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Impossible Rescue - Level Design

I created levels 1 and 2 of Impossible Rescue in Unreal Engine 4. The stakeholder brief specified the approximate length of each level, its theme, type of gameplay (e.g. emphasis on exploration, combat introduction), and main narrative beats. It was my job to take all of this information and create Impossible Rescue's levels.


This blog post discusses the creation of Level 1. Level 1 focuses primarily on tutorialising navigation, the Shadow Charge mechanic, and laser challenges. The player's goal is to activate three Shadow Charge Terminals, then open the door to the end of the level. I needed to encourage exploration, minimise backtracking, introduce the story and characters, and was to feature no enemies.



Level 1 Development

Beginning with the level criteria, I began sketching and writing ideas for level 1's design. In the image below, you can see how the very first sketch developed into a digital 2D map. The second map in the sequence was too simplistic - relying mainly on boxes and corridors - and required too much backtracking on the left-hand side. To get around these problems, I created the version seen on the right, introducing a variety of angles, shortcuts that minimised backtracking, and larger rooms/areas with narrative theme & purpose.



To tutorialise navigation, I created a landing pad section with obstacles to manoeuvre around at the south of the map. I encouraged exploration by placing objectives in the centre, far left, and far right of the map; I also placed optional narrative pickups in explorable corners and hidden areas.


Alongside drawing 2D maps, I created a level beat chart. This chart (excerpt shown below) splits the map into named sections, and details the player's objectives, my goals as a designer, narrative details, puzzles types present, NPCs present, and more. This chart also helped me create an intensity graph, ensuring I was giving the player a mixed pace of play.



Next, I created a 3D whitebox of Level 1 that was fully playable from beginning to end. I iterated on both my 2D and 3D designs through playtesting the whitebox.


I removed the large silo area in the top right, as this would require a large amount of development time but provide relatively little benefit to gameplay, narrative, or progression. The bulk of the iteration, however, was in making the level better suited to an isometric perspective, and in adding the laser tutorial section at the north of the map. Below you can see the finished 2D design and a video playthrough of the 3D whitebox.



Designing for an Isometric Perspective


I’d kept the isometric perspective in mind while designing level 1, and was helped by previous experience working on Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop (Reactive Drop Team, 2017). This meant that I largely avoided common pitfalls like making the nearside walls too high or placing meshes the player could easily lose themselves behind, but there were several areas that needed refining. Chief amongst these were the maintenance hallways.


An early version of level 1's maintenance hallways. The hallways are narrow enough that the player is sometimes hidden from view.

I’d initially designed these sections as narrow hallways, thinking that careful placement of pipes along nearside walls would mean the player was always visible. Unfortunately, adding these pipes resulted in a very narrow walkable area, and the lack of movement choice wasn’t satisfying. These areas clearly needed rethinking, so the question became:

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How can I make this maintenance area more open so that the player is clearly visible, while simultaneously feeling claustrophobic?

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I took inspiration from the way The Ascent achieved a similar feel in its early levels. I noticed that they often used large open areas but with movement restricted to narrow (but not too narrow) walkways.

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I synthesised a similar solution, building a wider room around the original hallways, replacing the walls with railings. To maintain the claustrophobic feel, I chose dark visual assets and implemented lighting that was darker than the rest of the level, with red lighting beneath the walkways adding a 'forbidden' feel to the area. I lowered the floor and walls of the wider room too, which resulted in the invisible ‘ceiling’ feeling lower.

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On playtesting this solution, I found it vastly better than the original hallway solution, and rolled out the same theory to other areas of the map. The second maintenance area became walkways raised above a storage area.



Verticality & Non-Walkable Areas

It was important to me to include some element of verticality within Level 1. Verticality opens the way for more engaging level designs and makes the environment feel more like a real space. For example, the inclusion of a second landing pad that overlooks the first creates the impression that this was once a busy landing installation that required multiple pads. ​

A raised area in level 1

Non-walkable areas make the world of Impossible Rescue seem larger than just the playable area. An example of this is seen on Landing Pad 2, where a wide walkway extends off the end of the screen but cannot be accessed. ​ I had to take care in designing non-playable areas, creating areas that were visually interesting but not so interesting that the player was disappointed they couldn’t get there.

A non-walkable area in level 1. The path to the left of the boxes cannot be accessed but makes the facility feel larger, as if it has a purpose beyond the player.

The Laser Tutorial Area

​I mentioned in my development overview that the four-person Impossible Rescue team initially started out as two, two-person teams working on similar concepts. Having merged teams and decided upon a combined feature set, we next needed to figure out how to imbue the player with all the skills they'd need to complete the game. We worked backwards from level 4, working out the best order to introduce mechanics and how they should be spaced out.

