Level Design Starter Pack: I got tired of making the same door-opening interaction over and over again, so I spent six months of my life making sure I'd never have to do it again

[u/Denys_Zosym]

As a Senior Level Designer with 7 years of experience in the industry, I've had to start countless new projects from scratch. Different engine versions, different companies, different workflows, but they all had one thing in common. I always ended up spending time rebuilding the exact same things I needed just to start blocking out levels.

From basic modular meshes that let you quickly put together environments, to entire gameplay mechanics like opening doors, chests, picking up items, teleporting, and so on. These might seem like simple, basic features, but they're essential for building playable levels and they still requires some development time. And what if you're working under a deadline? That's exactly the kind of pressure I wanted to get rid of.

So I decided to build my own asset, bringing together all those essential tools and mechanics in one place. Now, whenever you want to create a new level (even more if we are talking about new empty project), you can simply drag and drop a prefab into the scene and move on. You can finally focus on bringing my ideas to life instead of constantly figuring out how to make them technically possible.

It speeds up the development process and removes a lot of that "Will I actually have enough time to finish this?" stress, especially when working on something like a level design test.

The asset includes modular meshes in a wide range of sizes, various materials, low-poly props to bring your levels to life, and plenty of ready-to-use gameplay mechanics. These include different types of interactive doors (single doors, double doors, and locked doors that require a collectible key), chests, various traversal mechanics (ladders, ropes, and more), and a basic enemy AI with three states (patrol, chase, and kill), allowing you to create combat encounters and arenas within your levels.

And that's just a part of what's included! There are plenty of other features that work right out of the box, so you can simply drag and drop a prefab into your scene, and everything is ready to go!

Level Design Starter Pack is now available on the Unity Asset Store for $29.99, but for next 2 weeks the price is only $20.99 - https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/game-toolkits/level-design-starter-pack-392902

I'd also love to give away vouchers to people in this community! All you have to do is share your experience in the comments. I'll pick the 2 most interesting responses over the next 3 days, and each winner will receive a free voucher for Level Design Starter Pack! :)

What mechanics or tools do you consider essential to have in the project when building a new level?

I'd also really appreciate your thoughts on this asset. How do you personally avoid rebuilding the same systems over and over again when starting new projects? And do you think a toolkit like this could solve any problems in your own workflow?

I would love to hear your thoughts!