Game Design – Red Orchestra Level Design

For the first section of the game design module at the University of Lincoln a map must be designed around game design theory for the popular first person shooter ‘Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad’.

The level had to be set around the same time period in order to keep with the theme of the original game, as a result the battle of Okinawa was used, with various aspects of the island used to form a three tier map in which the ‘domination’ (capture and hold points) would be played on as teams progressed through the level, experiencing the three distinct sections which are: beach, town and traditional.

Below shows two mood boards used as reference images for development of the level.

First mood board: mix of modern and original images

mixed mood board

Second mood board: original images from the war

black and white original picture moodboard

This is a hand drawn sketch of the initial map, it displays vague layout including capture points, spawn points for both allied and axis teams and also scenery including height of areas and direction of play.

red orchestra initial map layout

The following images show the three areas of the initial map design expanded into a more detailed design. This emphasizes terrain and building type and also the flow of play through each capture point as teams go through the three sections of the map, each section unlocks after all capture points have been secured in the current section.

converting map into more detailed expanded version

The following image once again shows a more detailed version of the initial map design, this time focusing on dynamics of game play such as common movement patterns for both teams, key defensive areas and the height of each building.