In an effort to test my adaptability, I constructed a MOBA map, which is a game genre I had never played before. Fortunately, Epic recently released many Paragon level assets on their store for free, which I used to construct this scene.
Before getting into engine, I did some research on the genre, looking up examples of gameplay for maps, the way they usually flow, I even played a few rounds of Heroes of the Storm to better understand the design constraints and laws of MOBA map des
From there, I put six towers in each lane, three belonging to each team. In MOBAs, players must destroy the enemy team’s towers in each lane before they can reach and attack the other team’s “core.” Along the right paths, I also put in shop location
Once I had all my map proportions in place, I began constructing the scene for just half of the stage. Since a MOBA map is supposed to be (mostly) symmetrical in size and game balance, I decided to just start with half so I can replicate the final s
After doing further research, I decided to be more straightforward with the middle lanes and make them more efficient routes. Previously I attempted to make platforming challenges along the middle paths, and changed this as necessary.
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Several of the assets had missing faces, though if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my experience as a level designer, if something looks weird, put a rock over it.
Things are starting to come together now. I’m making good use of the assets, using them in ways that make them naturally flow together.
Side A is now complete. The goal from here is to match the distance and proprotions of these foundations on the other half of the map. And soon, we’ll begin expirimenting with some level blueprints.
Notice that some of these towers float far above the ground. As stated earlier, I wanted to use this map as an opportunity to play with verticality in map design, so for this I built a bounce pad using UE4 BluePrints.
And here we’ve achieved balance on both sides. Since I started with just the once side, I was able to duplicate the assets and rotate them to attach at the end. I still want there to be distinct visual differences on both sides though, so I opted to
Now I’m exploring enemy spawner placement. The water is only shin deep, and players can run through it (at a speed cost). I’m also using the area to represent the concept of a MOBA “jungle” where enemies can spawn from.
And as is the case for many MOBA games and maps, we have a boss location that leans closer to one side, while the other side has an increase of enemy spawners in the mirrored location. Never get too close to a mama’s eggs, unless you’re looking for
You can see here that I’ve now begun affecting the world lighting, and began filling in the game’s negative space with large rocks to enclose the playable area.
Now we’re filling the rest of the excess space with additional trees and greenery. I want to give the level a mangrove aesthetic.
Here you can see some of the progress on moss vertex painting. Many of these Paragon assets came equipped with the material, but others required implementing.
We’re closing in on the end here, so now I’m getting to the finer details like using the foliage brush to add that extra life to the scene. One must be careful not to overdo this tool, though, unless you want diabolical frame drops. (I’ve come a
And look at that! We made an actual level! Thanks for sticking around to listen to my process.
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