Cyberpunk City Racer
Genre: 3D Racer
Platform: Unity
Development time: 1 month with multiple projects
Playable: Customized geometry greybox
Team Size: Solo
Roles: Level Design, Environment Design
Target length: Roughly 27 seconds per lap
Walkthrough Video
Racer Walkthrough
Level Snapshots
Project Insights
i. Objectives
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The level is constructed as a Circuit Level with one lap taking approximately 20-30 seconds for a novice/average player.
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The greybox level allows players to Observe, Act, and Recover effectively (Action Awareness Cycle).
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Design a game event within the main path that incorporates an Alternative Route and a Shortcut.
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In any racer path session, there should be sufficient signifiers to guide the player.
ii. My Plans
Ideation Sketches
With all the objectives in mind, I began sketching with pen and pencil to explore various track shapes.
I'm not concerned about signifiers at this stage as everything is still in top-down view before beginning the greyboxing process.
Refined Diagram
It wasn't easy to find a project that aligns with all objectives and genuinely ignites my design inspiration, but I've found one that's truly promising:
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Alternative Route and Shorcut within one game event session;
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Mild turns at the beginning, followed by sharp turns towards the end;
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There is sufficient space for observing, acting, and recovering during each turn.
Module Assets in Modeling Software
One of the greyboxing approaches I decided to use is Module-based design from modeling software. It saved tremendous time by using the same models.
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The theme is a cyber night city racer track;
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Extensively used 4-5 different building designs throughout the environment to fill the space;
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Added 8-9 neon boards to disrupt visual uniformity and enhance the design;
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incorporated 3-4 special neon signs to help guide the player.
I am very pleased with the result! Feel free to check out the walkthrough video again at the top.
