ASSASSIN'S CREED:
CODENAME JADE
ROLE
Level Designer & Narrative Designer
DESCRIPTION
During my time on this project, I primarily worked on the Narrative Design of the first two chapters of the main mission. I combined the cultural background of ancient Western civilization and Chinese historical background to design enemies and factions that are most fitting for Assassin's Creed universe.
I also took charge and worked on the world interaction design of 13 POIs within the open-world map. My primary responsibilities include working with Level Artists and System Designers to create the most fluent open-world Assassin's Creed experience on mobile.
COMPANY
Tencent Games, Timi Studio
YEAR
2020 - 2022
GENRE
AAA, Open World, MMORPG
Platform
Mobile
WHAT I DID ON THE TEAM
Level
Design
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Took charge of designing the layouts of 13 Points of Interest levels; 2 out of the 13 levels are main mission levels;
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Designed the Player's critical path main flow of a region in the open-world map;
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Designed and implemented Point of Interest world missions per level in UE4 engine.
Narrative Design
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Worked with the main mission team to design and write out narrative beats for the first three chapters of the main mission;
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Led a small team of narrative designers to map out the roadmap of the boss designs of the entire game, backed with historical and academic sources;
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Designed and documented NPC classes of a region of the map.
Systems Design
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Designed the player progression of the region I'm in charge of;
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Designed and documented the state flow diagrams of multiple World Interactable Objects that are used in gameplay.
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Designed an artifact collectible system that rewards the Player for collecting ancient Chinese artifacts - similar to RDR2 cigarette cards
Fun, Assassin's Creed branded gameplay potential embedded in historical architecture
Vast, Open-World Level Experience in Ancient China
Immersive level filled with branching narrative and quests
DESIGN PROCESS OVERVIEW
This chart displays my general workflow when collaborating with multiple teams across the project. As a junior designer, I did not have agency on which level I got to work on, but I did have ownership of the levels that I was assigned. Therefore, I hadthe responsibility to communicate with my correspondent from other teams to ensure the pipeline of production.
How I Put A Level Together
I generally consider world mission design from narrative design to systems design, to the general gameplay flow of the region. For example, if this city was under the influence of bandits, then it is a city of unrest, the enemies should be more alert and the Player should play more cautiously. If the player is reaching a resource and gold plateau, this city will have more "search and collect" type missions.
I consider information such as the main mission flow of the player progression and where are players most likely going to approach this location from. I will identify common entry points, and create the optimal sightlines from those entry points. If this location involves the main mission, then I will make sure the main mission objective is guided through layout and mission progression.
Other than designing a critical path on the ground, it's essential to have a parkour critical path, while considering the Player's control scheme, and overall gameplay flow of climbing from one place to another. For example, climbing up a tower is slow in pace, but tight roping is fast in pace. By alternating between tight roping action, vaulting across haystacks, and climbing up a tower, an interesting and engaging parkour path is created.
Level Design Iteration Process
The image on the left was the layout of Yangzhou city when I took over, and the image on the right is my iteration design to improve the flow of the entire city.
An example of the iteration process is the General's Mansion in Yangzhou City. The old layout was rigid and exposed with too many open areas and not enough medium-large objects or covers. I iterated the level based on traditional Chinese architecture with stealth gameplay in mind. I enlarged the dominant structure of the complex to accentuate a local landmark in this area. I also added transitional structures between areas to support the core parkour gameplay of the AC franchise, allowing more instances of "overhead assassinations". To create an organic space, I researched and created functional areas for this level, including a stable, watch towers, a garden, and a front yard for military practice.
Level Design Iteration Showcase
Modular Playspace Design
Other than a full city re-design, I partook in modular playspace design during the early stages of production. We use existing modular static mesh with metrics to create interior and exterior play spaces that can be modulated and populated in the open-world experience. Here are a couple of examples of my designs.
Playspace Example 1
For this playspace, I wanted to create a sub-structure for the palace that contains emergent gameplay that is fun for the Player to explore. I designed multiple entrances, designed for ground exploration, and parkour-able entrances.
The Player can enter the building via the open window and drop down to the second-floor hallway, which contains patrolling enemies. The hallway leads to another broken window that leads to the structure outside.
Externally, I've structured the building in an L shape, that allows the building to be paired with other structures modularly. The exterior layout supports a rooftop flow and an on-ground flow.
Playspace Example 2
For this playspace, I wanted to create an interior-focused playspace that can be used in more prestigious areas of the palace. This structure followed the structure of the palace, with a main building, and a side chamber, along with a stable.
Once the Player enters the interior space, there are multiple pathways that the Player can take to clear out the enemies. The stairs lead directly to the upper floor, with windows to escape, and the pillars and fences form a quick parkourable assassination spot.
The entrance of the building also provides multiple points of entrance, allowing players to enter stealthily from the top, or from the ground floor. The side room allows the possibility for exploration and lootable chests when the Player has cleared the area.
