Erik Kleint - Level-Design
Sinphony of Hamelin
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General Information
On this page you will find details concerning the production of the level design of Sinphony of Hamelin.
The video on the right shows the games trailer.
Below you'll find a more detailed insight into the process of level creation.
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On the bottom of the page is a chapter with additional sources like the download link for the game and a commented walkthrough video.
Trailer
Role Description
Sinphony of Hamelin was developed as a prototype over five weeks by a team of ten developers. The games development took place in 2024.
My primary field of work was the games Level Design and Game Design. Apart from parts of the games meta-narrative, I was the only person responsible for this department.
(In case you enjoy accompanying music while reading feel free to press play)
Level Design Process
While figuring out what approach to take in designing the Hamelin-Level, I directed my focus on level flow, combat encounters and breathing room in between fights.
story was not supposed to evolve while playing, but instead serve more as a frame for the setting and a vehicle to give the player an objective, so I ignored it while planning the Level.
Since I think that soulslikes in general benefit from vistas and other soothing elements inbetween fights to offer the player a tension break and a opportunity to orientate themself, I tried to find a sweet spot in the scale of the level to also match this design goal. This lead me to the establishment of speratable level sections that could offer gameplay beats aside from fighting and exploring, e.g. finding and using a lever to lower a bridge or opening a gate as a lock and key situation.
Molecule Map / Mission Flow Diagram
As in most cases my approach to come to a useful level-layout was to start with a simple molecule map / mission flow diagram, to distinguish different beats of the level with "Outer Town Area On Hill" as Starting Point and "Church - Top Of Main Hill" as Goal (Far Left).
Next I enhanced the different level segments by adding smaller and more detailed chunks and thus enriching the environmental Dimension by specific gameplay beats (Left).
Since Sinphony of Hamelin consists of one level with randomized elements to offer the player variety when replaying the level, as planned in the game design process, I included different paths through the level into the molecule map, that would be randomly and exlusively open or closed when starting a new run through the game.
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From Molecule Map to Proximity Map
I started to use this more detailed molecule map as a first draft to expand on and arranged the different gameplay beats in relative spatial relation to each other, to get a first rough top down view on the level with the red arrows resembling uncrossable cliffs and rocks, the blue arrow the canal and the yellow one a ring of the city wall.
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(Please ignore the transposed digits between 16 and 18)
Proximity Map for Greyboxing
As a next Step I started drawing a proximity map. I talked to the art departement and we planned to use a fixed set of modular assets for the upcoming blockout, that could be replaced by switching a small number of blockout parts wiith finished art assets like fixed wall segments in the art pass. After that the art departement would add some flavor and polishment to the otherwise generic looking modular parts.
To enable the art departement to do so, I sketched the fleshed out proximity map with fixed proportions and a modular set of walls, floors and walkways in mind. This time I crafted different combat and exploration scenarios in my head and integrated them into the top down map.
Blockout
With the information of the preplanned top down map I started setting the first level blockout. Although I already knew when creating the top down map that the final level would have a verticality that should not be underestimated, it was essential to pay close attention to this aspect in the blockout. After the first blockout draft I had to tweak multiple level sections where important sightlines where blocked by architecture further belowm, or where drops that were intended to serve as a one way valve would lead to unaccounted fall damage.
Furthermore while I was setting up the early blockout there was no combat system or AI available. As those got implemented I realized that a lot of the alleyways in the first third of the level were too narrow for a mobile and fast combat system as in a game like bloodborne, which was or main reference in terms of combat. This lead to lots of backpedaling by the player when testing the game.
Finishing up
Over the course of multiple reworks after testing, identifying weaknesses and Fixing issues, the level blockout was ready for the art pass. In this production phase I stayed in close contact to the art department and especially our environent artist to support him with the thoughts I had about the level while I was creating it, to find workarounds when running into problems and to ensure that the gameplay while proceeding through the level would not be negatively affected. Simultaneously I set up the lighting and environmental VFX e.g. fog, and kept refining the games design.
Things I like
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The level features engaging exploration and offers tactical opportunities to turn keep the upper hand in combat.
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It contains reoccuring vistas, that offer breathing room and orientation.
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Besides its bizarre athmosphere, the level starts with an authentic impression before breaking with its illusion when seeing the level backdrops further down the main path, thus evoking a feeling of mystery.
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Although the progression through the level is linear, the player has the opportunity to exlore small side paths and is bound to get lost before getting their oriantation back when getting a view on some of the levels landmarks. This leads to a higher engagement and alternating, but guided player tension.
Things I don't like
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Hamelin is lacking variety. This is mostly due to the limited development time and ressources. While working with a small toolkit of level geometry enabled us to build a level of the size of Hamelin it restricted us in terms of visual diversity.
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It still feels too cramped at times. Even if this was intentional in most level sections and encounters, the sum of all these small alleyways doesn't lead to a satisfying feeling. Whilst in some encounters it is better to limit the player's room to manoeuvre to create tactical depth, I would argue that the lack of larger space is, in hindsight, a weakness of this level.
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The level follows the grid too strictly. This is something I'd like to avoid next time. Due to the thought of a fixed geometry toolkit I was thinking about most of the level in tiles. This is espatially fatal when focusing o the levels floor. In the future I would try to start with a landscape try to incorporate the topological characteristics into the top-down-map, to craft a more organic and believable blockout.