The Red Soldier
The Red Soldier
Lestat Smith
Embedded Files
Infiltrate an army base to get top secret files
Description: You take the helm of The Red Soldier, a super soldier who is made to engage enemy squads in tactical combat, and are tasked with obtaining top secret information in an army outpost. The game is an FPS that utilizes pickups as well as puzzle elements to further the game.
Purpose: This was a student project that furthered skills in Unreal Engine 5 with blueprints and tools inside of the engine. Further skills also obtained in level design with terrain modeling, object modeling, and level pacing.
Tools Used: Unreal Engine 5, PureRef, Photoshop, ProTools
Gameplay Video
Layout and Preproduction
For this project I drew upon my past experience in the army and found references to army bases in real life and in video games. I drew up a base plan that had various buildings and combat areas. I wanted the players to have an authentic feel in the military base while also keeping it interesting pacing wise.
Holistic Design
Sound Design
Sound Design
For the holistic design element I did field recordings using a Zoom H1n and recorded a gun, light switch, and glass element. Then in Pro Tools I snipped and equalized the elements to be usable in Unreal Engine. The last thing I needed to do was implement the sounds using blueprints inside the engine. The gun reload, targets and target doors got sounds implemented.
Major Gameplay Beats
Players start on the backside of the base behind a storage building where they can climb through a window.
Once inside they grab a pistol and can see a soldier between shelves to shoot.
The first puzzle presented to the player shows that to open a door they must shoot its power source shown as a red target.
In the next room a similar puzzle that has two power sources is presented to the player with another enemy in the room.
Outside of the second building, the level is opened up again where an enemy waits under the tents.
The player finds a rifle in the trenches and encounter an enemy.
The player encounters major combat outside of the final building and have to clear several soldiers before gaining access.
In the main hallway of the final building a final puzzle is presented where 6 power lines lead to 6 different power sources.
After clearing all the power sources the player can access a room that contains the top secret information on a table.
Postmortem
Blueprints: I learned how to use blueprints to create a puzzle and alter elements of gameplay to further the level experience. I also found out how to change the lighting of the whole level which helped the mood of the outside area come to life. If I were to do it again I would have added more enemy types and interesting weapons for the player.
FPS Level Design: I learned how to create an environment for a FPS as well as placing enemies and the ability to break up action with puzzles, creating good pacing. I wish I could have utilized the space and made it more realistic in the game world to more match a real life forward operation base, in the end it was a bit gamey and was made to meet the project requirements.
Holistic Implementation: Using field recordings and Pro Tools I learned how to integrate audio into my level design to strengthen my design and vision. I also wish I could have added more sound design to the level, such as footsteps or enemy yells.
Get in touch at lestat.e.smith@gmail.com
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