azmodai.com - Evyn 'azmodai' Shuley
Game & Level Designer
During my spare time prior to becoming a professional game developer, I created a lot of content for online games, namely the Unreal Tournament series and games that used the Unreal Engine. All these levels were designed, created, detailed and lighted by myself. All of this content was released freely online via websites such as my own, the ozunreal community and nalicity.
Some levels included here are not available for download as they were added as part of a total conversion package for Unreal Tournament and wouldn't work without downloading the complete mod. As such I've left them out from downloading but have posted screenshots in this page.
A note on the levels, I have sorted them by game and then alphabetically, so you may be looking at some of my oldest released work when you see the first examples of some games. Keep that in mind. Where this is the case I mention it in my write up of that specific level.
Note: When I get some time, i'll reinstall these old games and mods and take videos of the levels so you can see them first hand, for the moment you'll have to make do with screenshots - Evyn
Unreal Tournament 2004 : Unreal Tournament 2003 : Strike Force : Uskaarj : Conquest Marines
Unreal Tournament 2004
When Unreal Tournament 2004 was released, I had already established myself as a community level designer and it is quite clear that the quality of the levels I was creating was significantly higher than what is found in Unreal Tournament 2003. The levels found here tend to lean more towards a professional grade and less of a community level designer or modder. During my time creating Unreal Tournament 2004 levels I became employed in my first professional game development position.
CTF-DowntownStadium
Released 2005
Details
Downtown Stadium was designed with the idea to return UT2k4 gameplay to where the story deemed it originated.
This is a stadium of cheering fans. Weapons and ammunition are supplied to the player before the player is teleported into a frag-crazy game of Capture The Flag.
Downtown Stadium was developed in the idea of removing all unnecessary elements to the level, creating a level playing field in a small scale arena and letting hell break loose. It is pure simplistic fun, developed for the player that needs the simple raw enjoyment of just killing your opponent, the flags are just there for colour..
Players are spawned in a spawning room where they are handed all their weapons, a piece of armour and a teleporter into the fight. It is designed with 6 - 8 players in mind.
Notes:
- Hand created textures of graffit found on the walls
ONS-Dissident
Released 2005
Details
Dissident is my first Onslaught level created for Unreal Tournament 2004. This level was originally an experimental level that developed into interesting gameplay.
Dissident is based in a canyon. Featuring a heavy egyptian influence but also contrasts with some green trees as can be seen in the screenshots. Dissident puts the focus of the combat on the central structure which acts as a hub for the push into enemey territory.
Dissident features a solid and distinctive look combined with linear progression of gameplay. The path is simple but this does not detract from the enjoyment of the combat and the flowing nature of the layout.
Dissident is best suited to 6 to 10 players and features all the smaller vehicles which balances with the choice of weapons scattered throughout the level.
DM-ZED
Released 2005
Details
Zed was designed using the meshs and textures that featured in DM-Albatross (retail release of UT2004)
Zed is designed with a fast paced and relatively cramped dueling environment in mind.
Designed around dueling, Zed features considerable amounts of Z-axis gameplay and fluid movement through the sections. Jump pads and lifts accentuate the Z axis movement allowing the player to move between many differing heights to attempt to gain an advantage over their opponent.
Zed is graphically heavy, it makes considerable use of terrain, projectors, and staticmeshes to develop the grey/white rock look that was established with DM-Albatross.
Zed was designed primarily for 2 players to allow optimal amounts of movement. This is quite a small map and thus does not allow for many more players. It has been quite comfortable with 4. More would be far too heavy to fit comfortably in this level.
Unreal Tournament 2003
Unreal Tournament 2003 was when I made the bulk of my publically available work. During this stage of my life I spent a lot of time dueling and playing Unreal Tournament 2003 at a professional level. Most of the levels are focused on providing a gameplay experience that Unreal Tournament 2003 seemed to be lacking - a solid pack of dueling levels focused for 1v1 or 2v2 matches. This was the area that I specialised in.
