MMO
I was a Level Designer on LEGO Universe, a 3rd person MMO with action RPG elements. The only similar game to LU that I’d ever played up to this point was Guild Wars, and since MMOs weren’t my favorite genre, I tried to cater it more towards some of my favorite 3D platformers like Mario 64 and Jak and Daxter. I worked closely with engineering and systems to get features in like a double jump for improved platforming, a 3 hit combo like Ratchet and Clank to improve Melee Combat, and cooperative puzzles for map progression. Notable features I focused on include:
Building maps that supported ~20 players per instance and offered diverse gameplay for an MMO ranging from platforming to combat arenas and plenty of discoverable secrets.
I set up all of the racetracks with appropriate technical mark up and worked with an engineer to set up a checkpoint and lap system that was highly scalable for any type of racetrack.
I developed one of the 3 racetracks.
I scripted one boss fight and all of the shooting galleries.
I scripted a handful of PvP modes and built a few maps featuring those modes that didn’t ship, but were absolutely a lot of fun to work on.
This project was pure joy to work on and the team was so talented. I’m glad that some bits and pieces ultimately leaked so that people can see some of the promise behind all the late-night check-ins, but I’m sad that no one will get to experience it first-hand.
Forbidden Valley
Forbidden Valley was one of the later levels developed for LEGO Universe that we got to throw a lot of ideas into, including more advanced platforming, our first real boss fight, and gated progression like Super Metroid. Also serving as our most moody and atmospheric environment, this sprawling map has a lot of secrets that reward the player for exploring, most of the time… Notable features I worked on include:
Scripting updraft feature used for longer and higher jumps in specific areas for unique platforming not found anywhere else in the game.
This map served as the basis for “Foot Races” which I worked with an engineer to get fully integrated before it turned into a feature that we put into every map in the rest of the game.
Scripted candle assets to extinguish briefly when the player “attacks” them.
Dragonmaw Chasm
After taking 2 racetracks from blockout through to shipping, I was given the opportunity to create my own racetrack. For this I was already playing a LOT of Modnation Racers, and actually made a couple of prototypes in that game before creating Dragonmaw Chasm. My goal was to make it feel like a Disney themed Roller Coaster, with huge drops and massive jumps. I was also influenced by Splashdown 2, where there was some progressive story telling based on the current lap the player was on. To that end, I think this was a really special piece of content that Art ,Design, and Engineering all came together for a smooth development process that we were all very proud of.
Another major inspiration was DK Mountain from Mario Kart Double Dash, which I’m hopeful is illustrated when the player gets launched through the brush and up into the tree. Notable features I worked on include:
Only track to have special networked animations that not only tell a progressive story of an angry Dragon protecting her eggs, but also opens up new routes with each consecutive lap.
Only track with a legitimate skill based shortcut right after the big jump that sends the player flying into the tree.
Scripted some hazards that toggle on and off at regular intervals when the player drives underground.
Avant Gardens
This was the first real level in the game after the player had a chance to get their bearings and learn the controls. My biggest contribution was building the LEGO minifigure Monument and setting it up as a platforming puzzle. I scripted a few hazards and smashables along the way, including hazards that the player ould have to smash to then rebuild into something else. There were a few secret paths and lots of hidden collectibles around the Monument, and this served as the template for puzzle based platforming for the rest of the game. This area was heavily influenced by platformers like Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. I primarily focused on:
Working with engineering to get a shadow in for the player so they could accurately gauge their jumps.
Proxied in shapes for large smashable walls that were hiding secret paths through the Monument.
Made sure the reveal for this POI was as epic as possible.
Shooting Gallery
There were 2 or 3 shooting galleries in LEGO Universe and I got to design them all. A template script was created for me and then I did the rest of the work setting up splines for ships, waves, points, the scoring system, combo system, etc. This was interestingly influenced mostly by Guitar Hero/Rock Band where if you get a long enough combo going you’ll activate a special fire mode. I primarily focused on:
Designing all of the shooting galleries, from paper design to execution, including the scoring and combo systems.
Built the backdrop with existing assets to save Art some time.
Set up all splines, enemy types, point values, waves, etc.
Spider Queen
Originally an entirely separate dungeon, I scripted the Spider Queen boss fight and it tested well enough that we decided to keep the Spider and balance it a bit before plugging it in to a different part of the game. I was grateful that even though the dungeon got scrapped, the boss fight I scripted was enjoyed enough that we found a way to use it elsewhere. I primarily focused on:
It’s pretty self-explanatory, I scripted the boss fight :) It was ultimately the proxy for the final version, but not a lot changed.
Additional Content & Prototypes
I made a lot of content for LEGO Universe, and this is where I learned that 95% of the content we develop may not even ship with the final game. PvP arenas based on Fat Princess, dungeon crawlers with an overhead camera system, and even a side-scroller influenced by Donkey Kong Country - I made it all! Notable prototypes I created include:
Attack Defend game mode based heavily on Fat Princess for the PS3 - this was by far the most fun I had playing the game and I’m sad that this never shipped.
A dungeon crawler that was a combination of Diablo and Smash TV with an overhead camera system and concentrated battle arenas.
A cinematic side-scroller level with new climbing tech that we never featured anywhere else in the game. It was fully featured, included a boss fight and probably could’ve shipped with the final game.
Venture Explorer
This was the training level where every player begun their journey. I wanted to make sure that players were able to learn at their own pace and didn’t have to travel far to accomplish any of the objectives within the space ship. Smashing, quick-builds, and platforming were the primary tools I wanted the player to come away with here, but we also wanted it to be fun with a sense of urgency. I primarily focused on:
Teaching the player the basics of platforming and rotating the camera to find basic objectives, which was especially important because the assumption was many children would be playing this on hand-me-down laptops or computers and may not even leverage a mouse.
This was the first time we set up replicated, moving platforms, and I wanted to ensure the timing was predictable, so I worked with engineering to expose a variable for “waiting” on any specific point. Other variables were also exposed for basic behaviors like loop and ping-pong.