Portal Level Design Test
While at university I did a project where I made a level design document for a new level for portal. This was a couple week project where I learned a lot about how to make a design document as well as how to quickly concept a level in google sketch-up.
My first step in this project was to research into portal to figure out what are the core mechanics of the game and what I would want to use, as well as figuring out where I want to set the level in the game. I decided to set the level as a DLC that is set before the main events of the first game where you focus on playing as another tester other then Chell and as you progress through the levels you learn about how Aperture shut down and Chell got left in the testing chambers.
What went well:
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Player can see the exit straight away so they know what they need to do straight away
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Puzzle uses a lot of what players have used throughout the game but is not straightforward enough that they will be able to figure it out straight away.
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Puzzle feels like an appropriate difficulty for where it is set in the game
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level is a good length
What I would Improve:
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Majority of the rooms are just cubes or cuboids - I would add more angles and different shaped rooms into the level
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Puzzle has a lot of picking up and working with the companion cubes would get the player to move the cube around more with the portals
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Add more height variation the majority of the level you remain on the two same heights can add more ramps and difference in each room so they don't all feel flat.
Below you can find the level design doc that I did for the level as well as a couple of the initial paper plans I did for the level
Software Used
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Sketchup
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Photoshop
