Molementum
Level & UI Design | Team of 18 | Unity - PC | 2024
Molementum is a multiplayer party game where you roll, burrow, and run around maps with the goal of getting the most points and becoming the ultimate thief! I joined onto the team in my final semester at Champlain College, half way through it’s production, with the main goal of revamping the existing level into a design that better fit the game’s goals and play style.
The game’s original map, ‘The Factory’, was quite interesting in design, having a big focus on two vertical levels connected between a few different branching paths. These two levels along with the many paths resembling conveyor belts were one of the maps biggest strengths, having many unique elements. The map also had a large central focal point that helped it stand out even more.
Greybox of The Factory
While these different elements helped make the map standout in its own way it had many different problems when it came to gameplay which can generally be summarized as a lack of player direction.
Map Size
The map was large, and while this made it fun to explore, Molementum has a big focus on player interaction, a problem pairing when players found themselves rarely running into one another.
Getting Lost
With this large map it was very easy for players to get lost. The many unique elements actually helped with this quite a bit, but with the cluttered design patterns connecting objects to location was still difficult.
No Funneling
The map featured no funneling, or more specifically, leading paths. Players often found themselves led straight into walls or in no clear direction, and with no paths to follow the issues presented of getting lost or not being able to find others were amplified.
With these problems in mind I created a few different concepts and landed on one main one to follow through with which I eventually named ‘Deep Mine’.
The Deep Mine Final Design
When creating the design I wanted to keep the original structure and unique key points of the original map while solving the lack of direction issues.
I kept the maps clear positives, reusing the large drill centerpiece, to cut down on work for artists, and including many of the unique elements from the original map. I also kept the two vertical level structure as a key part of the design to accompany the original elements which were made with it in mind.
The Deep Mine view from the top and side
On the problem solving side of things, I fixed the direction issues for players by using a symmetrical design that cut down the map from a larger rectangle to a smaller square. Not only did this remove the presence of dead ends with looping patterns of paths but made it easier to find and see stand out points as everything could be traced from the walls to the map center. Understanding one side of the map allowed the player to understand all sides.
Finally, after adding in the map’s collectables spread throughout, additional hazards, and new objectives, it all came together quite well.
My work on Molementum is some of my favorite, and that not only includes the Deep Mine map but also the lobby map which I named ‘The Playground’. If you’d like to see more you can download Molementum now on Steam!