XINYU
ZHANG
"LAYNE"
(Technical) Level / Game Designer
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Pendulum Pandemonium
Overview
ROLE
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Level Designer / World Builder
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Programmer (Blueprint)
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3D Artist
ABOUT
"Pendulum Pandemonium," created using UE5, is a single-player puzzle game where players must solve a series of physics-based puzzles involving a pendulum to unlock rooms and reach the final goal. Players manipulate the pendulum by activating, rotating, and transferring momentum to break open a key box, obtaining a key to unlock the door.
Tool
UE5
Development Time
~ 130 Hrs
Platform
PC
Team Size
Individual
Contribution
Contribution
Highlights
Design Process
Level Design
Level Design Document - Map Overview
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The project required designing the second level based on the professor-provided first level, maintaining the core mechanics of color-coded doors with keys and double jumping. I created a detailed level design document that included new puzzle mechanics, gameplay elements, and modular building models for the level.
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Additionally, the professor introduced a challenge by having students exchange their design documents with each other, leading to various difficulties such as unfamiliar designs, varying difficulty levels, and the need to adapt to different documentation styles.
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Despite these challenges, I collaborated with team members to refine and adapt the designs to meet the project's requirements.
Iteration
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The development process followed a structured approach, progressing through Whitebox (WB), Initial Gameplay (IG), Game Complete (GC), Aesthetics, and Launch phases. The focus was on rapid iteration and development, with most of the functional code completed between Whitebox and Initial Gameplay stages. This allowed ample time for modeling, lighting adjustments, and debugging. The goal was to ensure that by the Game Complete stage, there were no critical bugs that would prevent players from completing the level.
Modelling and Aesthetics
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The process involved replacing placeholder models with custom 3D models.
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Initial concepts were collected for reference, and geometric structures were outlined as blockouts on these concepts.
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Custom modular components were used to replace the level architecture, while shared prop models were added to decorate the scenes.
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Lighting was fine-tuned to match each room's unique theme and guide the player effectively, incorporating UE5's basic lighting and post-processing techniques.