Ravine

Level Designer

June 2023 - July 2023

'Gameplay First' Design:
Clarity and Route-framing is one of the most important aspects in a competitive shooter, therefore all geometry is placed meticulously to ensure players know where all obstacles are and where each path leads to.

Functional and Testable
The Level Design follows the same principles of Valorant's competitive maps meaning it has adequate scale that affords teamplay/coordination and is also cognisant to the different agents and their abilities/playstyles.

Beginner & Expert Friendly
Because of its simplistic design, this map is approachable to players of all skill levels from beginners who are still learning how to play the game to the experts who want to min/max every aspect of this map for tactical mastery.

1/7

Blockout Timelapse

Overview

Description: Ravine is a 3-bombsite defusal map with no interactable gimmicks. This map has a low and high skill ceiling which allows it to be approachable to beginners while also allowing expert players to master the map strategically.

Requirements/Constraints: This is a standard-sized level exploring the level design behind Valorant's Competitive Maps. This is set in a first-person POV with simple mechanics such as WASD controls, jumping, shooting, as well as prototyped versions of agent abilities, specifically Jett.

Genre: Hero & Tactical Shooter
Platform: Windows PC
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Tools Used: UE5, SuperGrid, First-person Template, Blueprints
Team Size: 1
Role: Concept, Blockout, Lighting, Route-Framing, Character-Controller Scripting, Map-Balancing

Playable build:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D1WqdIkxj5Tm61W4baf8tirSI37bUv7X/view?usp=sharing

Goals & Restrictions

My goals with this project were to:

Learn more about Multiplayer FPS Level Design.
Spend more time practicing, refining, and solidifying my level design pipeline.
Design a competitive map that would fit naturally within the Valorant universe that is approachable to players of all skill levels.
Design and pitch a competitive map that is playable and ready to be tested in the official Valorant engine.

I placed restrictions on this project in order to keep the scope to a doable level and to give myself a reasonable deadline. These restrictions include:

Map size must be standard and comparable to other Valorant maps (approximately 120x120 meters).
Map must not contain any interactable gimmicks (i.e. no teleporters, no ziplines, no interactable doors, etc.).
Map complexity must be simple enough for beginner players to understand but has enough substance to be able to be mastered at higher levels of skill.
Map must contain 3 bomb sites.
Map must require both teams to descend altitude into bombsite territory.

Map Layout

Here is the map layout and its different sections.

Attacker side zones:

Attacker Spawn
A Lobby
C Lobby

Neutral zones:

A Long
A Short
C Main
Top Mid
Bottom Mid

Defender side zones:

Defender Spawn
A/B/C Sites
Alley
Elbow
Split
A Link
C Link

Top down

Height map

My Process

Step 1: Research

I started my project by taking a deeper dive at the various competitive maps in Valorant. Despite already having more than 1000 hours played, I still re-examined every map through a Level Design lens in order to better understand how these maps are built.

When looking at these maps, I took notes of what stood out to me in each one. Questions I asked myself were:
-What is the main theme/hook of the map and how does it influence the level design?
-Does the hook challenge how players strategically approach other maps in
Valorant? and how so?
-What common elements exist between maps?
-What are the fundamentals that every competitive map has? Why are they needed?
-On the flip side, what makes each map different from one another? How does that provide a different gameplay experience?
-What playstyle(s) and strategies does each map support?
-How do the different hooks & gimmicks provide players with different ways to manipulate & punish their opponents?

Pearl

Breeze

Haven

Ascent

I created top-down maps of each of these competitive maps to understand how these spaces were constructed. I took note of features such as the paths, engagement/clash points, choke points, spawn barriers, and bombsite locations. I did this because I wanted to visually simplify and see the map flow without seeing the boundaries of the map. These are not drawn to scale and are made just to help me get an understanding of what fundamental design pieces I need when approaching my initial design. (Click to expand to get a better look)

Step 2: Level Design Document

Before heading off into UE5 to start playing with my virtual legos, I developed a simple Design Doc. This doc is for me to help organize and understand what I want my level to be. Within this document, I've established the vision, objectives, and intended gameplay experience for this project.

