JUNIOR LEVEL DESIGNER
ROMAIN BELY
COOP TRIAL #1 - PORTAL 2 MAP
Cooperative puzzle-platformer
Intentions
This cooperative level aims at introducing mechanic changements and a new level element coming on Portal 2 compared to the first opus.
The level is supposed to be easy to complete for beginners that have a basic knowledge of the franchise.
Details
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Made in 1 day
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Using Portal 2 level editor (puzzle maker)
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Cooperative puzzle-platformer map
Analysis: Portal vs Portal 2
Energy
After taking a look at gameplay videos from both games, I ended up willing to present the changements related to energy (sender and receiver) that went from High Energy Pellet in Portal to Thermal Discouragement Beam in Portal 2.
Floor buttons
I also noticed the addition of new floor buttons in Portal 2. These new floor buttons are expecting specific shapes (either cube or sphere) to be triggered.
Overview
Layout
Room 1
This first room acts as an introduction to the variety of floor buttons as well as establishing the vocabulary of the cube being required to open the next room.
Room 2
The second room is very simple and introduces the laser and elevator mechanics, which continues to teach the vocabulary since they will always go together during my level.
Room 3
To improve communication among the players by giving them asymmetrical informations, I wanted to literally separate them with deadly water, a principle that also comes into the final room.
Room 4
Finally, the last challenge is meant to be the confirmation of teached mechanics by mixing them all, while keeping the same grammar.
The room includes a first cube acting as a bait and temporary reward which cuts the room resolution timeline in two parts:
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The first one allowing only one player on the other side of the deadly water before the cube has been recovered.
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The second with both players able to join the other side once the cube is on the floor button.
Flow
Regarding the level flow, I aimed at providing a graduate increase of the difficulty through more complexity room after room.
Level charts
White walls
The walls can either be white walls or black walls. White walls allow portals to be placed on.
Black walls
The walls can either be white walls or black walls. Black walls do not support portals.
Door
The door is the exit symbolizing the end of a test room. The door will only opens if both player characters are close to it and if additionnal conditions are filled.
Button
Floor button
Specific-cube floor button
The button can be pressed by a player character when close enough to it. Once pressed, it triggers the element linked with it.
The floor button can be triggered by any object being on it. Triggers the element linked with it.
The specific-cube floor button can only be triggered with a cube being on it. It triggers the element linked with it.
Piston platform
Faith plate
Emancipation grid
The piston platform can be triggered to elevate the platform.
The faith plate is a jump pad launching a colliding object or player character aiming at a specific defined place to land.
The emancipation grid destroys colliding objects and resets the portals placed by a player character when it collids with it.
Storage cube
The storage cube is a physically sensitive object that can be taken by a player character using the portal gun. It can be placed on floor buttons to trigger them.
Cube dropper
The cube dropper can drop a cube in the beginning of the room or when the linked element is triggered.
Depending on that condition, if the cube is dropped since the beginning, it drops again if destroyed. Otherwise, if the trigger is triggered again, the current cube is destroyed, and a new one is dropped.
Laser
The thermal discouragement beam is a laser that damages a player character when colliding with it. It can destroy a turret if the beam is directed to it. It can trigger a laser receiver.
Laser receiver
The thermal discouragement beam receiver is waiting for a laser to be triggered. When triggered, it triggers the linked element.
Playtest
Playtest survey
Intentions
I decided to make a playtest survey for players completing the level in order to gather feedbacks related to the feelings they went through while playing.
I also managed to add few questions about the cooperativeness to try to figure out external elements that could have had an impact regarding the player's experience.
General feedbacks
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The players' feedbacks are meeting the flow difficulty expectations.
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The lack of respawn point is frustrating.
Workflow
After defining my intentions, I dived into walkthrough videos to analyze gameplay variations from both Portal games.
Then I started listing charts and drawing sketches on paper in the meantime to imagine interesting level slices.
Once done, I kept the sketches with the best coherency together organized following a flow, then taking the shape of a layout.