A Mountain Full of Gold
This level was the final project of the CGMA Level Design for Games Workshop. I was given a short prompt and a cadence for the level to follow.
My goal was to complete a level that flows properly and builds tension as the player ascends a mountainous area. This project was a culmination of everything I learned during the workshop.
"L'or De Ma Mère" means "My Mother's Gold" in French.
Overall Structure
Level Gallery
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Complete Walkthrough
Full Gameplay WalkthroughGoals & Theming
"Many years ago, the cowboy's mother was a prospector, and struck it rich. Unfortunately, her partner betrayed her and stole all the gold for himself. The cowboy's mom tracked him down, but he died before she could find out where he stowed all the gold. Recently, the cowboy happened upon some clues about the gold's location. But his sworn enemy overheard his plans to find it, and has gotten here first, with an army of desperados. They'll use any means necessary to keep the cowboy from his treasure."
With the initial prompt in mind, I envisioned an old mining operation that was fairly hidden and very prosperous. The treasure was going to be hidden above the player's mother's main mining operation — hiding in plain sight.
My main objective was to reward the player with vistas. I thought it would be interesting if the player came across an initial waterfall view, then looped around onto the bridge, and finally viewed everything from above at the end.
I wanted this level set in the foggy mountains of central California, around the Death Valley area. Inspiration was drawn from old mining architecture — silos, ore houses, and mine shafts.
An "off the path" mining operation in the central California mountains seemed like an awesome place for a level to be located.
References
Before beginning, I collected two types: general references (architecture, inspiration) and mood references for weather and lighting.
2D Mapping
This was the first project where I relied heavily on 2D mapping. It allowed me to plan out combat encounters and sped up the initial blockout by a large amount.
Opening the Level
The player starts on the shore of a lake, having just discovered the boat of his enemy. In an effort to reward the player with views, I start them off with a great one, and quickly give them an even better one.
After this, I transition the player into a tight mine corridor before the first combat space. This transition from wide open space into cramped is meant to accentuate the space the player is entering.
Underground Cavern Fight
For the first combat room, I wanted it underground in one of the mine areas. The space was designed around three enemies inside a cavern with waterfalls coming out of the ceiling.
I established a clear front for the player and enemies, while providing a nice flank route around the side and up to the raised portion the enemies are occupying.
I also wanted to portray what the enemies would actually be doing — searching for the player's mother's gold, having split from their group to find it first.
Post-Combat Cooldown
I start the player off inside a tight mine shaft to give a cooldown after combat. Outside, going left reveals sunken mining equipment in a mountain lake. Going right heads towards the second tier of the waterfall view — above the waterfall they first saw at the start.
The Final Approach
The player reaches the mining operation his mother had perfected and sees it has seen better days. The main ore silos are leaning into the water, pointing the player towards their next objective: the main mine entrance.
This leads to a scripted elevator that takes them up to the third and final tier of views — overlooking everything the player has gone through.
Further along, they find the treasure buried right above her mining operation, and see a small house beginning to fade off of the cliff.
Climactic Lakeside Battle
In the second combat section, I wanted the action to crescendo. This area was designed around five enemies — the main chunk who landed on the shore of the lake.
I implemented two combat cell archetypes: a stronghold house for the player to take refuge in at the start, and a clearing in front of the mine entrance with a main kill zone and cover all around it.
With the lake as a backdrop, the encounter feels cinematic and sets the player up for a much needed cooldown.
Post Mortem
I learned a massive amount during this project. One of the more important things was how helpful the initial planning phase can be when I add 2D mapping into my toolbox. This was the first project where I really relied on 2D mapping more heavily — it allowed me to plan out combat encounters and sped up the initial blockout by a large amount.
If I had to do this project over again, I would like to focus on more scripted events. For example, it would be really satisfying to have the player fall into the landslide at the end of the second exploration area instead of hopping down into it.
Overall, I am really proud of this project and I think that it showed the culmination of my time at CGMA and that I can map out a plan and properly execute on it. I am looking forward to iterating more on this project.