Step 3: Reference & Inspiration

Once I had a good idea of how I wanted my level to be structured, I collected references of blockouts for competitive Valorant maps (thank you Riot Valorant Maps team for releasing these blockout images; they've helped me immensely). I collected reference images for all 9 maps. Collecting these references helped me understand scale and spacing which is crucial for competitive shooters as every sightline, angle, chokepoint, and cover is meticulously placed for engaging but also fair gameplay. Because I wanted to follow a "Gameplay First" mindset for this project, I did not focus on narrative for this map therefore I did not look for any real-world references.

Here are all the notes that I took when playing through the maps but also through studying the level design process of how a Valorant map gets made. Alongside my own notes, I looked at blogs, videos, and articles from Riot Games that detailed how the designers approached making a competitive map.

Step 4: 2D Map

When making my 2D map, I made sure to implement a few fundamental considerations from my notes when making my first initial design:

I need to ensure I follow all of the constraints I placed on this project.
I need to ensure my map follows the fundamental design pieces for competitive tactical FPS maps:
- What are the timings for engagement points? Which players will reach certain points of a map faster? Who reaches choke points faster? Who rotates from bombsite to bombsite faster? (generally, Defenders should be the ones to rotate slightly faster than Attackers).
- How many chokepoints do I have in the map? Where are they located?
- Do my choke points support all play styles? Does it support strong execute strategies as well as lurking players?
- Do my choke points reward strategy or teamwork? Does it support both?
- Are my choke points balanced? Are they too tight or too wide?
- How many routes exist for each side? Are they balanced?
- How many entrances/exits exist for each bombsite? Where do these entrances/exits come from/lead to?

2023-08-27 11_52_19-Custom game testing observations

1/1

Initial 2D Map Design

Step 5: Blockout, Iteration, & Feedback

Feedback:

After blocking out my first layout by following the 2D map I made (as well as making tweaks along the way) I realized my layout had these issues after getting feedback:

Uninteresting paths: The main neutral paths to each of the bombsites were not very interesting. They were too straightforward, did not promote strategy, and were generally too claustrophobic in scale.
Defender-favored paths to A Site: When designing Tac-FPS maps, many bombsites should offer Attackers at least two paths to attack from. The design above only allows for one prong of attack which was A main. The only way for Attackers to have a secondary approach would be to go through Mid -> B Site -> Split -> A Link -> A, however that requires too much distance to travel across, it divides the Attacking team out too thin, and it requires lots of resources to get through those parts of the map.
Unnecessary T-Junctions: Generally, T-Junctions are okay in Valorant because players can use utility & teamwork to clear these areas, but there were other opportunities in the map where T-Junctions existed unnecessarily (e.g. Defender spawn).
Large, open spaces: While I nailed the general flow for neutral spaces, the number of chokepoints, and overall footprint, the bombsites themselves (especially A and C sites) had a lot of open space where players would feel caught out in the open without a lot of choices to player around.

With all these pieces of feedback in mind I made sure to take them into consideration in my next iteration:

With this new iteration, here is how all of the feedback has been addressed & fixed:

All of the neutral paths now provide more interesting gameplay. Opening up the space ensures that agent utility is no longer overbearing and too abusive, thus requiring strategic planning. The overall geo of these spaces also provides some more unique identity space while staying true to the level design of the tactical FPS genre.
A Lobby now forks into A Long and A Short. This solves the issue of not having enough prongs of attack into A Site. Now players can execute into A site by splitting players between these two paths which ensures a more balanced approach for Attackers.
A majority of T-Junction corners have now been off-set allowing players to clear one corner first and then proceed to clear the second corner. A small set of T-Junctions have been maintained in order to keep players on their strategic toes and use utility and/or teamwork to clear those corners. These T-Junction areas are located in high profile areas such as bombsites and main paths.
Players now have more options to play with inside of bombsites. With the addition of these new micro-areas, players now have more areas to prevent being caught out in the open which also promotes more structured post-plant situations.

After working on this redesign, I reached out to my network for one more round of feedback; I ended up tweaking the scale of a few spaces and adjusting sightlines to ensure competitive integrity. I also went ahead and did a minor lighting pass in some dark corners and under spaces to ensure players have maximum clarity. With all said and done, I would say this map is not done per se, but rather in a good spot to be playtested extensively in the Valorant engine (which was the main goal of the project since the beginning). Unfortunately at the time of this project's development, there is no official Valorant map editor for me to be able to do this (hopefully that changes soon™). Overall, I believe this blockout has achieved the gameplay goals I initially envisioned and I've learned a lot when it came to the paradigm shift from designing singleplayer to multiplayer spaces.

