Doom level
My main aim for my level design was focused on puzzles inspired from Darksiders II and on exploration inspired by Might and Magic VII. Levels in Darksiders II allows a lot of exploration by coming back into rooms that were already explored. Might and Magic VII encourages exploration a lot as rare treasures can be found anywhere in dungeons and on powerful enemies.
At the beginning, I was planning to put two levels above and under the central hub but I realised it was not doable. I ended up merging some parts from those missing levels. Textures helped me construct the narration of the map. The start would tell the player that they are in a jail in a linear corridor and locked by a massive door. Obviously, since the player is blocked, they would look for the key in all the jail cells. Once they find the key and exit the jail, they would walk into a hallway separated into three paths: the middle path shows another massive door similar to the jail room but the design of the door is different. The left path ends to a bloody door, which either discourages the player to not come in or would in the contrary encourage them to go inside. Either way, they would be forced to take this path as the right path is locked. They would then encounter monsters instead of humans. Small rooms dispersed in the hallway would help the player gain more ammos and health and I realised it is actually necessary to get those items to defeat the monsters located in the room. The next room would display another wave of monster plus two new monsters with the same calibre. Once defeated, the player would notice the hidden door by its different texture from the wall. They would retrieve the key and then unlock the room at the end of the right path. Inside of it, the player would encounter a wave of normal humans before getting to a massive room very different from the other rooms and filled with monsters and two mini-bosses. In the way, the player would find powerful items to defeat them but they would need to explore any corner before the fight. Then, they would find the last key for the central room. That last room is a boss room. There are actually two options to escape it: fight the boss or if the player does not have much ammo, they can always escape by fleeing to the exit. Yet, the room is filled with obstacles that would slow the player but also protect them from the boss’s attacks.
Earlier, I mentioned textures helped construct the narrative of the map: the whole map is a massive castle made of bricks, which is slowly invaded by monsters. Some textures display unique features and I chose the lion to symbolize the human presence or a clue for a secret. To represent the monster presence, I chose the jester face and fleshy and bloody textures. Secret rooms entrances are displayed by a slight different texture from their surroundings.