3 Axis, 3 times the fun !
Void Fisher is a space fishing game that I worked on as a Level Designer in 2024.
However, the conception of the level in 3rd dimension where the player can move freely in every direction quickly imposed an important problematic:
How to design an interesting level on 3 axis?
My experimentation led me to different trails and tools that help me build a smooth navigation.
Our LD tool: spatial flows!
In Void Fisher, one of the main elements for the player is the spatial flow. It serves as a guide, a road: it’s a highway guiding the player in the biome, giving them a faster and safer way of navigating in space.
It orient the level that is articulated around it, serving as an orbital road for the players.
Travelling around the world in one long road crossing the countries…
Creating plans, layers and dovetailing them
In order to use all three axes at their best and to give the players a smooth and homogeneous exploration experience, using layers allowed me to create multiple paths.
Depending on their overlapping, it can create hotspots and crossroads that we can mark with interest points!
These layers were used to place modules with different uses:
♦ More or less eccentric and challenging;
♦ Helps getting your bearings;
♦ Creating crossroads.
Travelling through the French countryside, visiting different villages linked by a winding lane…
Hierarchization: clear signals for the players
The level’s main hotspot (here, the planet) overhang the area. It gives the players a clear objective, the level’s rhythm will intensify until it reaches a plateau at this hotspot.
In order to put it in the spotlight, it is placed at the other end of the area, at the opposite of the players’ spawn point.
♦ It’s also a crucial landmark for orientation;
♦ It clearly announces the objective;
♦ It delivers a linear navigation, a golden path across the system (and a better control of the players’ experience).
A little path weaves through the top of a mountain, going through rocks, forests and brooks until it reaches the peak…
Diversify and spatialize the challenges
The level presents multiple areas with their own challenges: some of them will require precision while others will require the players to master navigation…
During these challenges, different aspects of the game will be accentuated:
♦ Free exploration, letting the players go with the flow;
♦ The control of the boat, which is Void Fisher’s main mechanics;
♦ The reward diversity that the players can find at the end of every challenge.
Every creature has its own environmental nest in the spatial corals…
Nested aread and Feng Shui
In Void Fisher, these challenges aren’t just randomly placed in space: we’re playing with small areas inside bigger areas.
The biome itself is in a restricted area, in which are multiple smaller restricted areas that contain the challenges.
♦ Emphasize the player’s feeling of discovery;
♦ Creating unique micro zones while keeping a global harmony;
♦ Playing with vista points, revelations and diverse stageplays.
A Russian doll opening and unveiling another one, and another one, and another one…