Overview

Job Overview :

My Role : Level & Technical Game Designer

Job Duration : 1 years and an half

Team Size : 30+

Studio Name : Playwing

Project Status : Live-Ops Game

Game Overview :

Century Age of Ashes is a multiplayer dragon battle game. Join the arena, hunt down your enemies and rule the skies!

Genre : Dogfight / Heroes Shooter

Platform : PC / Xbox / Playstation

Game Engine : Unreal Engine 4 (Blueprint / C++)

Season 1: The Outbreak Gamemode

Objectives:

Century: Age of Ashes is a highly competitive game, so we encountered difficulties in acquiring and retaining a large base of casual players, which is essential for free-to-play games. Furthermore, as a "Game as a Service", it was essential to introduce regular updates with original content in order to maintain the engagement of our community.

The PvE mode was designed specifically to meet these two critical requirements:

- To offer a simple and accessible entry point for newcomers.

- To provide an adaptable and engaging experience with fresh content for dedicated players, thereby enriching the overall game offering.

My responsibilities:

1. Project Management & Teams Coordination:

- Production Management: I oversaw the creative process and organised regular coordination meetings with the Design, Programming and Art teams over a four-month period.

- Quality Control: My role was to ensure that production remained on track with the schedule and design specifications, ensuring on-time delivery.

2. Game Design and Mode Balancing (Tower Defence)
- Mode Design: I designed the entire game design for the Tower Defence mode, defining the objectives (preventing the collapse of defences), the game structure (successive waves of enemies) and the conditions for victory/defeat.

- Iteration and Quality: I organised and conducted regular playtests to quickly identify bugs and balancing/design errors, enabling rapid and effective iteration.

- Wave Design: I designed the progression of the PvE mode:

- Monster pathing.

- Composition of each wave (intensity and mix of enemies).

- Progressive learning curve, culminating in complex final waves.

3. Level Design and Artistic Integration
- Map Level Design: I created the level design for the PvE mode-specific map.

- Documentation and Integration: I managed the initial implementation, then documented and clearly explained the technical constraints and requirements to the artists for the integration of visual elements.

4. AI Design and Technical Optimisation

- Design & Satisfaction Objective: The goal was to achieve high satisfaction when eliminating enemies, keeping in mind the heavy technical limitations associated with Old Gen platforms and high graphics standards.

- Innovative Solution (Boids Algorithm): We opted for a simple but satisfying AI approach:

- Swarm Grouping: Monsters are managed in swarms, allowing them to be killed en masse for a highly rewarding combat experience.

- Optimisation (Leader AI): A single ‘boss’ AI managed the entire swarm, using a Boids algorithm to follow pre- designed lines. This optimised performance while providing fluid and chaotic movement.

- Evolving Enemy Design: I designed the range of enemies to offer varied challenges and opportunities for future evolution:

- Weak and Numerous (crowd management).

- The Tank (priority target, threatening the tower).

- The Smokers (obscuring the map, adding a strategic element).

- Long-Term Vision: The design of this AI was modular, leaving the door open for future improvements (real pathfinding, group merging, dodging).

Results and Impact:
Strategic design choices and technical optimisations have paid off, making PvE mode a major success for the game:

- Player Acquisition: The launch generated a sharp increase in the acquisition of new players who were previously put off by the difficulty of the main game.

- Retention and Engagement: PvE mode was very well received by the entire community, strengthening casual player retention and offering content that was appreciated by hardcore players.

- Strategic Validation: This achievement validated our approach to expanding the audience for Century: Age of Ashes while offering new, high-quality content for the Game as a Service model.

Season 2: The Thornweaver Class

Objectives:

The PvE experience led to the introduction of the first Tank/Support class to improve PvP retention. The difficulty of PvP gameplay (very short Time to Kill) caused a great deal of frustration among casual players.

Introducing the Thornweaver, a class with high survivability and low skill requirements to offer a more error-tolerant option and diversify the meta.

My responsibilities:

1. Game Design and Strategic Role
- Class Design: I designed the Tank/Support archetype for PvP combat.

- Key Abilities Implemented: I designed and implemented two essential survival mechanics:

- Bramble Armour: Reduces damage taken and slows attackers.

- Regeneration Passive: Regenerates health outside of combat to increase survivability and accessibility.

- Bramble Wall: A wall that procedurally blocks paths; it can be destroyed by opponents.

2. Advanced Technical Implementation (Unreal GAS)
- Implementation: I was responsible for implementing Armour and Passive using Unreal Engine's Gameplay Ability System (GAS) (in Blueprint). This approach ensured robust and standardised network management of complex game mechanics.

- Iteration and Balancing: I led playtests and managed the iteration cycle for these abilities. I worked collaboratively with another developer on the implementation of Thorn Wall.

3. Story, Lore, and Narrative Integration
- Lore Design (Fates of Dragons): I created the lore for the Thornweaver class and contributed to the Season 2 narrative. My work ensured that the class design (nature and defence abilities) was narratively consistent with the theme of symbiosis.

Results and Impact:
- Strategic Validation: The new archetype was highly appreciated by casual players, allowing them to feel more effective, and the season's lore was very well received.

- Live Balancing Management: The introduction of this archetype caused initial balancing challenges that were quickly corrected through our live iteration process, maintaining a healthy game environment.

Season 3: The Artifact Gamemode

Objectives:

The need to introduce strategic variety into the game's competitive offering, which until then had been based entirely on symmetrical game modes.

Designing Artifact Gamemode, an asymmetrical Attack/Defence mode, aimed at offering a new competitive vision.

My responsibilities:

1. Asymmetric Mode Design and Gameplay
- Mode Design: I was responsible for the complete design of the asymmetric Attack/Defence mode.

- Attackers: Must retrieve an Artefact and charge it at specific points to destroy the enemy base.

- Defenders: Must prevent the Artefact from advancing at all costs.

- Implementation of Key Mechanics: I implemented the mode's crucial systems, including:

- The logic for picking up and dropping the artefact.

- The system for charging the artefact in specific energy currents that attackers must navigate.

2. Asymmetric Level Design
- Map Design: I designed the level layout of the map, which had to be inherently asymmetrical to support the Attack/Defence dynamic.

- Spatial Balancing: My job was to ensure that, despite the physical asymmetry, each side (Attack and Defence) had balanced strategic strengths and weaknesses throughout the different phases of the game.

3. Quality and Launch Validation
- QA Testing: I actively managed and participated in QA (Quality Assurance) testing for the mode, focusing specifically on detecting bugs related to new mechanics (Artifact, charge zones) and balancing asymmetric game flows.

Results and Impact:

- Competitive Diversification: The mode has enriched the PvP offering with an innovative asymmetrical concept, renewing the interest of competitive players.

- New Game Dynamics: The introduction of the Artefact and charge currents has forced players to adopt new movement and team coordination strategies that were previously rare.