The aim for level 5 was for the player to finish the game, to finish the game it needed to look like they had actually left the lab. With this in mind, Dylan added some other assets to make it look like some of this level was outside. We wanted there to be some kind of storyline throughout the game which is why we needed to add these outside grass and sky designs, thus making the player feel more like they have accomplished something – using that gamification.
The idea behind level 4 was that this was a different section of the lab from the previous level. Level 3 was the building of the robots and level 4 is the repair lab section hence the use of the chemicals and the mechanical robots seen in the left window. When designing and creating this level, the idea came that the whole lab was connected and then at the end, we will see an overall view of the full building so that the player knew they had progressed and escaped the lab. This design is missing a few elements which will be seen in the game, such as the doors and the floating elevator platforms which the player will have to use to navigate around the level and escape the lab – the reason yet again for not including these in this design is because Ryan needs them separate to incorporate them into the game so that they move.
Level 3 – This level was one of the more experimental levels when it came to the design of the level, from the feedback in the Alpha myself and Ryan wanted to add something else to the levels to come such as in this one we wanted to see more in the background rather than just the pipes. We added more assets into this level from the previous two, such as the green tubes which store the next generation ‘the code bot 5000’. Dylan made some of the tubes look like they have been broken to create suspense and make the lab look more like it is breaking – the same with the wires from the ceiling.
This is the final level design for level 2, this image is the one which I (Dylan) have created in Adobe Illustrator. Once I had designed the level on Illustrator, Ryan took all the assets which I designed and put them into the Construct 2 file and added the block that is in the water (in the game) and then he animates that to go up once the code has been fixed. Also inside Construct 2, Ryan has animated the water which required me to export two separate images, the top water section and bottom half of it.
This is the final design for level 1. I and Ryan have decided on this after feedback from the tutor and the children we are working in collaboration with, they both said the background could do some work. We agreed that it look too plain and boring so we decided to add the pipes in the background which I personally think that they are only a minor change but really makes the level look a lot better. We wanted to run with the idea that the first level will be just a basic design and basic gameplay and for it to serve as a tutorial level and allow the player to get used to the game and familiar with the code.