Gallery

HighresScreenshot_2023.09.17-11.43.31-min

HighresScreenshot_2023.09.17-11.43.48-min

1/1

Other Ideas, Thought Processes, & Design Decisions

Heading into this project, I knew I had to approach this level differently than how I usually do since I'm used to making single player levels. While I couldn't explicitly describe the differences between Singleplayer and Multiplayer levels at the start of the project, I had some ideas that stuck out in my head from my time playing both types of games and while working on this level. After finishing this project, here's what I learned:

Singleplayer:

Sell the narrative. Story is of utmost importance.
Frame gameplay objectives.
Design branching routes from the main path for extra rewards + playstyles.
Playtest less, polish more in between.
- Bring in new sets of playtesters.
Exploits are low priority fixes.

Multiplayer:

Narrative is lower in priority. Gameplay First.
Frame player routes/options.
Design alternative routes for advanced players + playstyles.
Playtest extensively and repeatedly.
- Bring in same sets of playtesters.
Exploits/overpowered sightlines are high priority fixes.

Adhering to The Tactical Cycle:
One of the key Design Pillars of Valorant is The Tactical Cycle which is a mental gameplay loop players (of all skill levels) continuously take part in during the game. I wanted to ensure that my blockout supported this cycle so I included cover and protected spaces that allows players to take a momentary break from gunplay and devise a strategy. Having complicated geometry, objects that cause navigation tangling, and cluttered spaces also ruins the flow of the tactical cycle so I also made sure to have clean geometry in my level design.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, working on this project was really helpful and eye-opening for me as I was able to understand how multiplayer maps are developed. Since this is one of my first multiplayer level designs, I'm glad I kept the map complexity simple as it allowed me to focus on the fundamentals rather than trying to create something entirely unique and overly-spectacular. One thing that really stood out to me during development was how adjusting and changing one part of the map impacts gameplay on an adjacent part of the map. It's made me aware of the level of meticulousness map changes need to be from a Level Design standpoint as even the smallest of changes have the ability to affect the overall gameplay experience.

If one day, a Valorant map editor does get released to the public, then I will definitely look to get extensive playtesting and feedback from the Valorant community on this blockout. Hopefully, then I'd be able to take this map and increase it to the level of quality Riot's Level Designers have when making official competitive maps!

Ravine

Level Designer

June 2023 - July 2023

'Gameplay First' Design: Clarity and Route-framing is one of the most important aspects in a competitive shooter, therefore all geometry is placed meticulously to ensure players know where all obstacles are and where each path leads to.

Functional and Testable The Level Design follows the same principles of Valorant's competitive maps meaning it has adequate scale that affords teamplay/coordination and is also cognisant to the different agents and their abilities/playstyles.

Beginner & Expert Friendly Because of its simplistic design, this map is approachable to players of all skill levels from beginners who are still learning how to play the game to the experts who want to min/max every aspect of this map for tactical mastery.

Blockout Timelapse

Overview

Goals & Restrictions

My goals with this project were to:

Learn more about Multiplayer FPS Level Design.

Spend more time practicing, refining, and solidifying my level design pipeline.

Design a competitive map that would fit naturally within the Valorant universe that is approachable to players of all skill levels.​​​

Design and pitch a competitive map that is playable and ready to be tested in the official Valorant engine.​​

​

I placed restrictions on this project in order to keep the scope to a doable level and to give myself a reasonable deadline. These restrictions include:

Map size must be standard and comparable to other Valorant maps (approximately 120x120 meters).

Map must not contain any interactable gimmicks (i.e. no teleporters, no ziplines, no interactable doors, etc.).

Map complexity must be simple enough for beginner players to understand but has enough substance to be able to be mastered at higher levels of skill.

Map must contain 3 bomb sites.

Map must require both teams to descend altitude into bombsite territory.

Map Layout

Here is the map layout and its different sections.

