TBT - EMC America’s Army 2.5 Level Development

By Kyle Patterson

Back in 2008 during the Summer and Fall Semesters, The Emergent Media Center at Champlain College participated in a friendly competition between two teams of Champlain students.

Two teams of Champlain students were challenged to create a polished, playable mission level under the guidance of AA’s development team.
The Mission Editor, a tool included with the game comes with all of the art assets (textures, objects, sounds, etc) to create a map.
Given the pieces, the students used them to design and create a believable environment and a fun, playable mission.
Both District and Canyon maps were worked on throughout the Summer and Fall 2008 semesters and accepted as official America’s Army maps, launched for public use on December 12, 2008.

Heres an overview of the two maps created.

District is an atmospheric urban map, taking place in a small section of a vaguely eastern European city. It is a night-time scenario, creating an interesting experience through the placement of environmental light sources. The teams start in opposite corners of the level – one in a park, the other in a warehouse, and each one must capture two objectives located in buildings near the center to win.

Students:

Max Nichols – Producer, Level Designer
Dan Peavey – Lead Artist, Level Designer
Halley Greaves – Lead Level Designer
Emily Benton – Artist, Level Designer
Chris Matuszek – Artist, Engineer, Level Designer
Jeremy Burau – Engineer, Level Designer

Canyon (pictured below) takes place in a Middle Eastern mountain village where a local warlord has recently gotten hold of a cache of heavy weapons. The players are charged with securing these weapons caches while enemy combatants are in the area.