BIONICLE: Masks of Power
Summary
Project
Large-scale, open-world action-adventure RPG
Fangame based on the BIONICLE franchise owned by LEGO
Team size: 20-30 (Varies)
Work environment: Remote
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
My role: Level Design Lead
Draw layouts and create documentation for game areas and overall structure
Build level blockouts in-engine using UE5 modeling and landscape tools
Script level events and encounters using Blueprint
Actively collaborate with other project departments such as Programming, Art, and Audio to make game areas feel whole and cohesive
BIONICLE: Masks of Power is a large-scale, open-world action-RPG fangame based on the BIONICLE franchise owned by LEGO. I am currently contributing to it as the Level Design Lead.
This game is being created and released for free following rules and guidelines set by the LEGO Group, and neither Team Kanohi nor any of its members claim ownership over any elements of the original BIONICLE property. BMOP is purely a passion project by fans.
Everything on this page shows a work in progress.
Demo Trailer with Gameplay
Summary
My level design work is shown at various points during the gameplay section of this trailer.
My contributions
Dense jungle area
Wooden outpost area
Cave areas
Design Process - Jungle Area
Gameplay video with contribution details
I am unfortunately unable to show this content publicly at this time as the content it shows has not yet been released. If you are interested in seeing it, please reach out to me at my email egodwin@utexas.edu or see my private portfolio, which I attach with job applications.
Summary
The team's current focus is creating a demo for the game that will act as a vertical slice of the full experience. Shown here is an overview of my Design process for one of the demo's main areas, the Meandering Heights, which I have been in charge of the level design for.
The Meandering Heights is a high-elevation, dense jungle teeming with life and wandering paths, and it serves as the intro area for the Demo.
Goals
Create an environment that immersed the player in the world of the game while naturally teaching them its most essential skills and mechanics.
I believe strongly in naturally integrating tutorials into the game world, flow, and narrative, and achieving this was one of my biggest priorities.
Documentation & Layouts Stage
My first step in designing any area is writing out any ideas for mechanics and uses of them for obstacles and challenges, in tandem with themes and tones I might want to explore. After this I'll begin to organize them into a formal design document for the area. Our team as a whole uses this general process and works collaboratively on our Level Design documents.
The Demo Overview document that the Level Design team has been using was first created and formatted by me, and all of the documentation on the Meandering Heights specifically was written by me as well.
Blockout stage
After writing out the structure and flow I had in mind for the Meandering Heights, I began creating the blockout for it in Unreal Engine. I used a combination of built-in engine features, free assets from the internet, and plugins like Blockout Tools, to create the blockout.
I used the landscape tools to sculpt the ground of the Heights and paint it with prototyping textures to indicate information such as the locations of paths, rocky cliffs, and other information.
I also acquired a low-poly foliage asset pack in order to indicate the locations of bushes, ferns, and other smaller plants, seeing as the thickness of the foliage in various parts of the map would be important. This foliage was placed using Unreal's built-in foliage system. I took care to implement proper culling for this foliage, as even though it was low-poly, I thought it important to make sure performance was smooth enough even at this stage for the most effective testing.
I assembled trees using modular components created by team member Boxturret.
Low-poly foliage assets by:
Rad-coders
Game Trailers
Environmental Teaser
This had no involvement from me and all credit goes to the other members of Team Kanohi. Included here only to show the art direction, scope, etc. of the full game.
Combat Gameplay Preview
A recent combat gameplay showcase for the game. This had minimal involvement from me and is included here only to show what more final gameplay and final art will look like for the project.