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In doing this, we realised there was a significant jump in difficulty between levels 2 and 3, with the player suddenly needing to learn a new style of combat as well as how to deal with laser puzzles. The player was being tasked with learning too much too quickly. So, to ease the player in more gently, it was decided that the laser hazards created by my new colleagues (Adam Lorincz and Raven Hoegalmen) would be introduced all the way back in level 1. This would mean the player was familiar with tackling lasers by the time they reached level 3, and would only have to learn a new combat style.


A graph showing the gameplay composition for levels 1-4 (X-axis) of Impossible Rescue, along with the relative difficulty of each level.

This necessitated a change in level 1’s design, and the question became: How should level 1 change to teach the player about environmental lasers? ​ To begin answering this question, I played through level 1 several times, evaluating whether a laser tutorial could be included within the existing design. I also played through the intros of Deathloop and The Ascent, getting a feel for the pace and spacing of each new gameplay element they introduced to the player. In the end, I determined that the laser tutorial wouldn't fit into the existing design for several reasons:

  • I didn’t want to interrupt tutorialisation of other mechanics (e.g. Shadow Charge) to introduce lasers, as it could lead to confusion about both mechanics

  • I felt that adding a laser tutorial within the existing layout would be asking the player to learn too much in too short of a space of time. Some players could feel overwhelmed by the pace of it

The solution, then, was the creation of a new area, and the most logical place to add it was at the end of the existing level layout. This solution required the least amount of work for the greatest impact, and afforded me the opportunity to design an area that looked visually similar to level 2, easing the transition between levels.



The new area is relatively simple in design, allowing the player to experiment with the ‘dash through lasers’ mechanic without being distracted or getting lost . Likewise, as this is the player’s first experience with lasers, I kept the lasers stationary, letting players get used to the concept of hazard avoidance in a relatively safe environment. This prepares the player for later levels, where lasers rotate, move, and are sometimes present during combat.


Worldbuilding

Level design is crucial for narrative worldbuilding. In designing level 1, I needed to create a layout that made sense in the context of Impossible Rescue, then populate it with props to make the environment feel more authentic. This started with ensuring every room had in-world purpose and logic. ​ For example, given that level 1 takes place in an abandoned landing installation, it made sense that landing walkways and interior hallways should be wide enough to facilitate the loading and unloading of cargo. Likewise, there are large internal doors that would allow the movement of cargo from one room to another.

I included a raised workshop area and smaller storage areas that could contain ship parts, as it’s likely that ships would need repairs and mechanical intervention from time to time. This workshop area was also the most sensible place to include some laptops and desks, since the installation would need administrators to run it.


The raised walkway in this area would give adminstrators a view over the Main Concourse, letting them direct the movement of cargo from above. The maintenance area is full of pipes, likely carrying fuel that would be used to refuel cargo ships before they embark on their next trip. ​ Many of these considerations won’t be noticed consciously by the player, but an out-of-place prop or a room without purpose could be immersion breaking. It’s details like this that make a level feel lived in. That ‘lived in’ feel can raise the stakes of a narrative, heightening player engagement. Also crucial in worldbuilding is the inclusion of level design ‘stories’. These are subtle level design choices that suggest 'something' happened in an area, again making the level feel lived in. I’d like to highlight three examples of this in level 1:

  • Most of the shelves in Storage Area 1 are empty and a few have been knocked over. It’s suggested that the evacuation of this area was hasty, or that the place has been raided since its abandonment.

  • Cargo has been propped up against the external door to the facility, suggesting that an attempt was made to block the entrance from being pried open.

  • Cargo has been placed to block the lasers that protect the entrance to the facility. This placement appears intentional, and is explained via narrative Datapads the player can find scattered around the level.

Landmarks & Visually Distinct Areas

se of landmarks is vitally important in level design, as they help the player build a mental map of the world, aiding in navigation without holding the player's hand. Landmarks in level 1 include the pit in the centre of the Main Concourse and the lasers near the entrance.


Also useful in player navigation is the creation of visually distinct areas. Each area in level 1 has its own theme and feel, while still feeling part of the same in-world area. This keeps things visually interesting, heightening player engagement.



Making Mars

​Given that most of Impossible Rescue’s action takes place deep inside a military facility, it would be easy for players to forget that the story takes place on Mars, so the inclusion of Martian landscape beneath the starting landing pad was important for me. The landscape is barren and tinged red, matching player expectations of what Mars’ surface looks like. This embeds within the player’s mind that Impossible Rescue takes place on Mars.

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Lighting in these landscape environments is both redder and brighter than indoor lighting. This contrast – coupled with an ambient wind sound – makes it clear which environments are indoors and which are outside.

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