Examining the Level Design of Wildfire
For the last half of the past semester I have been developing a Katamari-esque game called Wildfire for my introductory 3D game design class. In this game players play as a flame that shrinks over time, but they can grow to immense sizes by burning larger and larger objects as they go.
The challenge was that I was trying to create a level where the player could go from a tiny ember to a massive flame spanning tens of trees. What follows is my own thought process in how I attempted to create a map based around this problem.
The Challenge
To examine the level design of Wildfire we must first define the gameplay systems and how they affect the player’s ability to traverse and guide themselves. The core mechanic revolves around the fact that players gradually shrink else they burn flammable objects of a similar size, with a goal to burn each of the 3 “Big Trees” in the map. Each object can only be burnt if the player is the correct size, granting them an amount of fuel and stopping shrinkage while the player is in contact with a burning object. The larger players are, the faster they shrink. To continue growing players need to maintain a momentum of burning larger and larger objects.
As a result there a several tenets and challenges to designing a level for this game. Players are on the constant lookout for both the nearest flammable object as well as the next level of objects they can burn, say from bushes to small trees. The level must guide players through not only compositional techniques but through the placement of flammable objects.
There is also the fact that players can change drastically in size, from a 1 meter ember that can fit between cracks to a 70 meter fire that can cover a dozen trees. The level must then accommodate for or control the possible sizes the player could be through structure and flammable object placement.
However, there is the question of how player engagement can be moderated. From my playtests it seemed players found their greatest enjoyment in both building up to and being the largest flame size, however being large for too long can feel repetitive after burning so many trees following the initial peak. The level then must avoid engagement plateaus and repetition.
An overview of the main level of the game
Player Guidance with Trees, Bushes, and Sticks
It is no mistake that much of the core of this game was inspired by Katamari Damacy what with its growing player size through the collection of objects. I looked to it to figure out how their levels were structured, and in doing so stumbled across the concepts of “Breadcrumb” and “Amphitheatre” formations, coined by Taro Omiya in his blog which outlines two core methods of how the game’s levels were potentially made.
Breadcrumb Formation
Breadcrumb Formation is essentially leading the player by placing objects in a linear fashion that they would follow, with the objects sometimes gradually increasing in size down the line. I use this in two ways in the main level. The first is to guide the player within a forest clump, or zone, and is used in conjunction with the Amphitheatre Formation.
Breadcrumbing using sticks and bushes to guide the player within a zone
I primarily use bushes to accomplish this as they are generally what the player can burn at smaller sizes, and being visually distinct from surrounding trees, the player can potentially identify paths to eventually grow large enough to begin burning everything else. The other way I use breadcrumbing is between zones, where bushes and sticks are placed such that they are to be noticed from a distance; in front of rocks or standing on the edge of a horizon to guide players towards the entrance of another zone.
Sparser breadcrumbing for guidance between zones
Amphitheatre Formation
Amphitheatre Formation is what mostly comprises the zones. Breadcrumb Formation’s core use is guidance, whereas Amphitheatre can act as a destination, a space for players to spend time in. Objects are essentially placed in larger and larger concentric circles with some interlayer mixing to give players a short-term goal, and often there exists an epicenter where the smallest objects are and is often where players start. The shape isn’t constricted to a circle and lends itself to a lot of creative configurations.
My level utilizes this with three primary zones. Each zone contains a Big Tree which acts as the player’s current goal to grow large enough to burn it, and the amphitheatre structure is based on the position of that tree relative to some epicenter(s). Zone 1 is situated on an elevated area, Zone 2 in a depression, and Zone 3 is past a river crossing. Zone 3 primarily is just a reward area for completing the other two zones, so it is a standard elliptical Amphitheatre Formation with sticks and bushes at its entrance that gradually become larger and larger trees.
Zone 3, utilizing Amphitheatre Formation
Zone 3’s structure is rather simple, with a clear epicenter at the bottom
Zone 1 serves as generally the first area players go to, so it attempts to further teach the relationship of size to what objects can be burned by having some of the tallest trees at the entrance. This is incorporated with breadcrumbing by having two paths of bushes that lead players to the epicenter. On the paths they encounter their first rain cloud and can learn its detrimental effects. If they arrive at the epicenter and have lost some size, the sticks help rebound and mitigate punishment from a first time encounter with the rain. The area is surrounded by a distinct ring of trees to which the rain cloud follows, and players can learn how fires can be doused from rain by lighting trees along its path.
Zone 1 breaks away from a standard Amphitheatre and incorporates linear breadcrumb paths into the zone. The curved bow-like path of trees (red) follows a rain cloud path.
Zone 2 is intended to be more of a challenge to test players of the knowledge they’ve learned from the first zone and somewhat breaks the convention of Amphitheatre Formation. The Big Tree is the positional center of this zone, with not much of a singular point for an epicenter. It is more of a concentric ring of bushes, sticks, and small trees players use to get bigger while running from rain clouds. They can use the circling rain clouds to douse existing flames in order to re-light them granting the players even more size.
Zone 2’s unusual structure focuses on the alternating sparse concentric layer surrounding the Big Tree, a path 2 rain clouds follow and is a path players need to take to grow big. The layers surrounding serve as places for the player to avoid the rain clouds.
Other Ways to Guide the Player
Obviously placement of trees alone isn’t enough to guide players between zones, so use of traditional methods of guiding the player’s eye are required. This is more challenging given they will generally be looking towards the ground to the next flammable object, so including sparse areas can force them to look up allowing for static objects to frame where they should go.
