Fortress — Third-Person Combat & Level Design

Fortress — Project Post Mortem

Introduction
Fortress is a third-person fantasy combat level built in Unreal Engine. The player infiltrates an occupied keep and chooses a route through the hall, barracks, or tower and ramparts to reach the boss in the throne room. Along the way, they can collect four abilities, defeat a special enemy for its item, and solve a prison puzzle to rescue a prisoner. I wanted the keep to feel maintained and occupied, with guards at ease before the player intrudes.

Link to Gameplay Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfiypD2gATc

What Went Right

1. Combat
Several of my playtesters enjoyed the combat, even when they struggled with other parts of the level. The first tester found it difficult, while the second had no problem fighting the enemies or boss. Their different experiences gave me something useful to work with: the combat could be enjoyable, but the difficulty was not consistent for everyone.

2. Abilities and rewards
The project reached a point where the player could acquire and use fireball, healing, an overshield, and knockback. I chose different purposes for the abilities and used mana costs and cooldowns to limit how often they could be used. Collecting all four also awards a relic, so exploring the routes contributes to an optional objective as well as giving the player more options in combat.

3. The prison puzzle
I chose a simple matching puzzle with three cell mechanisms and corresponding symbols. One cell's symbol is missing because the wall is damaged. The remaining symbols let the player work out which mechanism opens the correct cell. The levers and gates work, and rescuing the prisoner connects the puzzle to dialogue, an escape sequence, and a relic reward.

4. Environmental storytelling
I wanted an occupied keep, not a fortress under siege. Plates and mugs on the guards' tables show a relaxed meal interrupted by the player. The prison's chipped wall, tools, and rubble suggest an escape attempt. These details let the environment communicate what was happening there before the player arrived.

5. Playtesting
The tests gave me useful feedback that I would not have gotten from only checking the level myself. Some players read the instructions and experimented, while another ignored the tutorials and ran into encounters. Five of the six testers finished the level. Comparing their results showed that enjoying the combat did not necessarily mean understanding where to go or finding the optional objectives.

What Went Wrong

1. Scope and time
I chose more work than I could finish comfortably within the time available. The level needed combat, enemy behavior, waves, abilities, pickups, UI, objectives, dialogue, and cinematics. I also had to redo the diagrams for the LDD. I did not finish everything by the original deadline, and I take responsibility for that.

2. Navigation and objective clarity
Several testers struggled to find their way through the level. The first had trouble locating the prisoner and understanding the objective, and other testers also got lost even when the combat was manageable. I want to improve the breadcrumbs and make the objectives clearer with dialogue, audio, and visual cues. Sound cues are especially important because the tested build did not have sound to help lead the player.

3. Mana availability
The first three testers struggled with mana. The drop system was not providing enough of the resource the abilities needed. I want to raise the overall item-drop chance from two out of three to three out of four and swap the health and mana probabilities so mana drops more often. I also want the player's knockback ability to push enemies farther.

4. Stair navigation
The stairs did not have reliable navigation coverage for the enemies. The first tester used that to attack enemies from places they could not properly reach. That turned an unfinished technical problem into an advantage for the player and needs to be fixed.

5. Fall damage
The five-meter instant-death rule was meant to stop players from jumping off the ramparts onto the barracks roof and returning to the courtyard. Playtesting showed that it felt too harsh. Jeremy and Legend both disliked the fall damage. I need a less punishing response to lower falls and a different way to prevent the roof shortcut.

Conclusion
Fortress has working combat and optional objectives, and several testers enjoyed playing it. The tests also showed clear problems with navigation, mana availability, stairs, and fall damage. Those are the main changes I want to address next, along with stronger cues that help players understand their objectives and find the routes through the keep.

Tools: Unreal Engine 5 Blueprints and Figma. Development screenshots show the blockmesh and its design decisions; character meshes and base locomotion use Unreal Engine template assets.

Full LDD (planning document):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nrJTzYaycxfDDyJWoe8O776fJj_4TQZc/view?usp=drivesdk