Return of the Dead Design Process

Return of the Dead is a custom map that aims to capture the essence of older levels in the Call of Duty series. The map is built for the wave-based survival horror game mode inside of Black Ops 3.

To achieve my goal, the level needed to be dark, close quarters, and put simply, scary. Here, I will showcase my process of designing the level. 

When creating the initial sketches, I had to make sure of a few things. The paths the players took needed to be balanced. This was to encourage exploration and add unique replayability.

(Finalized Key)

Level Design Doc

One big change to the map was the removal of a door. This door was intended to give the player access to looping around the second floor once the power was restored. 

Due to my limited knowledge of the Game Engine, the door was removed for being game-breaking. Luckily, it didn't affect the player experience and benefitted the map progression by keeping it balanced.

Post Mortem

I believe a lot went well with this project. I'm satisfied with how the gameplay loop feels. The atmosphere is close to my intended concept. The level feels coherent and makes sense with the context I had given to the setting.

On the other hand, some things could have been done better. Fewer setbacks during development would have let me do more for the environments of each room.

Time management was also a big thing for this project. Pair this with learning a new engine at the same time. Trying to create a professional piece in this setting was difficult.

Going forward, I will be using this experience to help me when designing other levels. This experience has helped me improve my development process and appreciation for intricate details. This was a very fun level to develop and I hope to create even better ones in the future.