Phobia is a single player Quake 4 level emphasizing on making the player feel vulnerable and afraid.  Using the Data Storage levels as well as many Doom 3 levels as references, I set out to recreate an experience that puts the player on a state of alert.  To do this, I used lighting and architecture to create a confining and eerie facility, surprise encounters to keep the player on his toes, and used minimal pick ups to keep the player worrying about ammo and health.

Development Time: 100 hours

Software Used: Quake 4

Download the level: Phobia.pk4

Download the documentation: Powell_Phobia_LDD.doc

This Quake 4 vignette is showcases a short play experience using thematic inspiration from the Hub level.  The requirements of this project were to make a polished room and corridor, no more and no less.  To make the room and corridor interesting, I have two encounters.  The first is a Berserker that greets the player once the entry door opens, surprising the player and making him react fast.  The second is a Berserker / Gunner combo that makes the player worry about both melee and ranged enemies and the same time.

Development Time: 12 hours

Software Used: Quake 4

Download the level: Powell_Vignette.pk4

Wails Beneath the Earth is an Oblivion project that takes the player on a dungeon crawl experience through a tomb filled with undead and dangerous traps.  After playing through many different dungeons in both Morrowind and Oblivion and analyzing their layouts, architecture, and encounters, I wanted to create a dungeon crawl experience with a greater emphasis on traps.  I used the Alyid architecture to create a dungeon with maze-like corridors, lots of traps, secret walls, and undead enemies.  To make the experience more interesting, I created a quest line with two endings that takes the player into the dungeon to find out what is disturbing the township of Anvil and put a stop to it.

Development Time: 80 hours

Software Used: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, TES Construction Set

Download the project: Wails_Beneath_the_Earth.esp

Download the documentation: Powell_Wails_Document.doc

Download the miniportfolio: Powell_Wails_MP.doc

DM-Romanesque is an Unreal Tournament 2004 deathmatch map that emphasizes circular flow and Romanesque architecture for visuals.  I was given an incomplete whitebox and was told to create a highly polished deathmatch level using this whitebox.  Since the requirements prevented me from making major flow changes to existing whitebox, I kept the overall flow but expanded on the architecture to provide more cover and combat situations.  I also used pick up placement to lure players through the level.  Given the layout of the whitebox, I thought it was great for a castle theme, so I used Romanesque architecture concepts to make the level visually appealing.

Development Time: 16 hours

Software Used: Unreal Tournament 2004, UnrealEd 3.0

Download the level: DM-Romanesque.ut2

Download the miniportfolio: Powell_Romanesque_MP.doc

Re-Search and Destroy is a single player Half-Life 2 level that takes Gordon Freeman through a Combine research facility to cripple the Combine's teleportation research efforts.  I focused on creating both interesting combat situations as well as narrative elements that would give the player a sense of purpose, a sense of place, and motivation to keep playing.  This level was used as a test level to collect data for my thesis: Importance of Story in Single Player First Person Shooters.

Development Time: 140 Hours

Software Used: Half-Life 2, Hammer

Download the level: research_and_destroy.bsp