MY INTENTIONS
My initial objective was to create a challenging, layered level that utilizes both the portal gel and tractor beams, with a unique twist of controlling the portal gel by using the tractor beam in order to the paths.
GAME BRICKS
The Portal Gel
This is a white gel that enables any surface to have portals placed on them, even if they are not normally portal-conductive.
Tractor Beam
This is a cylindrical beam of blue light that defies gravity, allowing weightless travel for anything inside it. It flows in a specific direction but can be reversed by activating a button.
Having completed Portal 1 and 2, including most of their bonus maps. I'm eager to design a challenging level focuses on these 2 bricks that blew me away when I first encountered them.
So...let's see the results.
WALKTHROUGH
Level Name : SplashPort
Difficulty : Challenging
Gameplay Length : Around 6mins (In golden path)
The level took 2 days to create, with the final work completed after 4 iterations.
OVERVIEW
Have a quick glance of the level.
You can have a better reading experience by checking this page in PC.
GOAL
The START
Objective
Activate 2 buttons to raise the platform, and use it to launch yourself to the goal.
The 2 buttons
These two buttons were located on the first room and the last room, the former serves as an "checkpoint", and the latter acts as the goal of this level.
EVOLUTION
1st Iteration
Overview
In the initial version, most of the early situations were made, but the lack of limitations and guidance makes it hard to play with. Also, the final puzzle is still work in progress.
Playtest feedbacks
Due to the lack of guidance in the level, players found it difficult to make progress, which frustrated them. Although they gained a better understanding of the level and enjoyed playing with the level bricks after receiving some basic hints, they still found it challenging to progress since they couldn't locate the correct spot to apply the gel.
However, they found it quite intriguing to play with this new combination of level bricks, and this marks a good starting point for me.
Things to improve
To make the first few sitatuations playable, more visual guidances (e.g : lights, portable walls) are definitely required.
2nd Iteration
Overview
Based on the feedback I received during the first playtest, I added more portable walls and lights for guidance. And some fences were also added into the level to prevent players from breaking it. Additionally, I created the initial version of the final puzzle.
Playtest feedbacks
With these improvements, most of the players felt less confused and succeeded in completing one-third of the level. However, finishing it entirely still proves to be a tough challenge for them.
The real difficulty arises when they reach the second floor, using gravity and portals to propel themselves, and they become confused by the layered design of this map. What is even worse is that the combination of the layered structure and the portal gel creates an overwhelmingly high number of possibilities to break the map, something I wish to prevent from happening.
Finally, there were few of them tested the last puzzle, they found it fun, but it's way too hard, and it's not really related to the main level bricks.
Things to improve
After reviewing the critical feedbacks from the playtest, besides adding additional guidance and content, I have come to realize that the most urgent issue is to impose more constraints to prevent players from breaking the map. This is because having more pathways often results in more opportunities for 'breaks'.
3rd Iteration
Overview
In this iteration, I tried various methods to test the level's limits, aiming to identify areas where I could add blockers to prevent players from breaking it. Additionally, I made some minor adjustments to provide better guidance within the level. Furthermore, I iterated the final puzzle to ensure its relevance to the overall topic.
I am confident that these changes will address the issues I encountered during the last playtest.
Playtest feedbacks
After those changes, players did have a better gameplay experience since the path became more visible, and the new blockers succeeded in preventing them from trying the wrong path. Now, most players can finish 2/3 or even the whole level, proving that my efforts have not been wasted.
However, there were some players who would accdentially break the level, and there were also some players commented that they need a significant amount of time to travel back to areas they had already explored, which feels like a waste of time and can be frustrating. Addictionally, most of them indicated that the last puzzle was too punishing due to too many lasers.
Things to improve
Although I was happy to see that most of the issues were fixed, I believe that improving the level's accessibility by adding checkpoints and providing more guidance is the only way to validate this gameplay further.
Final Iteration
Overview
In this final iteration, my focus was mostly on improving the level's accessibility and making proper changes to the final puzzle to strike a balance between playability and difficulty.
To achieve this, I added more checkpoints for when the player reaches an area and interacts with the button. Additionally, I implemented more blockers and guidance to clarify the path. Finally, I redesigned the final puzzle to make the gameplay clearer and more related to the topic, ensuring it fits the flow of the level.
Playtest feedbacks
With all the accessibility improvements made, the players succeeded in making progress in the level by discovering the designed path, instead of trying every possibility. They also appreciated the checkpoints, which saved a lot of time traveling between areas.
As for the final puzzle, they found the design to be "appropriate", meaning that while it's related to the topic, the puzzle itself isn't too punishing nor too easy.
All of these factors resulted in a huge satisfaction with the gameplay and an appreciation of my level design.
CONCLUSIONS
& IMPROVEMENTS
Conclusion
1. More pathes leads to more bugs...but?
It's indeed quite cool for players to experience a layered level with multiple paths. However, it poses a significant challenge for level designers in establishing clear guidelines and obstacles to prevent players from breaking the level. Besides, implementing direct/indirect checkpoints is also an important approach to save players' time when traveling between different areas.
2. Playtesting is the key to improvement
As individuals, even though we test thousands of times, there is always something we cannot foresee. That's why we need others to test our work; letting others test our work provides us with a new way to improve it.
Overall: The final quality of level meets my standard
Although it's my first attempt at creating a Portal 2 level, with all the improvements made through these iterations, I believe that the design did meet my requirements: a challenging level based on the utilization of portal gel and tractor beams, offering an interesting gameplay mechanic involving controlling and splashing the gel by manipulating the tractor beam and placing portals.
Improvements
Having a more flexible scope
Considering the time I had to create this level, my scope was far too ambitious for completing something within a 7-hour timeframe. This led to it being impossible for me to create a fully polished level along with its design document within such a short span.
After submitting the first version, I decided to invest additional time in enhancing both the level and the document. Although the results are satisfactory, I still need to consider how significantly the time limit can affect the scope of my project.