The Blackout Club - Level Graybox
Role: Solo Level Designer
Tech: Unreal Engine 4, Maya, Photoshop
Process: Devlog here
Genre: Multiplayer, 3D Co-op Stealth
I designed this graybox level of Question's The Blackout Club to create spaces for emergent team gameplay. The level has four zones: The house upper level, the house lower level, the chords (in the maze), and the magnet (in the maze). I chose a contemporary McMansion style home to re-use The Blackout Club’s existing art assets and drew layout references from other mansion levels in immersive sim lineage games, like the Boyle Mansion in Dishonored, a smidge of the house in Gone Home, and Lord Bafford’s Manor in the original Thief.
Verticality was important in creating these team spaces. In the chords, players can move suspended platforms to manipulate their shadows on the floor below. This is the only source of shadow (thus hiding places) on the lower floor. Players must work together and use their hero items and collectibles to form a safe path.
Exitting the pool in the house lower level also uses vertical spaces to force the player into a creative team mindset. Since the pool is below the enemy paths, players exitting the maze here cannot see all the potential locations for an enemy. They must rely on other players for a sight line, collectibles, or find another creative solution to exit the maze without getting caught.
.png)
Layouts
Cycle through the galleries to see the different map features.
House Lower Level
House Upper Level
The Chords
The Magnet