I spent a considerable amount of time working with Joel 'Skar' Reeves and I owe him a great deal in helping tune, tailor, refine and complete a lot of my levels created.
DM-Angst
Released 2002
Details
Angst. My First Unreal Tournament 2003 level created and released to the public in early 2002. This level was more an experiment with terrain and the new path noding system than it was a true level.
Angst features a simple layout of essentially four or five rooms with fairly equal weapon distribution. An obvious trap was included by positioning the flak cannon directly opposite and above the entrance to the armour corridor. This deliberate setup emphasised the use of the flak cannon.
While simple, the gameplay is both fast and enjoyable. Angst was enjoyed as a favoured level for the dueling community of early Unreal Tournament 2003.
DM-Arclight
Released 2002
Details
Arclight has been developed to expand upon the gameplay that was established by Quake 3 Arena by Id Software.
Their use of large open areas with a flowing design was considered superior for the purposes of dueling as compared to Unreal Tournament 2003s tight narrow corridors and detail heavy rooms.
Arclight was designed to emulate this style of gameplay while featuring the graphical prowess and the detail provided by the Unreal engine.
Arclight features a large playing area focused around one central chamber, this provided a nearly circular playing area that complimented the movement and weapon styles offered in Unreal Tournament 2003.
Arclight is quite graphic heavy for levels of that era, and featured a common 'quake' style theme that appealed to duelers and deathmatchers alike.
DM-Bastion
Released 2002
Details
Bastion is designed to have a 'quake' feel to it. Bastion was designed to provide a small deathmatching experience for players while developing the use of specific gameplay features during the development of my skills with the unreal engine.
Bastion uses an extremely 'gothic industrial' appearance, with a heavy use of the red / brown colour scheme found in many quake levels.
The layout of this level is fairly simple, using multiple tiers and a teleporter for the player to move between the top and the bottom of the level. Bastion proved to be a frantic experience for the player and allowed fast yet restrictive movement.
Bastion is best enjoyed by a few players. Two to four players is more than suitable to have an enjoyable and fast paced experience that will leave the blood rushing.
DM-Cave
Released 2002
Details
Cave was an experiment that I was satisfied enough to release. Cave is just one room with two tier gameplay. The using of jump pads and ramps develop the gameplay further.
Cave features a very small variety of weapons. Cave also includes a damage amp, making this level an extremely quick 'kill or be killed' level.
The design of this level was put together quickly to give two opponents a means to see who is the most effecient killer. It was designed as such.
Enjoyable and rather amusing to many players, this level gives Rocket Arena style gameplay with actually having Rocket Arena.
DM-Forgotten
Released 2002
Details
Forgotten is set in a nightmarish hell world surrounding by flames, molten lava and grim smoke. Amidst this environment is a set of gangways and ramps containing various powerups and weapons. This is forgotten.
Forgotten took it's design from a level designed for a long-forgotten quake 2 mod. The name was taken when I could not remember the name of the level yet the layout was well known and well remembered.
Forgotten is essentially a fight to the death above a lava pit amongst a series of catwalks, gangways and ramps that will allow players to move freely and expansively but not without the use of caution to prevent them from landing in a rather hot lava experience.
Forgotten is best fought with 4 to 6 players. Forgottens heavy use of emitters tends to bring many computers to a crawl. Best used for reference and a laugh or two.
DM-Further
Released 2003
Details
Further was developed with the unreal tournament 2003 dueling & competitive community in mind and on hand. With particular assistance from Australias champion - Joel 'Skar' Reeves, Further was developed to accentuate the style of gameplay that the duelers and deathmatchers enjoyed and revered.
Featuring a large focus on Z-Axis gameplay and the movement between tiers. Further blends the fast paced movement and jumping allowances with carefully placed ledges, walls and edges to allow both a new and professional player the opportunity to enjoy the speed and agility that Unreal Tournament 2003 offered the player.
Further uses the 'techo egyptian' texture set offered with the bonus packs made available to the Unreal Tournament 2003 community. Further blends this texture set with moody blue and purple lighting, which provides a direct contrast to the white gold sand that covers the floor of further.