A prime example of this is after the first bush clump players encounter upon leaving the mine. Directly in front is a towering mountain with Zone 3’s Big Tree in view, along with the other two Big Trees in the same viewing window. Big Trees already serve as core focal points, but the structure of the level serves to direct the eye towards them. This is done through both the leading lines of structures like mountain edges and cliff angles that point towards them, and through rock placement where they both outline the horizon as well as provide areas with greater visual weight to draw the eye.
The view from the initial bush clumps has leading lines that point to or emphasize each Big Tree, especially how Zone 3’s is framed in the middle by both the lower landscape and the mountains.
The sparse foliage at the beginning forces players to look upwards to search for more. In doing so they can spot the Big Trees and eye possible paths. Here there are two foliage clumps further out towards the left and right to signify the paths to Zone 2 and Zone 1 respectively, with Zone 1’s path having slightly more emphasis being closer and having more rocks to frame it.
Upon completing a zone players are above 40 meters in size, so the camera angle is higher. This is an expected view from Zone 1, with Zone 2 and 3 in clear view and to the sides of the screen, accounting for the player dominating the screen’s middle.
Zones 3 and 1 in view from Zone 2
Zones 1 and 2 from 3’s view
Entering Zone 2 from the first entrance with its Big Tree dominating the view, and leading lines pointing to Zone 3’s Big Tree
Controlling Player Size and Engagement
This is more of a reason for the existence of multiple zones, as players can have the experience growing huge and burning many trees multiple times. In controlling player engagement the level places heavy emphasis on zones and traversal between them.
Challenge
Much of the player engagement stems from the challenge of gaining enough momentum to become large, which the zones and the areas between attempt to provide different approaches to that. Zone 1 and Zone 2 attempt to provide the challenge of gaining momentum within the zone, with players dealing with their first rain cloud in Zone 1 and the player being “chased” by 2 in Zone 2. Zone 1 provides a relatively safer space for that as the foliage in the path of the rain generally aren’t necessary until the player grows big enough to burn larger trees, while Zone 2’s crucial sticks and bushes are within the path of 2 cycling rain clouds that the player must constantly avoid.
Zone 1’s rain path, travelling in a counterclockwise motion. The epicenter is left untouched and acts as a safe zone.
Zone 2’s rain path, populated by 2 rain clouds opposite of each other at all times travelling counterclockwise.
The path covers crucial flammable areas in contrast to Zone 1, but provides some safe areas to the side.
The areas between the zones provide the challenge of conserving momentum through figuring out the best path to the next zone while maintaining size. Along with breadcrumbing that allows for players to go between Zone 1 and Zone 2 from either direction, there exists a clump of trees between the zones that serves as the primary method of preserving size if players are willing to deal with the rain cloud protecting it. The path to Zone 3 is the most perilous traversal area with a river crossing that can destroy the player, and with two rain clouds patrolling the crossing intended for short, more tense moments of timing.
While the purpose of multiple zones is to provide multiple satisfying moments of burning whole forests, the hope is not necessarily to let the player shrink back to the starting size between them. Flammable objects exist between zones not only to guide but to give players a sense of control over their size and progression as they traverse to the next zone.
Predicting Player Sizes
The level was constructed with the assumption that the player could be any size in any given area, lending to its open layout and wide entrances to Zones. To prevent larger areas from being less engaging for smaller sizes, rocks and elevation variance were to make traversal feel less repetitive. However, certain areas were still designed with a specific player size in mind, especially predicting where and how large-sized players tend to be.
The entrances to each zone assumed the player would be a smaller size so they all are lined with sticks and bushes for rebounding, and is possible to obtain maximum size in every zone starting from 1 meter. This acts as an assurance that punishes players less for taking different possible routes, but that assumption is sometimes replaced in favor of others.
Zone 1 and Zone 2 generally have two primary entrances, where the entrance on the side of the starting area (primary) assumes the player will be smaller and the other entrance (secondary) assumes a larger player size. Completing one zone generally has players leaving through its secondary entrance and entering through the next zone’s secondary entrance as they are in direct view of each other. As a result, the path between them is rather long compared to the primary entrances of either zone from the beginning of the level, causing shrinkage thus allowing players to experience growing large multiple times.
Zone 2 still assumes players would be generally larger when they enter hence the greater challenge it provides to still keep players engaged. The river crossing to Zone 3 assumes a larger player size hence larger rocks and platforms to stand on. The zone itself still assumes players of any size can enter, thus players that have been shrunken dramatically by the rain can still rebound and have a final satisfaction of burning the whole zone.
An overview of every zone and possible paths players take for traversal. Primary entrances for each zone are blue, while secondary entrances are marked red. The yellow region is the foliage clump
Notice the distance to Zone 1’s prime entrance from the beginning is short compared to Zone 2’s. The distance between both secondary entrances of Zone 1 and 2 are also comparatively long.
Conclusion
There was much to learn from creating this level in designing a space that attempted to accommodate varying player sizes. It certainly has its flaws being only the second 3D map I’ve created. Some of the concepts I’ve talked about here were implemented only superficially, becoming more clear only in retrospect, and/or could be explored much more in depth than what I currently have (platforming and teaching especially have their issues). Nonetheless it was still a fascinating experiment for me to figure out how such a level could be built, and I plan to continue to improve the level with time.