NICK PARDE
PRINCIPAL / LEAD / SENIOR LEVEL DESIGNER
VIDEO PORTFOLIO
EVOLVE
PS4, XB1, PC – 2015
- OVERVIEW -
Evolve is a competitive multiplayer game, where four 'hero' hunters track an alien monster. Through the match, the monster can feed on local wildlife and grow larger and stronger. The hunters must track and kill the monster before it is too late. This project was a little different than I was used to, since it was not a single player story driven game; quite the opposite actually. I was on the project for about 3 years (two years of production and a year following its release adding new content (levels, modes, etc)).
I designed (and laid out), implemented, revised, bug fixed, added collision, performance cleanup, etc (basically oversaw) several maps of the game (Weather Control, Rendering Plant, Barracks, Broken Hill Foundry, and Colonial Water and Power). In the end, I touched all of the levels in the game; bug fixing, adding AI nodes, flight boundary shapes, gameplay / logic adjustments, alternate game mode logic / nodes, etc. Whatever was needed to get the game done and shipped. We also created many test maps early in development, that are not represented in the final game.
After the game had launched, I took ownership of Arena mode (a mode we had ideas for late in development but couldn't get in for launch). I oversaw and implemented nearly everything on the design / level design side of things for the mode. I worked directly with the programmers (and other departments, such as sound) to get the mode off the ground and in the game. I took feedback from people in the studio, and adjusted the mode until we felt it worked well enough to launch. The reception was great overall from the Evolve players.
- MAPS -
Weather Control - the idea behind this map was that the planet Shear was constantly being bombarded by crazy weather, so they built this tower to help push the bad weather away (sci-fi nonsense). There were four 'biome' types in the game: Forest, Desert, Acid and Ice. This map was in the 'forest' biome, and I wanted a 'beach / cave' theme. It is split up into four major sections: the forest, the cave, the tower, and the beach.
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Rendering Plant - I wanted to do a 'farm' map, but in the end it wasn't really working, so I changed the theme to a meat packing plant. In the end, the packing plant buildings were made into large towers which had conveyor belts going between them moving animal parts from section to section. Originally, I had little windows looking into each tower showing what they did in each, such as slaughtering, cleaning, waste removal, etc, but time restraints required me to remove these details and focus on the larger brush strokes of the theme. This map combined the forest, acid and desert biomes together; the layout was a large triangle, with the towers / large walls / rocks used to break up the spaces.
Barracks - this map is a military barracks for Ebonstar (the fictional military). The layout was a crescent shape, with the main facility in the middle, embeded in an acid infested environment (originally lava, but we couldn't make it work with the games fiction). Since we ran out of time near the end of the project, this map did not get any map specific meshes created for it, like most of the other maps did. I improvised and scavenged art from other maps to make it work. In the end, I feel I was able to give it a unique vibe despite having to do this. I wanted a 'dead' forest vibe with this level, so most trees and vegetation are dead or sticks.
Broken Hill Foundry - While the game was being finished, myself and another designer started working on a new map that was released post launch as free dlc. I came up with the main theme (shipping port town), which morphed into a town built around a metal foundry facility (based on lore). The vista area over looking an ocean, became a vista looking over a large mining site (top part of another map the other team was working on Broken Hill Mine). We tied the two dlc maps to each other, where you can look down from one and see the other, and vice versa. A minor detail, but it was fun to do. Even though the theme pushed the map it to be a shanty town type setting, I pushed hard to make sure the areas were well defined.
I did the initial layout and blocking, and did all of the technical hookups for the map (ai nodes, collision, bug fixing, area shapes, etc). We were trying to do something different with the map(more vertical then horizontal, unlike most of the other maps). It was mostly successful, but I believe it is one of the least popular of the maps because of this. The game works best with large ‘flatter’ layouts. It is tough designing maps for a game which its balance is constantly adjusting.
- MODES -
Arena Mode - late in development the idea of doing a ‘death match’ arena only mode came up during discussions about the game modes. It was determined that we couldn’t fit it in for the launch of the game, but it was something that the team felt could work. I took on the ‘lead’ responsibilities to get the design and implementation of the mode / levels into the game. I really love the idea of just having the hunters and a monster brawl it to the death, and felt it would work as a ‘best of’ scenario.
We started out with a best 3 out of 5, but it quickly proved too long and tiring to work well. I decided to lock it in as best 2 out of 3, like most fighting games. This worked great. I then proceeded to work out presentation (UI, sound, etc) with other departments. The more we played, I really thought the mode needed an announcer (similar to fighting games), so we added one (and it really worked; notice Battle 1, FIGHT! type stuff at the start of the round). I imagined it as a game show, and felt it should feel ‘fun’.
I worked directly with one programmer on most of the systems and prototyping to get the mode working. We ran into some potential ‘griefing’ scenarios that QA discovered, so we added rules to how you can win (which included a Sudden Death mode). Since it is an asymmetrical game, we found that we required a bit of back and forth on the rules and balance, but after weeks of testing, we felt it was pretty solid.
I personally placed 5 domes, along with hunter / monster start positions in all 14 ‘hunt’ maps, and also did all bug fixing and naming of each arena (70 in total). It was a fun game mode to get off the ground and in the game. I feel if I hadn’t taken it over, the mode probably never would have gotten done to the quality that it was. Overall, it has been really popular mode and great alternative to the main game mode hunt.