Attacker side zones:

Attacker Spawn

A Lobby

C Lobby​​

Neutral zones:

A Long

A Short

C Main

Top Mid

Bottom Mid​​

Defender side zones:

Defender Spawn

A/B/C Sites

Alley

Elbow

Split

A Link

C Link​​

Top down

Height map

My Process

Step 1: Research

I started my project by taking a deeper dive at the various competitive maps in Valorant. Despite already having more than 1000 hours played, I still re-examined every map through a Level Design lens in order to better understand how these maps are built.

Pearl

Breeze

Haven

Ascent

Step 2: Level Design Document

Before heading off into UE5 to start playing with my virtual legos, I developed a simple Design Doc. This doc is for me to help organize and understand what I want my level to be. Within this document, I've established the vision, objectives, and intended gameplay experience for this project.

Step 3: Reference & Inspiration

Here are all the notes that I took when playing through the maps but also through studying the level design process of how a Valorant map gets made. Alongside my own notes, I looked at blogs, videos, and articles from Riot Games that detailed how the designers approached making a competitive map.

Step 4: 2D Map

When making my 2D map, I made sure to implement a few fundamental considerations from my notes when making my first initial design:

I need to ensure I follow all of the constraints I placed on this project.

I need to ensure my map follows the fundamental design pieces for competitive tactical FPS maps:

What are the timings for engagement points? Which players will reach certain points of a map faster? Who reaches choke points faster? Who rotates from bombsite to bombsite faster? (generally, Defenders should be the ones to rotate slightly faster than Attackers)​.

How many chokepoints do I have in the map? Where are they located?

Do my choke points support all play styles? Does it support strong execute strategies as well as lurking players?

Do my choke points reward strategy or teamwork? Does it support both?

Are my choke points balanced? Are they too tight or too wide?

How many routes exist for each side? Are they balanced?

How many entrances/exits exist for each bombsite? Where do these entrances/exits come from/lead to?

Initial 2D Map Design

Step 5: Blockout, Iteration, & Feedback

Feedback:

After blocking out my first layout by following the 2D map I made (as well as making tweaks along the way) I realized my layout had these issues after getting feedback:

Uninteresting paths: The main neutral paths to each of the bombsites were not very interesting. They were too straightforward, did not promote strategy, and were generally too claustrophobic in scale.

Unnecessary T-Junctions: Generally, T-Junctions are okay in Valorant because players can use utility & teamwork to clear these areas, but there were other opportunities in the map where T-Junctions existed unnecessarily (e.g. Defender spawn).

Large, open spaces: While I nailed the general flow for neutral spaces, the number of chokepoints, and overall footprint, the bombsites themselves (especially A and C sites) had a lot of open space where players would feel caught out in the open without a lot of choices to player around.

​

With all these pieces of feedback in mind I made sure to take them into consideration in my next iteration:

With this new iteration, here is how all of the feedback has been addressed & fixed:

A Lobby now forks into A Long and A Short. This solves the issue of not having enough prongs of attack into A Site. Now players can execute into A site by splitting players between these two paths which ensures a more balanced approach for Attackers.

Players now have more options to play with inside of bombsites. With the addition of these new micro-areas, players now have more areas to prevent being caught out in the open which also promotes more structured post-plant situations.

Gallery

Other Ideas, Thought Processes, & Design Decisions

Singleplayer:

'Gameplay First' Design:
Clarity and Route-framing is one of the most important aspects in a competitive shooter, therefore all geometry is placed meticulously to ensure players know where all obstacles are and where each path leads to.

Functional and Testable
The Level Design follows the same principles of Valorant's competitive maps meaning it has adequate scale that affords teamplay/coordination and is also cognisant to the different agents and their abilities/playstyles.

Beginner & Expert Friendly
Because of its simplistic design, this map is approachable to players of all skill levels from beginners who are still learning how to play the game to the experts who want to min/max every aspect of this map for tactical mastery.

Design a competitive map that would fit naturally within the Valorant universe that is approachable to players of all skill levels.

Design and pitch a competitive map that is playable and ready to be tested in the official Valorant engine.

C Lobby

Bottom Mid

C Link

What are the timings for engagement points? Which players will reach certain points of a map faster? Who reaches choke points faster? Who rotates from bombsite to bombsite faster? (generally, Defenders should be the ones to rotate slightly faster than Attackers).

Bring in new sets of playtesters.

Bring in same sets of playtesters.