Introduction

In a dystopian future ruled by WCKD, Thomas must go on a dangerous mission to rescue his captured friends. Alone and outnumbered, he must infiltrate WCKD’s guarded facility before time runs out, knowing that every decision could mean life or death.

Goal

The goal I was working toward was to create a level design with a tutorial base, while adding an adventure themed experience inspired by Maze Runner.

Summary

Individual solo project
Focus on Level Design
ALS Template made by Jakub
All of the meshes are from Marketplace Asset Packs or SketchFab
Blueprints made by me

Walkthrough

This is a walkthrough gameplay of my project!

OVERVIEW AND BEATS

(Start) The player starts in a safe area outside the WCKD walls.

(1.) The player navigates a ruined urban area, climbing over debris and squeezing through narrow passages, learning how to push stuff.

(2.) The player encounters a WCKD drone and learns to press Z to scan areas and reveal hidden soldiers.

(3.) Moving further in, the player encounters more enemies and must sneak around them.

(4.) Here the player needs to sneak past security cameras.

(5.) The player must reach the door to enter the building, either by running while getting shot at.

(END)

Workflow

When I started designing this project I wanted a short and tutorial like level to teach the basics. At the start, there’s text telling players what to do and I made sure the WCKD building is always visible. Which is called visual anchoring and it helps players stay focused on their goal through out my level.

I introduced simple mechanics like moving and crouching early on. The environment starts with a more broken overgrown buildings to give an abandoned feel like it is in the Maze Runner. As you get closer to the WCKD facility the buildings become newer and more intact to show the difference and build tension as the player makes process.

When the player finishes crouching they will move into a bigger area to learn what they can and can’t jump over. I used clear visuals so players know what’s climbable and what isn’t. There’s also a fallen truck with boxes where one box can be pushed which introduces a simple puzzle. The player uses it to reach a building they couldn’t before, making the puzzle feel useful and not boring. After getting over the building the player will unlock their the Z ability to scan enemies. As they jump to another ledge a drone flies overhead to add a more cinematic moment and keep the player still engaged. After the drone has passed they can cross the plank infront slowly avoiding guards below who they’ve already scanned.

When I made this area, I wanted the player to keep using the Z ability they just learned, so they get better at it. This section is all about stealth gameplay, where they have to avoid soldiers and a security camera.

I added a high vantage point so players can clearly see their destination and plan their path. Using spatial awareness and a visual anchor helps guide them while making sure the area feels open but still focused on sneaking past the walls.

When the player gets past the walls, the level transitions to an open a high-risk area, creating a a new type of pacing. The exposed design and lack of cover force a tense sprint to the doors while under fire, using spatial pressure and dynamic encounters to heighten the moment. This shift from stealth to action was intentional to create a climactic ending, leaving the player engaged and eager for what’s next for the story.

Blueprints

I’m more focused on design and art, so working with blueprints was a challenge but also a great opportunity to push myself. It was interesting to adapt and build on an existing template, finding ways to make it work for my project. The blueprints I created are simple but functional, focusing on practical mechanics and player-centric design to ensure smooth gameplay while staying true to the overall vision.

ITERATIONS

Working on this dystopian setting ruled by WCKD gave me a lot of creative freedom, but I wanted to make sure the level felt fun and made sense. I used the ALS (Advanced Locomotion System) by Jakub to make the movement feel smooth and natural, like jumping, crouching, and sneaking. It really helped bring the gameplay together.

Since Thomas is alone and outnumbered, I focused on stealth, puzzles, and clear goals. I made sure the WCKD facility stayed visible (visual anchoring) so players always know where to go. I also used spatial awareness by giving players high vantage points to see the area and plan their moves.

I didn’t have professional feedback, so I tested it myself and got input from online friends and my sister. For example, adding the Z ability early made the stealth feel more fun and gave players something to do right away.

The environment starts with overgrown ruins and shifts to newer WCKD buildings to show progress and build tension. Using ALS made everything feel smooth, and the feedback I got helped me figure out what worked and what needed tweaking. Overall, it was trial and error, but it came together in the end

PRE-PRODUCTION

In pre-production, I focused on the basics—jumping, climbing, sneaking instead of using things like distractions or hacking as I planned at first. I kept the visuals dystopian, with muted colors and darker areas, but made things look cleaner and more modern near WCKD. Lighting helped point out important spots.

The story is about survival and resistance, and I used the environment to tell it, like moving from broken houses to WCKD’s fancy building. I kept the WCKD facility in sight to guide players. I also planned everything week by week, working on mechanics, level design, and testing as I went.

REFLECTION

Working on this project was a mix of excitement and frustration. Using someone else’s code made it tough to add my own stuff or make changes, and I ran into a lot of bugs and errors along the way. My PC didn’t handle the project well, so sometimes loading it up would take forever, and that just slowed me down even more.

My first project got completely corrupted by my PC, which meant I had to restart everything from scratch, and that was honestly pretty demotivating. But even though that was a huge setback, this project turned out way better. I learned a lot from the mistakes I made on the first one, and I made sure not to repeat them this time around. For example, I was a lot more organized with my time and focused on testing as I went to avoid the same issues.

It wasn’t perfect, though. There were still a few bugs that popped up, especially with the code I was working with, and I could have added more features if my PC had handled it better. But in the end, it was a good challenge, and I’m glad I pushed through. You really do learn more from your mistakes than from your successes, and this project helped me grow a lot as a developer.

Even with all the issues and setbacks, I’m happy with how this turned out. I definitely feel more confident moving forward, and I know I’ll take what I’ve learned into the next project.