MARVEL'S DEADPOOL VR
LEVEL DESIGN
As a way of encouraging players to revisit levels, you unlock alternate Deadpools as you progress that have entirely different dialogue. In addition, there are doors associated with each of these variants that lead to challenge rooms we called Secret Levels. These were more abstract, focusing solely on movement mechanics, puzzles, or combat rather than narrative content. Of the 15 Secret Levels in the game, I created 8, owning them from concept to blockout to finished product.
Yashida
Deadpool Kid
This level was created to focus on the sliding movement mechanic, providing a thrilling boost of speed. I combined sliding with other movement mechanics in order to provide unique reflex challenges for the player.
Symkaria
Lady Deadpool
Our toolkit of prototype assets had falling platforms, so I constructed this level around those, finding ways to force the player to keep moving and not retrace their steps while doing other challenges. This was particularly fun in places gated by killing enemies, as you need to keep track of your path while under pressure.
Xandar
Lady Deadpool
To create a bit of a slower-paced pseudo puzzle-focused level, I set up a system where the player would have to trace a lighted strip from a door to a target in order to unlock and proceed. Adding in enemies, multiple targets, and other shooting challenges added fun complications to the standard challenge.
Hell Vegas
Deadpool Kid
At one point boost pads were a larger part of our game, but I was able to find them a home in this Secret Level, which focused on different challenges that asked you to precisely control your movement while being shot through the level at a high speed. Later, I changed it up, forcing you to avoid the boost pads, or else be sent into dangerous areas that damaged you.
Yashida
Lady Deadpool
One of my favorite movement mechanics we had was a grapple gun, which pulled the player across large spaces, so this Secret Level was an effort to use that in the greatest variety possible. Since these were optional challenge levels, we felt comfortable putting some of the more VR-intense moments, so I included areas that would swing you around after you attached to them.
Hell Vegas
Golden Age Deadpool
Platforming challenges in the game are fun, but I was trying to find more ways to add time pressure to it, so I worked up a prototype for a moving kill floor that would slowly rise. I iterated on this idea several ways, having the kill plane come up as you climbed, come horizontally right at you, or down from the ceiling as you fight enemies in an increasingly cramped space.
Xandar
Golden Age Deadpool
I returned to the boost pad idea, this time combining it with more wide open areas that provided a unique visual identity. In the connecting spaces between boost pad challenges, I added combat corridor hallways with breakable blocks for some more dynamic and varied spaces to set it apart.
Symkaria
Deadpool Kid
In our Mojo Arena levels, we have weapon spawners that give you access to a variety of weapons beyond your standard pistols and swords, so I asked myself, “what would a level look like with only special weapons?” I removed the players standard arsenal, and came up with challenges that would force them to use only guns that they could find placed in the level.
COMBAT DESIGN
Arena Combat
I was the combat designer for several of the arena encounters throughout the game, setting up spawn points, working with animators for unique spawn animations, and pacing out the fight to appropriately challenge the player.
Tank Combat
For our final villain narrative mission of the game, we wanted to create a more bombastic experience that we hadn’t done in previous levels. To achieve this, we gave the player access to a tank, allowing them to move through larger spaces, quickly dispatching enemies with a powerful pair of weapons – a heavy machine gun and a rocket launcher. In order to keep performance in line, I had to smartly lay out enemies in a way that it seemed like there were a lot to kill while making sure not to exceed our enemy cap.
Ultimo Shooter
For this section of the game, Ultimo hacks the Nova Corps helmet you are wearing and sends you into a virtual world meant to look like an old school shooter. I helped design the enemy types, each modeled after enemies from the main level, to give them their own unique feel, and also created the enemy spawning patterns and movements to mimic the vibe of a classic arcade shooter.
Spiral Boss Fight
I was added to the team for the final boss fight, finishing up the design aspects in the last stretch of development. We wanted the fight to feel epic, but not be so challenging that it put off players from finishing our game, so I meticulously balanced the damage of her attacks and the aggression of her combos, while also reworking the phases where you volley a weapon back and forth.