Elhora Davis Game Design

This page is dedicated to my Unity projects! For information on The Harvest, check out the other pages here.

My current focus is designing 3D levels, building familiarity with the Unity engine, and bolstering my fundamentals. I completed a handful of tutorials to establish a baseline and quickly moved to apply myself and build something of my own.

My work is posted from newest to oldest below.

⚠️Warning – Thar be Placeholder Objects! ⚠️

Enemy	Treasure	Ladder

MMO Dungeon

This level is inspired by MMO Dungeons typically run by a group of 4 or 5 players. The goal was to create a medium-sized space with different paths to give players choice for how they want to proceed. Each path is intended to have advantages/disadvantages impacted by team composition and goals (ex. ranged vs close combat / most loot vs most efficient) and mood. It culminates in a final encounter with the boss of the dungeon. I studied Final Fantasy XIV & Ashes of Creation as references!

Incidentally, this level marks my discovery of the terrain tool and graduation from the fabulous (but tragically limited) purple player capsule to a handsome armature.

• Genre: MMO
• Stage: Blockout / Prototype
• Time to Build: ~3 days
• Flavor: A band of pillaging raiders nest within the sprawling ruins. There are rumors that this flock of killers have tamed a mighty beast, and that it roams deep inside their hideout. Motivated by protecting the innocent (or perhaps by loot and experience…) the player deftly sets off to oust the bandits and slay this so-called beast so that no others will come to harm.

Notes

Final Fantasy XIV, Ashes of Creation & World of Warcraft levels have a characteristic largeness to them with wide paths and big structures. This helps to accommodate multiple characters on-screen, facilitating the bombastic, chaotic views of many players fighting together. WoW Classic and AoC players benefit from grinding mobs to gain XP – contrary to FFXIV’s emphasis on duty completion as the primary XP gain moment. My design leans closer to the former XP accrual style, and I aimed to include enemies that could be avoided/activated at player will.

The Cattle Farm

This is the second unity and 3D level I’ve made! This time I focused on creating buildings, working with inorganic shapes and lighting. I studied Bloodborne and Cyberpunk 2077’s level design for reference, and watched a lot of youtube farming content, haha.

• Genre: Action RPG
• Heroes Journey Placement: Act 1
• Stage: Blockout / Prototype
• Time to Build: ~3 days
• Flavor: The player must find the macguffin located in this alpine farm. The farm has recently been taken over by a hungry faction seeking the meat and money to be made from cattle. However, their forceful occupation lacks in critical know-how, and cows are literally flying off the rails! The player must navigate through the farmhouse and into the barn, where they’ll find a locked door. To proceed, they need to find the key. Once the key is in hand, they can descend into the slaughterhouse to confront the boss that zealously guards their objective.

Notes

Why a farm? I wanted to try working with interiors and a place that has it’s own purpose. After some exploring I decided on a farm because it had multiple kinds of buildings with unique shapes. If I ever make a farm again I’ll definitely try to work in a milking machine because those things are shaped SO interestingly!

Adding this rudimentary lighting was tricky but satisfying. My already-high respect for those who carefully, intentionally light worlds has gone up tremendously.

Mountain Settlement

This is the first unity and 3D level I’ve ever built! The goal was to start blocking out as soon as possible and express a different range of shots to create an immersive space. I studied Elden Ring’s city of Leyndell and Okami’s map design as references.

• Genre: Action RPG
• Heroes Journey Placement: Act 1 / Act 2
• Stage: Blockout / Prototype
• Time to Build: ~2 days
• Flavor: The player must navigate the ruins of an old mountainous settlement that has been claimed by a massive plant-like organism. An enormous bloom has settled on the roof of a once populated structure and its roots have started to tear down the surrounding buildings. Hostile creatures now call this place home and are entrenched in every nook and cranny, waiting for a would-be adventurer to devour.

Notes

This was insanely fun and intimidating. Although I had sketched out an initial plan, the actual building of this level felt closer to carving out of rock than realizing careful architecture.

To be updated as more works are complete!

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