One Way Ticket
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One Way Ticket is a single or multi player campaign in the game Left 4 Dead 2. The players must fight through hordes of zombies to get into a train station, power on the trains, and ride it to safety!
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Engine: Source Engine
Role: Sole Designer Team Size: Solo Project Platform: PC, Steam |
Goals
- Create a multiplayer experience
I was greatly excited to craft a fun experience for people to play with their friends. I've always viewed video games as a way to bond, and so I wanted to give people a way to do that with my campaign. To accomplish this, I focused on one or two set pieces each chapter that would allow for high jinks to ensue.
My particular favorite is at the end of Chapter 2, where the players need to dodge runaway trains as they run across the tracks to the safehouse. - Design fun encounters
Because this is a multiplayer experience for Left 4 Dead 2, I didn't want to craft highly intricate mechanics that demanded the players' full attention. Part of the charm of this game specifically is that it's highly approachable with a small learning curve. Instead, I focused on more fun and ridiculous moments for the players to experience together. - Have interesting, multipurpose spaces with different nooks and crannies.
In order to have the campaign be replayable, I had to make each area for the chapters be incredibly intricate and varied. This would allow for the players to explore the areas and approach encounters differently each time they play.
Chapters
Map Designs in One Way Ticket
Design Examples in Ch 1
Design Examples in Ch 2
Design Examples in Ch 3
Additional Images
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Postmortem
What went well?
Unique spaces: With having 3 different chapters for the players to go through, I wanted to have each of these chapters be distinct from one another so that it felt like the players where progress forward rather than staying in the same space.
Trains! : From the beginning, I wanted to have trains in this level. Luckily with early prototyping, I was able to quickly discern what was possible and not regarding them. In the end, I'm glad they're as present as they are. |
What went wrong?
Not enough detail time: Because of the scope of the project, I wasn't able to give as much time as I normally do to each area. While I still managed to polish every area in every chapter, I do wish I dedicated more time to it to make every space feel more lived in.
Lighting: Lighting in the Source Engine has its quirks. Something I wished I had done was add in lighting earlier to give myself more time to refine it. |
What did I learn?
Prototype early: The biggest help to this project was my ability to prototype specific aspects of Left 4 Dead 2 as well as the Source Engine. That early prototyping allowed me to quickly realize what was possible and what wasn't; which in turn informed my overall designs.
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