Jordan Cordina
Junior Level Designer

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Quantum Quarrel

Genre: FPS, Hidden Roles, Social Deduction
Players: Multiplayer (Online)
Platform: PC
Status: ​Unreleased Prototype

Contributions

Position: Level Designer, Systems Designer
Team Size: 10 person
Using: Unreal Engine 4
Duration: Summer of 2020

Responsibilities

  • ​Ownership of the Château de Rendezvous level from concept to its final state
  • Responsible for developing the narrative concept, level design and documentation
  • Evolved the level over three rounds of playtests in response to feedback
  • Responsible for much of the design of hidden role types, 70+ random events and the machines system

Gameplay Summary

  • Quantum Quarrel is a first-person shooter and social deduction game with hidden roles
  • At the start of the round players are assigned a secret role, each with their own win conditions and abilities
  • Using voice chat and weapons from across each map, players must work towards their objective - and are free to convince, manipulate and harm to achieve their goal​

Multiplayer Map: Château De Rendezvous

I was the level designer and owner of the French map Château De Rendezvous. It was developed for an unreleased prototype built over the summer of 2020, and the level remains in its blockout stage. I was responsible for emphasising different core gameplay aspects and developing a distinct spatial identity to differentiate it from the previous level.

Château De Rendezvous features a fictional farmstead and winery in 19th century France, having been the scene of a great siege mere days before. In Quantum Quarrel players arrive as time-travelling agents, with one or more traitors hiding among their ranks. Weapons and ammunition spawn in select areas around the map, and the traitors' win condition is to eliminate innocents and be the last people standing before time runs out. It is a game of social deception, where social interactions take place through an in-game voice chat and players are encouraged to bicker, banter and deceive to either hide their role or determine the traitor(s).

Design Goals

Whilst the first map was largely flat and enclosed thus favouring short-range skirmishes, I sought to add areas where long-ranged weapons would be viable and emphasise traversal in the vertical plane, whilst still encouraging  the social aspect which the game revolves around. Additionally, Quantum Quarrel takes players across the world through different eras, and players only remain on the same map for a limited time, so amongst all future maps, the Chateau would need to look and feel distinct. I created the following design goals to tackle these issues:
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  • The play space must emphasise verticality - Varying height enables long, multiple sightlines, long-ranged weapon use, and will emphasise traversal across the vertical plane
  • Closed, safe-feeling spaces - The game must encourage social interaction and congregation, whilst also providing multiple angles of threat and escape to encourage exhilarating combat and close-escape scenarios
  • Historical Believability - The level needs to have a strong visual identity and narrative, and be believably ground in the era it is set. The Chateau's geometry should reflect its revolutionary roots, the siege and subsequent battle should be reflected throughout, contrasting a typically peaceful setting with the scars of war and shadows of conspiracy

Research and Inspiration

  • Conducted historical and geographical research, referring to 50+ historic analyses, paintings, modern photographs, satellite imagery and videos were used as research
  • The Battle of Waterloo, the siege of Chateau d'Hougoumont and the sweeping landscape of the French countryside directly inspired the level, with the themes of revolutionary France and its parallels with the hidden role genre inspiring much of the narrative concept

Design and Iteration

  • The earliest version of the level closely resembled Chateau d'Hougoumont's layout, with a floorplan revolving around a central courtyard connected to an adjacent rectangular orchard.
  • I raised the elevation of the courtyard and buildings to create an interesting height dynamic, with many windows and sightlines looking down onto the orchard and providing a vista to better view the sweeping French countryside and the windmill landmark. This new verticality placed a usefulness on mid to long-ranged weapons and encouraged circulation and player flow through the orchard.
  • An earlier concept of the Noble's cellar being part of an underground network. It now provided a sheltered, direct connection between the orchard and the courtyard, serving as a sheltered bolt hole or defensible point. It also narratively served as an underground storage area for the Noble's produce, with convenient access to the lower level for easy loading into transport for sale.
  • The lower area was redesigned, swapping the majority of the orchard for trellises for grape bushes, the tiered levels for a smooth incline with the vineyard growing there, and a small building with small, raised windows that provided cover and sightlines to the two buildings and the bell tower. The nature of the trellises repeated rows gave the lower area an almost cornfield-like effect, with players able to disappear into the rows as partial cover. Their single-direction placement limited movement, with the trade-off being almost full cover to all except those atop the bell tower, and led to some very interesting interplay in the playtests.

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Copyright - Jordan Cordina - 2024