Crime Boss: Rockay City
Role: Level Designer and Scripter
Description: Crime Boss is a co-op FPS Heist game, where players go through a series of different heist in order to conquer the city they are living.
It also features single player missions and thats where my focus was.
(September 2020- March 2023)
A little bit of me here
I came to this project at early stages and was my first step into big budget projects.
In this project I learned a lot of different stuff since I was involved in more things that I thought I would be, but actually helped me understand each department, learn from them, understand their pipelines and the importance of back and forth communication between everyone developing the game, from the higher ups to each one of us, and having empathy.
There are different highlights I would like to share since I feel proud about them:
- The first time that I am involved from the beginning of the production to the launch of the game.
- Created almost 10 levels from scratch to launch status, and worked on their different aspects(design, scripting, cinematics, animation, enviro art, etc)
- Leading a team of 4 people in the level design/scripting department. I was also involved in the hiring process and landing, as well teach them design workflows and scripting tricks. At the beginning I was really nervous but it went well.
-The trailer that you are watching up there have different cuts that were edited and recorded by me. Was really cool to watch it in the game awards.
Responsibilities
In Crime Boss my main job was to design the single player levels, and create anything that is needed from them. This meant doing most of the stuff a level requires, from level design to also design mechanics, script them and implement them in the level, creating cutscenes, make a list of the necessary animations that were needed, record them(YES! I have used a mocap suit for most of the animations needed for the levels) and then implemented them in the level. In the following points I will try to expand this a little bit further with a general view of my work in different levels:
- Level Design
- Designing the levels from scratch following the narrative structure and the setup that were asked.
- Blocking out the levels to orient the player around the main objective, carefully crafting pacing and giving them enough agency.
- Jumping from designing completely linear levels to ones that support a 360 approach(which I loved <3).
- Creating levels that were purely cinematic, where the main task was to sell the moment and make the cinematic, with little gameplay.
- Implementing all the features needed, also anything needed from different departments(SFX, VFX, Environment art)
- Scripting
- Inside the team having a tech knowledge and understanding was really helpful since let us go beyond was possible at the beginning.
- Scripting missions, actions moments, cinematics, mechanics, IA, animations .
- Working in improve different pipelines.
- Back and forth communication with the programming team to have the best resources for the levels but also within scope.
- Animation
- When designing the level I had to keep mind the animations we would use for the more scripted parts. So in the process I was making a list of the animations needed with their references.
- Recording any animation that was needed from the level, I was in charge of put on the mocap suit and record all the animations that I previously annotated, this meant go to the mocap studio and talk with them to find the best result, with a later follow up for different fixes and cleanings in the animations.
- I was involved in improving the animation pipeline for scripted scenes, since previously was a little bit tedious to go from what was recorded from the mocap to the actual implementation in the engine.
- Cinematics
- Doing heavy camera animation work
- Working in the transition from cinematics to gameplay.
In the following videos most of the points that have been described here are there.
Here the player have to through a camp of mines while is being covered by his teammates.
The hardest task for me here was to get a decent camera work in the beginning of the level!
In this mission the player have to protect the payload until the redeem point.
One of the challenges here was to design a snow level, god was more difficult that I thought, since snow fields doesnt have that many shapes to work with, so I suggested to add some rocks/mountain structures and after some talks I was approved! Also the physics in the payload were a hugeee pain to get them right.
Reality checks
As much as I am sharing that I was part of a lot of different areas and I am thankful I could learn a lot from them. It also made me realize that no one can make everything, and that a videogame is a team effort and that in tough times, communication and empathy is really important, as well as taking care of yourself if not, the experience we are making is not going arrive to the port.
When were in the final stretch of production, I started to hand different task to my teammates because I wasn’t able to make everything on time., that humbled me and helped to go through those difficult times.
In this level players are expected to retrieve a package but they are suddenly betrayed.
I remember here one of the most difficult things was to get the AI to work properly(enemy and allies), omg I really spent quite the time. Also designing the whole building structure(If I recall correctly I did 3 different versions of the buidling) and part of a city was really fun, I remember suggesting If I could actually design more blocks and make it more epic, but was out of the scope.
Breaking down a LEVEEEEL!(WIP)
In the following paragraphs I’ll be breaking down, one of the most complex level of the game that I was part of:
I enjoyed making this level since I got a free card on making the whole layout with barely any restriction other that budget and that it was set in Tora Bora, I didnt have any other requirement, neither I was asked if the idea was between it was though in the right direction which is the usual. Here was go ahead make the level we wont say anything about it. And please don’t misunderstand me Im not talking about feedback which is crucial but constraints.
As well as other levels here my main task was to create a level with everything that implies that and ship it:
– Level Design(Whole layout, structures, flaking routes, breadcrumbs, mental map, landamarks.)
-Combat Design
-Mission Design
-Level Art
-Scripting
-Sequences
-VO
-Acting
-VFX
A more detailed Breaking down is on the way.
We set the player deep in Tora Bora, they have to execute one specific person that hides in the depths on the caves. And then making it out alive.