Cargo Chaos

Role: Level Designer | Project Type: Academic Solo | Duration: 4 Weeks | Tools: UEFN | Created: Fall 2024

Overview & Planning

Final 2D Top Down Map

Introduction

Cargo Chaos is a 4-player free-for-all multiplayer map built in UEFN for my Level Design II course. My goal was to design a fast-paced arena that encouraged chaotic gunfights. To accomplish this I focused on vertical flow and weapon placement to keep players moving and re-engaging.

Pre-Production and Research

  • Analyzed the layouts of popular Call of Duty maps: Raid, Shipment, and Cargo, to study how their lane structures utilized sightline control, and flow

  • Created a napkin sketch to define the map’s parti, establishing the core architectural concept before moving into blockout

  • Mapped out expected player flow from both ends of the level to test how players would enter lanes, and rotate through intersections

Layout and Flow

3-Lane Design Philosophy

  • Designed the map around a 3-lane structure, then added intersecting routes between the center and side lanes to support cross-flow and constant player movement

  • Used interconnected lanes to give players at least 3 route options at any moment, allowing them to flank, disengage, or re-engage with combat

  • Placed spawns outside of major lane intersections, keeping players protected from immediate combat while still allowing quick access back into the main lanes

  • Positioned weapon pickups at key path intersections to naturally pull players toward contested areas and encourage frequent engagements

Utilizing Verticality

  • Designed the center lane as a king-of-the-hill style container stack, using two layers of verticality to create a high-value combat space

  • Stacked containers within Fortnite’s player jump and mantle metrics, allowing players to climb, and engage in fast-paced vertical gunfights

  • Used taller container stacks as movement barriers, requiring players to learn the map layout and make intentional routing decisions instead of moving freely over every obstacle

  • Added the Shockwave Bomb in a later iteration as the map’s only pickupable item, placing it on an outer lane to create a high-risk pickup that lets skilled players launch across the map and open new rotation opportunities