The Last of Us Level Design Study

Hello. My name is Kaleb Nekumanesh. I am a passionate game designer with a focus on level design.

When The Last of Us Part II released its gameplay trailer, I thought it would be an interesting time to study, learn, and put into practice the great level design techniques that Naughty Dog has created. I decided to take 10 days (aside from my day job, of course) to study a level of The Last of Us Part I, consider the new vertical type gameplay of Part II, and design a level that could exist in The Last of Us’ universe. This was just an experiment to see where my study would lead, and here is a breakdown of what I did.

Research:

Objective:

Create a level design in 10 days within Unreal Engine 4 that has the objective of being a theoretical exploration level for The Last of Us Part II.

Responsibilities:

1. Conduct an analysis of the level design of Bill’s Town.
2. Develop a level located in post-apocalyptic Seattle, WA with a focus on environmental exploration, narrative, and pacing.
3. Conduct on-site research of the area around the Space Needle (where the level will take place).
4. Design, playtest, and iterate a level blockout inside of Unreal Engine 4.
5. Script basic events inside the Unreal Blueprint System.

Inspiration Research:

The environment and level design will be inspired by Bill’s Town level in The Last of Us. Bill’s Town was very much focused on the first half of the level on the exploration of Bill’s Town. In doing so, we get small hints on the past of Ellie and Joel, as well as what they like to do. At this point in the story, Joel is warming up to Ellie, but still has major reservations about her. This level also had a lot of blockades that showed the players objective beyond a big obstacle. This obstacle either required the player to find another way…