Hi everyone,
In this post I’ll be going through my research, planning and timeline creation.
Level Design Research
I began by replaying BioShock, BioShock 2 and Minerva’s den to get a general feel for how the levels are designed. As I played, I noted down the general layout of the levels, environmental storytelling aspects, story events, gameplay beats, splicer attacks and pickups.







I particular noted the first level in each game as I want to create a level which would be the first in a fictional DLC named Mad God.
I noted that there were particular themes and aspects that the designers behind these initial levels wanted to convey. A first level generally acts as an invisible tutorial which introduces players to the core mechanics of the game from jumping, crouching, combat etc.
- Introduce player to crouching and jumping
- Introduced player to melee combat
- Keep the pacing relatively quick to get the player into he main part of the game
- Create awe and mystery to hook the player
Player experience
First off I wanted to identify what experience I was trying to create for the player. Steve Lee has an excellent video detailing how he creates a paper overview of a level before any editor work begins. He notes that its critical to establish what type of experience you’re trying to create for the player.
Goals
- Create a BioShock level – the first level a player would play
- Portfolio piece
- Show level design – 3D layout, level scripting, environmental storytelling, puzzles, lighting and gameplay ideas
- 3-5 minutes in length
- Theme – mystery & intrigue – why is the player here?
Elements
- Introduce player to crouching and jumping
- Introduced player to melee combat / plasmids
- Introduce a main character
- Keep the pacing relatively quick to get the player into the main part of the game (next level)
- Create mystery & intrigue to hook the player
Gameplay beats
- Player gets a melee weapon
- Player gets a plasmid (fire)
- “Show the puzzle first” sequence – can be solved with plasmid
Timeline
From here I defined specific gameplay beats for the level and drew up a timeline (fig.1) which allowed to set the pace and flow along with intensity:
- Arrive at the lighthouse
- Bathysphere Gas trap
- Collect Radio/Meet the stranger
- Jumping and crouching (TUTORIAL)
- Collect the wrench
- Melee Combat (TUTORIAL)
- Plasmid puzzle
- Exit level

Writing / sketching out ideas
I then moved on to sketching out some ideas so I had somewhere to start before I began working in Unreal.





Well I think that wraps this post up. I’m always trying to get better to any feedback is always appreciated.
See you next time.