Project Description:
Lab Run is a fast-paced platformer where you race to escape collapsing rooms. The game features three distinct sections, each with its own core mechanic.
My Roles:
- Level Designer: I scripted traps, triggers, and player mechanics while using environmental storytelling to connect the levels.
- Artist: I created 70% of the game’s art—including collectibles and narrative artifacts—using Photoshop and a digital tablet.
Context:
- Tool: Created in Unity
- Course: Game Design course
- Team: 4 Computer Science students
Ice Level
Art Highlight:
I created the Ice tileset for the Ice Level using the pencil tool in Photoshop with a 1-pixel size.
Scripting Highlight:
For the Level Design, I designed a map full of chilly traps that needed to be avoided:
- Stalagmites;
- Unstable Tiles;
- Snowballs;
Design Highlight:
My teammates programmed the Ice mobs—Penguin and Yeti—while I focused on placing them strategically in the map. The game emphasizes coordination and timing, encouraging players to flee from threats rather than confront them.
Lava Level
Art Highlight:
I created the Lava tileset by modifying the Ice tileset in Photoshop and adding two new tiles for the Lava.
The process involved experimenting and iterating on the color and feel of the tiles in the Unity Editor.
Design Highlight:
To design this level, I gathered inspiration from Super Mario dungeon levels, in which the player must stay above the Lava.
- Rising Lava;
- Keeping up with a moving platform;
- Hot gas particles.
Scripting Highlight:
I designed and programmed the Magma Cube. This creature is very territorial and will try to push the player away from their personal space! I drew the sprites in Photoshop and animated them using Unity Animator.
Gravity Level
Design Highlight:
For the final level, we introduced a gravity switch mechanic. I designed the level around this mechanic, emphasizing the player’s quick reactions. Multiple paths are available, depending on the platforms the player chooses to jump to.
Design Highlight:
To design this level, I was inspired by sci-fi space movies, where astronauts fall into the void if they miscalculate their jumps. Some of the highlights include:
- Lazer Maze;
- Keeping up with a moving platform;
- Dodging enemy fire.
Scripting Highlight:
We created two mobs for the player to avoid:
The Praying Mantis charges at the player when they step on its territory. Quick reactions allow players to jump in and out of its attack.
The Floater shoots energy spheres at the player but remains stationary.
Storytelling
I wrote and created these “Mob notes” in Adobe Illustrator to create flavor in our game. These collectible notes could be found in secret locations on each level. They give a background to each Mob and give tips on how to deal with them or how to avoid their attacks.
(The sprites are from online sources, except for the Magma Cube, which I drew in Adobe Photoshop)
I did the same for the Power-Ups, designing their captions and drawing the sprites. Using Adobe Photoshop, I created the sprites for each power-up (except the Jetpack, which I found online).
Each power-up is found in different levels:
Rewind Watch (Tutorial level)
Running Sneakers (Ice level)
Dashpack (Lava level)
Gravity Helmet (Gravity level)
Player Animations
I drew every limb of our character separately and imported them in Unity.
Then, I used the Unity Animation Editor to create the following animations:
- Crouch;
- Crocuh walk;
- Idle;
- Jump;
- Run;
- Swim.
What I have learned
With this 2-month project, I learned lots of things besides programming, art and Unity skills.
I learned that working in a team may be difficult sometimes, especially when someone merges bad code in GitHub, leading to hours of bug-fixing and re-doing scenes. The bug-fixing was part of the process, but so was sharing the happiness of working on a project everyone loved. We were constantly having new ideas and managing our expectations was not easy, as we didn’t have the time for implementing all of them.
One of my biggest learnings was the importance of play-testing the game with non-developers during development. By the time we asked a few friends to try our game (on the week of delivery) we saw that the game was too difficult at times and it was frustrating to die and repeat the levels from the beginning. For example, it was nearly impossible to get past the penguins at the ice level unless the player knew the perfect timing, and jumping on the edge of the terrain felt unresponsive. If we had tested during development, we would have created checkpoints, nerfed the penguin fire, and improved the quality of the jumps by adding a “Coyote timer” to name a few.