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MageBall

ROLE

Designer/Level Designer

DESCRIPTION

Designed an arena level around player abilities and movement. Developed a scoring system that emphasizes and enhances the strategic aspects of the game. Worked with other designers and programmers to develop player abilities. 

YEAR

2022

GENRE

Split-Screen Sports/Action

Engine

Unity

Team Size

8

Trailer

Design Doc: 

Abilities

Originally, the abilities in Mageball were going to be based on a loadout, which the player would be able to change at the beginning of a match. This, however, ended up being out of scope, so instead, we allowed the player to choose their abilities by collecting pickups in the arena during gameplay. 

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A large amount of more offensive abilities were cut from the final game, as they too were out of scope. We specifically decided to keep some more strategic abilities, as they emphasized movement and ball control rather than just killing opposing players. 

Scoring and Strategy

In order to score, players need to get the ball and either bring it to the end zone where the opposing team spawns or throw it through the hoop in the end zone. This meant that teams needed to be able to attack in order to get the ball from their opponents and defend in order to keep the ball in their possession. This meant that abilities needed to be able to do both, which was another major consideration when deciding which abilities to cut. 

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One problem was that even if players had an ability, if that ability doesn't kill their opponents, they would not have any ability to get the ball. This was solved by adding a melee attack that would immediately make an opponent drop the ball and was always usable. This also meant that  players still needed some skill in order to take the ball if they chose not to use any abilities. 

Level Design

The arena in this game was specifically designed with movement in mind. Players can jump fairly high and move quickly, so they needed a lot of room to maneuver and throw the ball around if needed. This also meant that the level needed to have some verticality to facilitate both the player's normal jump height as well as the abilities that allowed them to move more vertically. 

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Originally, the level had several areas that were much more closed off, but this was solved by removing several walls in key areas, allowing players to enter more closed off spaces from multiple entrances. 

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The level's verticality also affected the placement of ability pickups within the arena, as it meant that certain abilities like the jump pad and wall would be more useful in areas that were lower, whereas the explosion and thunder cloud would be more useful if you could throw them from up high.  

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