Iron Reef

This map is a collaboration between myself and Liam Brennan. Together we are designing a Call of Duty inspired battle royale map. For every decision made, COD's many mechanics, cameras, and features are taken into careful consideration.

It began with planning out an abandoned military base. This map would feature 6 unique points of interest [poi]. The transition spaces between were to also be designed to tie the whole island together, and make a realistic, shippable map.

The Points of Interest

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Living Quarters

Command Center

Dock Yard

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Living Quarters

Initial 2D Layout

Backstory and Intent

The Living Quarters represents a home away from home. It's a place where soldiers can take a break from their duties and relax. I wanted to envelop that ideal into a playable space full of possibility.

The intent with this space was as follows:

A close quarters location with a multitude of possible attack angles.
Create multiple ways to access vertical, and horizontal pathways.
Reward players who frequent the location, and learn its many routes to ambush unexpecting opponents.

Approach

The initial stages began with the following:

Gathering online references from military living quarters.
Understanding the reasoning for how they are built.
Figuring out how to gamify the realism of a living quarters space.

After research I discovered a few things I wanted to implement.

The whole building had easy access to the outside. If danger were to come, soldiers could be easily mobilized.
The outside space had many activities to support the laid back lifestyle.
Rooms were compact, and often identical to each other.
Minimal furniture allowed easy movement in each room.

To support the open, flowy, and outplay potential I wanted this space to have, I did the following.

Bringing in destruction allowed me to open up spaces to create unique gameplay, and allow player to access locations that were closed off before.
Position assets along the walls to support quick movement inside each room.
Multiple staircases, and places to mantle to make verticality easily accessible.
Clear access points into the building.
Small sub-areas in the surrounding area for quick combat.

Holes like this one introduced a unique playable space. It connects two floors to each other allowing fast travel between the two, and quick access to outside.

Examples of how using large pieces of geometry, and breaking up the structure can create unique experiences inside each room.

Assets placed alongside the wall leave hallways, connections, and create cover for players to fight each other. These assets also block sneaky corner campers, and give cover to those just entering the room for the first time.

A variety of ways to get up to higher levels without needing to search for a long time.

Small arenas allowing combat between multiple players in the same section.

Challenges

Althought it was my initial intention to create unique gameplay in each room, it was tricky because of a few reasons.

Each space will be made up of the same assets.
Rooms were all shaped similarly.

I believe I solved these issues by improving, and frequently introducing these key aspects.

Altering the playable shape of each room by creating unique shapes with large pieces of geometry.
Opening up walls so players gained access to the outside or adjacent rooms.
Connecting exterior balconies for quick transitions between spaces.

The space began to feel cluttered which hindered the intended fast paced movement. I fixed this by doing the following:

Introducing pillars that gave good cover, and took up minimal space.
Stationed more assets beside walls to fix flow, and stop corner camping.
Altered the rooms shape instead of introducing more assets.

The result of these changes were the following:

An easier to read space.
More time could be spent shooting and planning instead of dodging the world around you.
The rooms chained together for quick movement, and multiple outplay opportunities.

A few slideshows showcasing the Living Quarters overtime from multiple angles.

Command Center

Initial 2D Layout

Backstory and Intent

The Command Center is a central building with a lot riding on its shoulders. A place for powerful decisions, powerful people, and most of all safety, and security. I wanted to introduce a space that communicated this from the outside, and inside.

The intent with this space was the following.

Create a large overall area that feels intimate with its intricate spaces.
The threat of a third party is always high, and I wanted to make sure players had the option to escape quickly.
I wanted various ways to access each floor allowing players the opportunity to outplay their opponents, and showcase their map knowledge.
The exterior locations are designed as standalone maps that offer the same competitive feel any map would.
I wanted the Command Center to be a place newer players can land without being under immediate threat.

Approach

The initial stages began with researching, and understanding what makes a central building like this feel important, strong, and secure.

To communicate my intent through level design I did the following things.

I broke up long angles with boxes and walls to shrink sightlines forcing players to focus on what is in front of them. This created intimate encounters between players.
Many escape routes for players to flee perusing combat opened up because the interior and exterior spaces became more intimate.
Opened up walls, ceilings, and floors for a varied movement experience.
Staircases, ziplines, broken walls, and more give players a quick way to traverse, and fight both horizontally, and vertically.
There are many ways to use the various mechanics (sliding, wall jumping, mantling) to reach greater heights, and outplay your opponent.

Showcasing how I used assets to break up rooms into smaller, intimate encounters between players. Players are able to focus on what is in front of them. Orange representing assets that break up sightlines to create two rooms, red and green representing each room.

