"Out of ConTroll" is a chaotic combat racing game for 2 to 4 local players. The game is based on Mashed (2004) and even received praise from the original developers after they played our game.
My responsibility was doing level design to create an interesting race track
Team size: 14
Duration: 8 weeks
Platform: Itch
Engine: UE5
My Contributions
Research
We researched Mashed, Mario Kart, and a few other racing games. Identified what made them fun and chaotic and which parts, we wanted to take.
The goal was to recreated the player experience of Mashed (2004) with a few tweaks to make it feel fresh. I took away track design lessons like using shortcuts for risk & reward challenges, thin sections to force players closer together, and wide, straight sections to encourage item usage.
Sketching
I applied my learnings from research to sketching level sections with intent and arranging them into a looping track. The one-pager contained the final sketch and my design intent.
One interesting design challenge was the looping nature of the track, which meant it needed to slowly introduce gameplay elements and difficulty on the first lap, while staying interesting on the following laps. I used the one-pager to concrete my plans and communicate them with my team.
Track Tool
I created a level design tool with a simple track model, that would extend, bend and deform simply by adjusting the attached spline.
After experimenting with different Unreal tools to create the track, I decided to make my own tool for modular track creation. The result allowed me to quickly create the track and easily modify it based on testing.
Environment
Using UE Plugins, I created procedural mountains enclosing the valley with the track. I created plateaus for the track and props, surrounded by soft hills and valleys, as well as a river and a lake.
Everything outside of the track is off-limit for the player, but we still wanted it to look interesting and fitting to our farmland theme. I closely collaborated with my environment artist, to make sure the surroundings fitted both the track and the artistic vision.
Iterations
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