Introduction to Games Design

Hammer Girl is a first year project that allows our students to experience multiple areas of design in one project.  Areas include Games Design, Level Design, Mechanic Design and Environmental Storytelling.  Students are provided with an asset pack, a character with basic animations and some starting mechanics. From here students create functioning mechanics with Hammer Girl to use within their levels whilst thinking about restrictions thrown at them to create fun and engaging projects. Notwithstanding every student starts with the same files it is incredible to see the range of diverse and exciting play experiences which emerge.

Hammer Girl Asset Pack: Hand Painted Environment  Evgeniya Yaremko

Meet some of our 2021 design students and hear about their project experiences.

Miles Carr

I am from Lancaster, based in the North West of England. I am very inspired when I see behind the scenes footage from big studios such as Naughty Dog as it gives me a real drive into creating something within an engine. My focus for the industry is level design 100%. It is something I am very passionate about doing and I hope to see myself one day in the industry developing and creating levels!

This project was really unique as it highlights the basic fundamentals of the UE4 engine, which makes it a joy to work with as a 1st year student. Planning and narrative was a key part of my level design, as I wanted the level to tell some kind of mysterious story as the player travels through. Doing this planning before going into the engine helped significantly as I could picture the look and atmosphere of the level as I started to develop it in UE4.

Following my first level sketches I recreated the level to be more visually pleasing and easy to follow, this was super fun. I love when there is a mystery in the story or you have to follow certain clues to achieve the story to continue. The witch is expecting me, not helping me directly but giving me clues so I have to actually use my brain and not just headlessly follow a mark on the map.

The level is separated into two parts, bright beginning and adventure and dark end with shocking truth. The main path lets the player explore just enough so they don’t get lost. There is also the option of two endings, depending on how many crystals the player collects. It’s a short but enjoyable game filled with adventure and mystery.

Valentyna Sipova

My story doesn’t start like most of the gamers out there, I have not played games since my childhood. It all changed when I was around 13 years old and I was discovering the mysteries of Rook Island in Far Cry 3. I fell in love with games and it’s my safe space ever since.

I was amazed how something can be so pretty, emotional or challenging. I mostly enjoyed the level design, identifying and design the path the player follows and challenges they face.

When I had the option to actually study developing games I went for it and I have no regrets. I’m enjoying every bit. My biggest dream is being in the game credits and I am ready to face all the challenges ahead.

Sam Bate

I grew up in Cheshire and started playing video games on my PS2 and later my DS. When I was younger, my favourite games were LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO Battles which first introduced me to the strategy games genre. I was later inspired by Hearts of Iron IV and Skyrim and am fascinated by their narrative and mechanics.
I studied Mathematics and Games Design at College before moving on to University where my passion for level design flourished. In the future I see myself pursuing Level Design as my career, continuing to solve fascinating puzzles.

The main focus of my level was jumping puzzles and smashing enemies. Within the village, I attempted to keep the player engaged by incorporating elements of humour. I wanted my level to be easy to read so the player is guided by lighting and collectables.

Before I started work on the level, I wrote down some basic level beats and mechanics I wanted to include. This enabled me to sketch out my level design on paper.  Following this I created a test scene in Unreal and developed the game mechanics I wanted, such as the enemies moving towards the player. Finally, I transferred these ideas into the final level scene.