Multiple paths can serve as a pure escape route, or a way to set up a sneaky ambush on your pursuer.

The poi is full off opportunities to utilize the many mechanics to get to a high ground advantage.

Challenges

My main challenge was shrinking sightlines because the Command Center is a very open space. I needed to break up long sightlines, and open spaces to condense gameplay without removing key geometry.

I managed to overcome this challenge by doing the following.

Instead of using multiple assets, i instead used one piece that served a purpose from all 360 degrees around it.
The same shipping container provides value from all 360 degrees, as well as breaks up sight between two sub-arenas.
I introduced chain fences that players can shoot through, but cant see through. These break up the players view, but don't impede gameplay opportunities.
I designed each room, and exterior space by imagining sub-levels players would fight in, and creating those spaces to optimize gameplay.

My tactics to solving this problem all turned me into a more critical thinking when it comes to placing down assets in a level. I began thinking more about the benefit each piece would bring, and experimented more with alternative locations, and angles before making a final decision.

Another challenge I faced was building with too many square's, and square-like shapes which I fixed by doing the following.

Removing corners to create different angles.
Using hexagons, L shapes, and other unique pieces to diversify the space.
Placing large boxes alongside long walls that force movement, and break sight.

A few slideshows showcasing the Command Center overtime from multiple angles.

Dock Yard

Initial 2D Layout

Backstory and Intent

The Dock Yard is a central area for shipments and delivery. If this spot were to be targeted by an attack it would be a massive blow to the entirety of the base. I wanted to design a space that showcased the importance of its area.

The Intent with this space was the following.

Build a large open space with longer angles to support long distance gun fights.
Place tactical cover the allows short range fighters to slowly close the distance between them and their long range opponents.
Build with some unique geometric buildings and areas to break free from the normal rectangles and squares that are frequently used.
Dock Yards are usually quite flat. I wanted to design good elevation changes that supported intricate gameplay, and a good understanding of your surroundings.
Create a balance between low and high ground so that no matter which side the player is on there is always a fighting chance.
A large central landmark that helps identify the dock yard as the dock yard.

Approach

My initial stages began with research and reference gathering to design a realistic space. I also studied real levels to gamify the realism into a well rounded experience.

To communicate my intent through level design I did the following things.

I intentionally kept angles long, and built a trail of zig zagging cover towards those longer angles. Doing this left a good balance between the effectiveness of taking a long angle, and the opportunity to close the distance when playing for a close quarters fight.
Kept a majority of the gameplay outdoors to keep long angles, and make this poi unique from the others inside this map.
I chose shapes I had previously avoided. This created a variety of new opportunities when designing interior and exterior space.
I designed the space with multiple elevation changes in the same area.
To ensure high ground wasn't overly powerful, I ensured the optimal elevated spots had some tactical weaknesses like multiple routes to reach the top, lack of beneficial cover, or a clear angle to be attacked from while sitting on a higher elevation.

These images showcase how I left long angles, but allowed players to close the distance by using tactically placed cover in between the two players positions.

The red represents the long sightlines.
The green represents the available cover to players.
In the POV shots, the red X represents the opposing player.

Building a unique foundation allowed experimentation with the interiors in a variety of ways.

Here I show how I experimented with large assets, elevating buildings, and developing spaces to increase the vertical capability of an overall flat area. These images are all full of ways to access each height by use of ramps, stairs, and mechanics (wall jumping, mantling, etc).

Challenges

My main challenge was maintaining long angles while adding in cover for players to close the distance.

I managed to overcome this challenge by doing the following.

Varying the height of cover by using half cover, full cover, and thin and thick pillar style cover.
Placing assets pieces on the sides of the players view. This allows them to move both forward, and side to side so a pursuer can dodge shots while moving into cover, and the long range opponent still has the opportunity to line up a shot.
Instead of just adding cover. I would also add larger buildings allowing players to trip up their long range attacker, and emerge from an unexpected area. This created the option for a tactical outplay on your opponent instead of just a zig zagging approach.

It is super easy to over clutter an area. While gathering references for the Docks in particular I came across tons of images where the entire space was super cluttered. To avoid cluttering my space, I learned how to do the squint test when adding cover, and other assets to my spaces.

By looking at a reference image and squinting my eyes I'm able to see the pieces of geometry that stand out the most. Those are the items I then tactically place to promote good player decisions, reduce confusion, and keep the area clean so my design doesn't impede player movement.

A few slideshows showcasing the Dock Yard overtime from multiple angles.