Further is enjoyable with 2 - 6 players although fewer players offers the players a more comfortable experience and gives the best use of the cover and options made available for the player to direct his action.
DM-Gilkon
Released 2003
Details
Gilkon was developed as a joint venture between myself and Joel 'Skar' Reeves, Australia's champion Unreal Tournament player for 2 sucessive years.
The layout was developed by Joel, while I was responsbile for developing the lighting scheme and working on visual effects.
This layout takes the game flow established with the ID / Quake series which were reknowned for their good level design, game flow and weapon placement. Gilkon replicated all these aspects of good level design while taking advantage of Unreal Tournament 2003s movement and jumping styles that are not afforded to quake.
Gilkon appears small at first, yet the movement the layout offers to the player is hard to find in other retail Unreal Tournament 2003 levels. This level was tailor made to be suited to the dueling community.
This level proved a popular favourite with many duelers and spent a large amount of time on server rotation of many well known dueling servers.
DM-Islands
Released 2003
Details
Islands is an original creation of mine. A huge floating island orbited by a series of smaller islands.
Islands has instant appeal in the simple and fun way that Unreal Tournament 2003 offers to players. It is a fast paced and quite amusing level with many features.
The layout of islands is established through the smaller islands positioned around the main island. These islands are accessed through jump pads located at discreet points around the main island.
The smaller islands contain all the more powerful weapons, promoting players to move between the islands to access the better weapons.
However the damage aplifier is located in the centre of the main island, which encourages players to return to the centre to kill their fellow man or woman.
In order to really give this level a completely amusing approach, there is also a hidden island which contains a jump pad which will elevate to a point high above the main island and also offers them a nice super weapon to player with - the ion painter.
By combining the pace of the jump pads and the abilitiy to send your opponent to their death, islands becomes and instant favourite for those who play Unreal Tournament 2003 for the simple pleasure of killing players in an enjoyable manner.
DM-Stragoth5
Released 2003
Details
Created to a specific storyline and theme. Stragoth 5 puts the player on the icy world of Stragoth. A research station that fell victim to the harsh and freezing weather.
Stragoth 5 is a research station overblown and covered in snow and ice. Players find themselves moving between several covered areas of the station, including an outer generator station, a vehicle yard, the main yard, and the central courtyard to do battle with each other.
Stragoth 5 is a large map for Unreal Tournament 2003 and suits a high number of players. A combination of many high vantage points and paths to reach various secrets makes this level an interest to explore. Due to the size of the level, players will find the pace of the level slowe than compared to many other levels.
Stragoth 5 puts heavy emphasis on the environment be having clearly defined areas that are part of the infrastructure and then covering them with snow.
DM-Undergrowth
Released 2002
Details
Undergrowth puts the player in a night time vegetation heavy circular arena that pits the players against each other in a two tier layout which favours close combat and short range weapons.
Undergrowth was developed to nail home the two-tier dynamic and layout. With the more powerful weapons placed on the lower tier and thus making the players suitably endangered to attacks from above.
Set at night time with dense vegation and a blue green texture and lighting set. Undergrowth sets a distinct flavour of levels that was seen throughout Unreal Tournament 2003.
By making heavy use of ambient emitters, Undergrowth sets up an peaceful environment set to be disrupted by the firing of weapons and the killing of the fellow opponent.
Best enjoyed with 3-4 players, Undergrowth gives a constant flowing movement while enjoying the visual splendor offered in Unreal Tournament 2003.
Strike Force 2004
Strike Force was a long standing community modification that was essentially Counter Strike on the Unreal Engine, it became very popular with the release of Strike Force 2004 and the designers amongst the team started putting together some of their more professional work. I worked with the team creating a lot of alpha levels (such as combustion) for them to refine their gameplay on. I Included Combustion below simply to demonstrate some of the test environments that were created to establish the gameplay.
