but in ways that made players think and made them Question and Think about how the tool can be used. In the clip to the left, you can see how I had a Laser Reflection cube drop and fall onto the ground and making the laser reflect and spin around, Communicating to the player that this is their first tool and introduction to the current puzzle.
Blockout Inside The Custom Puzzle Editor:
- I started doing the Blockout inside the puzzle editor inside Portal 2. I designed the puzzles, scripted them to get a general idea of what I was working with and how to create something unique with the small number of tools I had. Once it was done in the puzzle editor, I then exported it into the Source Engine level editor known as Hammer. The puzzle editor made for Portal 2 from Valve is such an amazing introductory tool that I used to setup the puzzles, visually script them, and to learn more about how the engine interacts with certain scripts and events that occur throughout Portal 2.
Polishing & Scripting In The Hammer Editor:
- I implemented props and assets to Communicate to The Player more in a visual way by adding assets such as the broken bridge, or the turret emitting a laser across the platforms.
- I did a ton of Visual Scripting inside the hammer editor, as exporting it from the puzzle editor broke a few things and I had to fix them. I even added and edited some of the systems inside the level to make it more relaxed for the engine when it was compiling and building it for submission.