My Process
Introductory Encounter
After a brief hallway, the first major encounter begins with two layered categories of enemies. For one, there are two defensive sniper enemies in the upper part of the room, while aggressive but weaker melee enemies are paced throughout it. I placed the enemies carefully so that the player will have time to fight the melee enemies individually as they approach if they play aggressively-- allowing them to avoid getting overwhelmed. Lastly, the pillars and boxed I laid out provide cover from the snipers, encouraging the player to think about their positioning. The encounter overall rewards the desired playstyle while introducing elements at a balanced tempo.
In between major encounters, I like to place connecting segments that introduce elements. For example, I mentioned having a brief hallway at the beginning of the game, which actually included a singular one of the weak melee enemies from the prior encounter. The reason I design this way is so I can avoid introducing more than one enemy at once, as that may overwhelm the player. In the hallway after the first encounter, I repeat this process by allowing the player to engage with a shielded enemy for the first time. The player has the advantage of elevation here, which allows them to become familiar with the enemy without much stress.
Tutorialization-Based Hallway
As for the second major encounter, I continued to build off of the previous elements, but with a new spin. This fight is an ambush. The way forward is shut, prompting the player to find and press a button to proceed. Pressing it spawns three shielded enemies that surround the player, but they will have already gotten experience dealing with them from the prior hallway. In addition, a new gun can be found near the button that is effective against shields, enabling the player to easily take them out before a second wave- consisting of a single particularly strong new enemy- begins.
An Ambush!
Following the completion of the ambush encounter, I once again decided to use connecting hallways to slowly adjust the player to new elements. I introduced a strong sniper enemy, carefully placing boxes so that the player will know to find cover against them. In addition, I specifically gave the sniper an elevation advantage and placed them behind a corner at a notable distance from the player in order to teach the player to think carefully about how to approach the enemy and play around its range of fire.
Sniper Introduction
Following the introduction of the sniper, I decided to implement them into an encounter that takes advantage of the same ranged and elevation-based elements. This encounter features a higher platform the player can jump to with said snipers, while weaker skull enemies float freely amidst the two spaces. It forces the player to consider the environment and cover as they look for a way to manage the layers of the encounter.
Layered Elevation Encounter
I designed the next encounter to be a test gauntlet that takes the player through previously introduced elements before presenting them with a new miniboss. It starts with shield enemies approaching the player, testing their knowledge from the ambush that had given them a gun effective against shields -- all while snipers stay at a distance to ensure they have grasped the prior two engagements. Once the player has been thoroughly tested, a single particularly strong enemy spawns in, granting them one final challenge before the finale.
Test Gauntlet
Finale
I designed the finale of the level as a three-wave encounter testing all of the skills the player has developed. The encounter takes place across a room in the shape of a square where the center has been fully filled in, leaving the player with a fairly tight amount of space to move around. It also has varying elevations, and I included each of the previously introduced enemies at positions that align with their move-sets. A few power-ups are strewn across the environment, pushing the player to carefully decide when they want to use them across the different phases. It ends with a boss fight as one final test.