September, 2024
Project Overview
Soakdown is a first person shooter, where your objective is to fight back against oncoming hordes of paper enemies!
This game was a submission for the Wholesome Game Jam in September 2024, which took place over 48 hours.
My role on the team was Level Design, so I handled everything to do with the map (layout, design, pickup & enemy placements etc...), as well as the surrounding environment.
The theme for this game jam was handmade, so we decided to use hand drawn enemies and pickups.
The player plays as a little toy soldier, armed with a water gun to defeat the various enemies.
Map Development
Early into development, we decided that the game would take place in a small 'arena' map, with waves of enemies.
When it came to brainstorming ideas for the map, I looked at games like Quake and Call of Duty's Zombie maps for inspirations.
Some important design choices I made in my first draft for the map were:
• The map flowed smoothly, and players could pass between each area with ease.
• The layout and design of the map had to be something a child could create and play with, to fit with the theme and style of the game.
Initial Draft Design
Final Map Design
The final design for the map features 3 key areas:
• The Castle
• The Village
• The Animal Pens
In my initial draft, I had an elevated section that's purpose was to add some height to the map. In my final design, I instead altered that section into a lower side path that would connect the castle back to the village.
The design of the map is very cyclical in various places, allowing for players to loop round these areas so they can't get trapped down one-way paths. This can be seen:
• In the castle interior, with elevated platforms around the walls
• The path through the castle and around the side path back to the village
• The animal pens, with openings in each fence between each pen.
The pickups seen on the map respawn after a certain amount of time. This helped influence where pickups were placed around the map - they are in convenient places, but spread out across each area, with the aim of having players always being on the move.
Blockout Development
Elevated Path (From my initial draft)
Castle Blockout
Castle Interior Blockout
Castle Wall - Testing with the wooden block models
Initial Castle Design
Castle Interior Design
Castle Side Path
Village and Animal Pen Blockout
Scale Test
Images of the Final Level & Environment
