Milestone 3 — Level Map
GAME 1303 · Week 8 — Tuesday, October 13 · Map + walkable blockout, reviewed in class · 5 points
The deliverable
Two things that describe the same space:
- A level map — a drawn, annotated plan of one level of your game.
- A blockout of that map — the same level, built in the engine, walkable end to end with your Week 5 mechanic.
The map is the design. The blockout is the proof that the design survives contact with the engine. They must match; where they don't, you annotate what changed and why.
Part 1 — The level map
Hand-drawn on paper, drawn in Photoshop, or made in any tool. Scanned or exported as an image.
Must be annotated. An unlabeled drawing of a level is a picture, not a map. Mark:
- Start and exit
- The gate — the thing that stops progress — and the key that opens it
- The checkpoint
- Every hazard or challenge, numbered
- Pacing beats — where it's tense, where it's calm. Mark them along the path.
- The intended route, drawn as a line from start to exit
- What each section teaches or tests
That last one matters most. Every section of a level should either teach the player something or test something already taught. A section that does neither is a corridor, and corridors are what you cut when the level runs long.
Part 2 — The blockout
The same level, built in engine, with placeholder geometry.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Walkable start to exit | Someone else can complete it without instructions |
| The gate and key work | Use TriggerZone; the gate genuinely blocks until the key is collected |
| A working checkpoint | Death or failure returns the player to it, not to the start |
| Greybox only | Untextured geometry or plain tiles. Art is not graded here. |
| Your mechanic is required | The level cannot be completed by walking alone — the Week 5 verb must be needed |
That last requirement is the one people miss. If your level can be finished without using your core mechanic, the level isn't about your game yet.
Feeding exercise: Ex 5 — Space & Pace (Wk 7), which builds exactly this structure at small scale.
By track
| Track | Map means | Blockout means |
|---|---|---|
| 2D | Annotated side or top view of the level | Tilemap (Unity) or Paper2D (Unreal) greybox |
| Puzzle | Puzzle sequence chart — the order puzzles are introduced and how each escalates | Three built, playable puzzle instances in sequence |
| Narrative | Scene/beat map — spaces, the beat in each, and the branch points | Walkable space with trigger volumes placed for each beat |
| 3D | Top-down plan with elevation notes | Greybox geometry, camera working throughout |
| VR | Play-space diagram — reachable zones, teleport targets, seated/standing envelope | Blockout tested in headset, comfortable to traverse |
Submission
- Map: image or PDF,
lastname_levelmap.pdf - Blockout: zipped build,
lastname_blockout.zip(same build targets as Milestone 2) - Where: Canvas → Assignments → Level Map
- Due: start of class. Review runs during the exercise block — bring the map printed or on screen.
Rubric — 5 points
| Criterion | Pts | Met when |
|---|---|---|
| Map artifact | 2 | Drawn map with start, exit, gate, key, checkpoint, hazards, route, and pacing marked |
| Blockout walkable | 2 | Playable start to exit by someone else, with gate, key, and checkpoint functioning |
| Design intent | 1 | Each section's purpose is annotated, and the core mechanic is required to complete the level |
Common failure modes
- A map with no labels. Two points sit in the annotation, not the drawing.
- Blockout doesn't match the map. That's fine — annotate the difference. Silently submitting two different levels is not.
- No gate, no key. Without gating there's no pacing to evaluate, just a space.
- The level works without the mechanic. The most common miss. Test it: try to finish without using your verb. If you can, redesign.
- Textured art instead of greybox. Time spent on art at Week 8 is time not spent on layout, and layout is what's graded.
- VR blockout never worn. Distances that read fine on a monitor are frequently unusable at 1:1 scale.
Why the map comes first
Redrawing a level takes ten minutes. Rebuilding one takes an afternoon. The habit this milestone builds — draw it, annotate it, then build it — is the one that keeps your Week 15 build achievable.