As a Level Designer on Elements, I owned the design and implementation of a Village "Player Hub". 

As a Level Designer, I was responsible for:

• Designing the overall flow and pacing of the space
• Greyboxing and iterating on the design based on the creative director's feedback
• Set dressing the entire village to bring it to a finalized state
• Utilize the foliage and landscaping tools to construct the physical layout of the village
  
  Role: Level Designer
  Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox
  Engine: Unreal Engine 5
  Production: In development
  Team Size: 10+
  

Elements is a 3rd person open-world RPG set in the world of "Elemythia" where Players set out on a journey to collect 8 Elemental Stones that are hidden throughout the world.

The world is composed of eight distinct biomes, each representing a different elemental force


Dark, Light, Air, Water, Ice, Fire, Nature, Earth

Each Biome has multiple Village / Hub spaces for players to interact with various NPCs to turn in quests, buy items, and trade with.

Links:

For my pre-production phase, I focused a lot on gathering reference images. 

These images influenced the overall structure, tone, and atmosphere I wanted to set for the village.

I specifically looked for nature or village-related images as they helped me gain an understanding of how villages and nature can coexist.

To ensure that the village had a unique Identity and to ensure I was spacing out the NPCs within a reasonable distance I made a few simple top-down maps. I started with paper drawings and eventually made a digital layout later on. 

Using a variety of primitive shapes, I greyboxed the village area in a modular, section-by-section approach.

The initial focus was on establishing the entrance and positioning the central 'Tree' landmark as the primary point of orientation.

NPC vendors were strategically placed based on their overall importance and anticipated frequency of player interaction.

I then analyzed walking distances to ensure accessibility, refining vendor placements so that each could be reached from the tree within a reasonable time frame. Once this requirement was met, the vendor positions were finalized.

Framing can be essential in a hub space because it effectively directs the player's attention, helping them focus on key elements and areas. 

To do so I strategically stop the village gates so that the "Tree" Landmark is directly centered in the player's view.

This is done to show the tree's importance to not just the village but also the player. The Tree also acts as a point of interest, enticing players to check it out.

Focal Points serve as a visual anchor, making it easier for players to navigate and remember key areas of the hub. It can also add a sense of identity and character to the space, making it memorable and distinct.

I wanted to create a clear and decisive landmark that players can focus on while navigating the village.

Because of this, I chose a large tree. The abnormal size is very noticeable and distinct compared to other trees.

 The Size also allows the landmark to be seen no matter where you stand in the village

Breadcrumbing, leading lines, and light are all examples of guiding principles. Their objective is to guide the player towards a specific objective or point of interest. 

These techniques are used throughout the village but some examples would be when players head towards the Blacksmith NPC.

• The path bends downwards but doesn't completely reveal the NPC.  
• The areas leaves are an orange hue which differ from the rest of the village
• The entrance to this path has a lantern hanging above it signifying that the route is traversable.

All of these subtle hints entice players to explore this area. Once players have done so they are rewarded by finding the Blacksmith NPC. Players can then buy and sell weapons to the vendor

Level flow describes how players navigate and experience a level.

For the village, I implemented a figure-eight design to emphasize a "looping" effect.

This looping effect creates a continuous, interconnected path system, allowing players to move smoothly without encountering dead ends or excessive backtracking.

It also ensures that players explore all areas of the hub and can always return to the central landmark, the "Tree" Landmark.

Overall this design reflects the "Circle of Life" theme, fitting within the nature biomes concept.

Overall the Nature Village was the perfect way for me to push myself and explore a side of level design that isn't talked about very much.

My major focuses on this project were to:

Work efficiently within a given time frame
Allow players to explore but guide them to the various NPC locations
Ensure the travel time in-between each Vendor was within a responsible time frame

I also was able to work on my set dressing skills and learned a lot that will help speed up my process in the future. Overall I am happy with what I was able to build, It was simple, smooth, and got right to the point. After all what more could you ask of a hub space? Thank you for taking the time to look over my Village project.

*This level is liable to change as development continues*