Working with this team was an interesting challenge, regular Unreal Tournament levels worked on the basis of having clear routes and completing a circuit with little to no obstruction and clear paths from one point to the next. Strike Force levels are handled in a completely different fashion, they rely on many routes all leading to obvious choke points. The routes that take longer to get to should offer the player a distinct advantage over charging into the Killzone. Strike Force levels require significant amounts of cover and testing line of sight from one open space to the next. Every area needs to be tested from many angles to determine if that spot holds an advantage or a weakness, and balancing these advantages and weaknesses is the core of a fun Strike Force level.
SFTDM-Operation-Combustion
Internal Release Only 2005
Details
This level was a prototype designed to focus on vertical combat as a gameplay element. The setting was a series of small buildings with multiple floors, allowing the player to find designed emplaced sniping points. Players were given two main routes to reach the opponents base.
I designed the floorplan, the routes and the environment. All props and cover objects were taken from the mod's libraries.
SFTDM-Operation-Bushwalk
Released Publically 2005
Details
The gameplay focus in bushwalk is assymmetrical combat. Three main routes run through this level - one main route leads to a very obvious chokepoint. One team is spawned in a predefined location - the other spread across a wide horizontal area.
I designed the floorplan and routes, the environment and placement of all cover objects and blocking entities. I optimised and lit this level also.
Uskaarj 2k4
Uskaarj levels and the images below do not reveal the nature of the game; Uskaarj is a modification that turns Unreal Tournament into an RTS game exactly like Starcraft, Red Alert or the Command and Conquer series.
Designing levels for Uskaarj provided a very different challenge. There had to be enough space for a player to expand, take multiple base positions, the levels had to be mostly symmetrical and they must provide an even distance between the base building locations and the resource nodes.
A lot of the challenge of developing levels for Uskaarj was dealing with the mechanic of fog of war (where the map is not completely revealed to the player and is only revealed as the player moves units into the hidden areas). To this end routes had to be setup that could support skimming the edges of terrain, or hiding behind objects that would obscure their opponents field of view.
I found designing levels for Uskaarj to be an interesting challenge however one of my favourite real time strategy games is the Dawn of War series, so I referenced heavily on their designs and what steps were taken to make their levels interesting to infuse my levels with that same flavour.
USK-PlainWarfare
Released with Uskaarj 2004
Details
Plain Warfare is developed to extend the gameplay established by Uskaarj. This allowed the player to move around freely from above with multiple avenues for gameplay and direction.
The player finds themselves over a large scale map to move their troops aorund. This level offers many differing strategic points for the player to put to use.
This level is available for release with the Uskaarj2k4 mod.
USK-RockGarden
Released with Uskaarj 2004
Details
Rock Garden was developed from the design of Relic Entertainments 'Quatra' which featured in 'Dawn of War'. Rock Garden takes the design and applies Unreal Tournament 2004 style graphics and 3d atmosphere combined with the already solid gameplay.
The level is designed for 2 - 4 players with significant choke points at the entrance to each players base. A significant resource amount is located towards the centre of the four 'arms' which form the design of the level.
This level is available for release with the Uskaarj2k4 mod.
USK-Sandstorm
Released with Uskaarj 2004
Details
Sandstorm is developed as a tutorial map for Uskaarj2k4. This map is a small and simple layout set in a canyon to offer the player the ability to learn and grasp the fundamentals of the Uskaarj mod before they attempt larger battles with a larger combination of troops and vehicles.
A simple straight line design with a centre choke point to allow the players to put pressure on their opponents.
This level is available with the Uskaarj2k4 Mod.
USK-Snowstorm
Released with Uskaarj 2004
Details
Snowstorm was developed to offer a medium sized 4 player battle across four corners of the level. Designed with the classic 'square' 2v2 design, snowstorm offers multiple avenues of movement to allow players to be as tactical or as straightforward as they wish.
Balanced considerably through the spreading of the resources, Snowstorm offers an equal and interesting level for players in competition games or who want a very equal fighting arena.
