Introduction

Dead by daylight inspired me to create a playable pirate map.

The purpose of this level was to give the survivor the illusion of being able to loop and escape the killer in a simpler manner. It allows the survivor to see what is coming next, but without being too survivor-centered.

Summary

Developed over a 1.5 week period
Focuses on: Leveldesign, Environmental storytelling, killer looping
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Assets used: Palms made by Evolveduk. Pirate pack made by Alberto Luviano

Full commentary video

Overview / Pre-production

Overview

To help me blockout, here is a rough overview.

My goal was to have a main building in the middle like many dead by daylight maps do and then gradually fill out the map with structures. An example of a call-out would be ''the shack'', a rundown, one-room house.

It was important to me that the structures were close to one another so that they could help the survivors loop around.

References

The setting is a pirate-inspired location. As all the levels I have played lack any water, I wanted to have some palm trees and barrels as well as small water poodles.

So It was important for me to create something new that wasn't in the original game.

Blockout to Whitebox

Before

1/3

After

1/3

Why was this a passion?

The core game mechanics explained

Dead by daylight has four survivors stuck on a map who must fix five generators in order to escape while surviving a bloodthirsty killer.

Killer Looping

Describes a survivor being pursued by a killer. The survivor's job is to survive as long as possible and to waste the killer's time. In order to waste the killer's time, the player must loop around objects and structures.

Final Overview

The Boat

This is the process for the biggest piece in the game. The big boat can be seen from anywhere in the level, making it a landmark.

In addition, I added a lot of structures to prevent no man's land and to make it easier for suvivours to loop. Survivors will be more vulnerable to attacks from killers if there is no structures. Particularly long-ranged killers.

The Shack

Shacks are run-down houses with lockers, pallets, generators, and sometimes the basement isn't in the main building but inside the shack. Survivors can loop around here easily. Because the killer has to go such a long way around it. There is also a window in the shack that can also be a lifesaver.

Nevertheless, the killer's next move could be deadly, so they must keep an eye on it.

T and L Tiles

They get their name because they are shaped like an T or an L. They have totems, generator, hook and locker spawns around them. It is quite fair to both the killer and the survivor in these tiles. The better the survivor runs, the longer the killer has to spend chasing them. In general, the player needs to see the killer at all times to make decisions.

Generators, Pallets, Chests, Lockers

All of these objects will be used by survivors and killers.

5 generators need to be fixed for survivors to be able to open the main door. Pallets can be used to create distance between the killer and survivour.

A random object will be found inside chests that can only be opened by survivors. In order to hide, survivors can use lockers. The killers can either use them to find survivors or even reload some weapons (not all killers do this).

Killers use hooks to hang knocked-down survivors.