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Thesis (WIP): Cool-Operation: A Train, Plane Campaign
Video WIP
Level Overview
Left 4 Dead 2
Engine: Hammer/Hammer ++
Quick Summary
“Cool Operation: A Train and Plane Campaign” is a 4-player co-op level in Left 4 Dead 2 where players are tasked to reach an ATC Tower and signal a helicopter to escape. Players will have a variety of weapons, allowing each player to play with their own playstyles. “Cool Operation: A Train and Plane Campaign” will have Survivors go through a small city to the top of highways, through airports and terminals while learning techniques filling generators and lifts with a gas canister. Once they reach the ATC Tower, the Survivors use their previous experience with gas canisters to fill up a generator multiple times to power-on the tower and call a rescue.
Base Parameters
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3 Maps: 2 Basic Maps 1 Finale Map
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Testing best practices for 4-player co-op design.
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Between 30 - 45 minutes of playtime
Map
Initial Map Design (flow from from bottom left following the Pink Arrow at Player Start).
Thesis 5 Best Practices
1. Use linear progression towards a singular goal to reduce player confusion and encourage player collaboration.
3. Create “gathering gate” moments where the players are forced to separate and reunite in order to pass through a gate.
2. Highlight iconic areas by using themed environments and landmarks so that locations are easily distinguishable and help visually direct players with callouts.
4. Create sudden, overwhelming events to force players to stay together and work together for a common purpose (survival).
5. Fluctuate the pacing to allow for slower reflective moments in which players can plan, strategize and regroup, before then increasing pacing in which players must press forward together.
1. Use Linear Progression Towards a Singular Goal
Throughout the level, the players are led linearly. There are few branching paths to split the group apart. If a branching path does exist, it is short and converges to the main path after a few seconds.
Having linear levels helps players not have too much cognitive overload on how to get to a certain destination. With a linear path to follow, every player knows what direction they need to head towards
2. Highlight Iconic Areas
Weenies
From the beginning of the level the player can see the end goal, an ATC Tower, acting as a weenie.
This ATC Tower is where the finale happens in the 3rd chapter and appears throughout the 2 chapters within the campaign. This is to help orient the player to their surroundings, and also help them judge how much distance they have left to cover.
Iconic Environmental Elements
Though the ATC Tower is iconic and can be seen throughout the campaign, different environmental elements are used to make different areas of the maps feel different from each other so players can clearly identify their environment.
3. Create Gathering and Separation Moments
Creating gathering and separating moments help incentivize collaboration because if the players are not next to each other, they are more inclined to talk to each other if they need to assist one another and gather as one group again.
4. Create Sudden, Overwhelming Events
Having sudden events can bring groups together especially if they all share a common goal (which in this case is survival).
5. Fluctuate the Pacing
Onto contrary belief, you shouldn’t have a game just constantly building in a linear fashion, one upping the previous moment. Doing that could lead to exhaustion if you are constantly getting more tense without any relaxing moments.
From Whitebox to Current Status
Cool-Operation: A Train, Plane Campaign Full Gameplay
Video WIP
Gallery
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