This level is available with the Uskaarj2k4 Mod.
Conquest Marines
Conquest Marines was one of the first mod teams I joined online and spent a large amount of time developing levels for the team. I spent a great deal of time developing alpha or test levels and refining mechanics with the fellow designers and programmers.
Conquest Marines was given the 3rd place award of phase one of the Make Something Unreal contest in 2003. One of the strengths of Conquest Marines was exactly the reason why level designing for Conquest Marines was so interesting; in a time where nearly no first person shooter games included vehicles, Conquest Marines had them.
Designing gameplay that revolved around both teams having access to super fast speedbikes and very slow but heavily armoured tanks provided an interesting challenge and an experience which I am glad to say got a lot of use in my later game design efforts. Conquest Marines also gave players on foot jetpacks to make up the speed difference, in order to facilitate the vastly increased speed of the game, levels had to be made on a much larger and wider scale to allow vehicle combat to be both fun and interesting. Conquest Marines also included a respawn timer at the time only seen in the Battlefield series, which made use of vehicles and cover that much more important to game balance.
Conquest Marines gameplay was essentially an extension of the Domination gametype found within Unreal Tournament. The level had a series of "capture points" placed in strategic areas around the level, holding these points would increase your score more rapidly. Typically each team had a "safe" capture (one placed so near their starting point it would be very difficult to capture it) in order to keep the gameplay balanced, and then a series of chokepoints where the teams would meet and fight it out. By having these locations well defined we were able to centre the combat and detail up these areas.
CMAS-Arcfore
Outdoor vehicle / Infantry Capture and Hold Level
Publicly Released 2003
Download Not Available
Details
Arcfore is a 'king of the hill' style level developed for Conquest Marines. This level specifically put focus on capturing the 'command points' which allowed the player to win the round.
The layout is simple. Each team has a tank that roams the lower area but they cannot access the higher area. The upper platform can only be accessed by infantry with their jump packs.
This level proved to be a favourite of the Conquest Marines team and was featured in the v1.0 release.
CMAS-Kalgra
Outdoor vehicle Capture and Hold Level
Internal Release Only 2003
Download Not Available
Details
Kalgra was the first internal development map used by the Conquest Marines team in early 2003. This map was used for trialing gameplay mechanics, features, and testing speeds and sizes of levels.
This map proved to be a solid workhorse during development and thus earns a spot among my community level design page.
While this map was not released, it was revered by the Conquest Marines team as the map which allowed us to balance and tweak all major items that would appear in the mod at a later date.
CMAS-Kalgra][
Outdoor vehicle Capture and Hold Level
Publicly Released 2003
Details
Kalgra2, while sharing the name with Kalgra, did not actually share any of Kalgras intentions or features.
Kalgra2 is set in a valley where the player must put to use the jetbikes and tanks to achieve domination of a river and critical points of the ravine to defeat their opponents.
Kalgra 2 was best enjoyed with 4-8 players and proved to be an enjoyable hit for the Conquest Marines release.
CMAS-Village
Outdoor vehicle Capture and Hold Level
Publically Released 2004
Details
Village is level that I developed to expand the tactical manuevers offered in Conquest Marines. Village split the level into distinctly different sections.
By splitting the level into effectively half, the player was forced to work as a team to hold the 5 various command points.
This level was set surrounding a village of unknown origin. The level allowed the player to use houses in the village to their advantage to snipe at the opponents or to avoid the oncoming vehicles near the opposing spawn points.
Many of the meshes in this level were custom made by myself to achieve my needs.
CMAS-Xerra
Outdoor vehicle Capture and Hold Level
Publically Released 2003
Details
Xerra was developed to a design. To be a simple and easy level for newer players. This level was designed to be part of the 'tutorial' for Conquest marines, and thus the gameplay needed to be kept relatively easy.
Set in a circular area, with 3 command points. The player needed to hold these points to win the round. Players were spawned on opposing sides and tanks were removed from this level.
This level was included in the version 1.0 Release of Conquest Marines