be’lakor

September 2021 - March 2022

DESCRIPTION

Be’lakor is a master of terror and illusion ... the first mortal to rise to the exalted rank of Daemon Prince. Disowned by the very gods he once worshiped, he has spent millennia searching for the power to challenge them directly. With the balance in the Realm of Chaos upset by our Ubersreik five, he might just finally have found his opportunity ...

WORK OVERVIEW

I WAS IN CHARGE OF

  • Designing the main (and only) Be’lakor level and its feature from paper to completion as well as working on composition and lighting

  • Respecting Vermintide 2 DNA and adapting the level to several character's gameplay styles and abilities

  • As the only designer in the small team behind this extension, I had full ownership of every design decisions

  • Managing playtest sessions and fixing bugs until the release

level design

DESIGN INTENTIONS

  • Designing the arena to be more complex and unique compared to Vermintide 2 arenas

  • Creating an open, "wall-less" space with environmental hazards for creative enemy kills

  • Incorporating a boss-like pattern to make the arena memorable

  • Featuring a compact yet dense space with multiple gameplay options

  • Including a scenic vista with an animated transition, allowing players to analyze the layout

  • Ensuring fluid movement between floors using ladders and drop-downs

First gameplay iteration

2D layout - Arena

Desired panorama reveal

2D layout - Introduction

1ST ITERATION

  • Navigation: Arena has 4 floors connected by ladders and stairs for varied sight lines and combat.

  • Objective: Players collect and throw crystals at the statue to overload it. Navigate between floors to destroy smaller statues healing the main one. Repeat until Be'lakor explodes.

  • Environmental feature: Cuttable net above the main statue lets players store crystals in one place for quicker objective completion.

Panorama reveal on the arena

Arena “rooftop” zone

Arena central zone

First zone of the level

2ND ITERATION

  • Navigation: Smaller, denser space with stairs replacing ladders for comfort as well as additional drop-downs. More asymmetric and "unstable looking design" with an exterior island.

  • Objective: Crystals can now be found in Be'lakor chests and obtained after defeating a Shadow Lieutenant. They then, need to be thrown into 5 sockets located on the statue itself.

  • Environmental feature: Kept the net as it was a popular feature and added pikes for more enemy-killing options.

Panorama reveal on the arena

Arena central zone

Arena “rooftop” zone

First zone of the level

3RD ITERATION

  • Navigation: I added walls to prevent performance issues in the arena and replaced the lift with a tower and bridges for smoother loading during player navigation. I improved navigation for easy back-and-forth movement and utilized edges and the roof to spawn enemies. Monolith serves as a visible landmark from the spawn area.

  • Objective: Players must defeat a Champion to collect its crystal and put it back on top of the chest.

  • Environmental feature: Net was removed for technical reason.

Panorama reveal on the arena

Arena central zone

Arena “rooftop” zone

First zone of the level

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 © Games Workshop Limited 2021. Warhammer: Vermintide 2, Games Workshop and their associated logos are either ® or TM and/or © Games Workshop Limited. Published under licence to Fatshark. © Fatshark AB 2021. Game Director: Mårten Stormdal & Anders De Geer Art Direction: Mattias Rousk