LEGO Jumanji
A level design concept for the movie Jumanji (1995) inspired by TT Games Lego video games.
Project Intro
This project is a TT Games Lego games inspired level design for the movie Jumanji (1995).
I wanted to try a very different kind of level design compared to my previous all guns blazing FPS action project, so something playful, whimsical and puzzle focussed was most welcome. I particularly enjoy designing puzzles so this was right up my alley.
This project gave me the opportunity to study and recreate the in-movie mansion location which was loads of fun to unravel frame by frame and map out, in part because this is one of my all time favourite movies, and I’ve always wanted to visit that mansion, sadly it isn’t a real location.
Project Goals
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Study and deconstruct TT Games Lego level design
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Design a concept level for an existing IP (Jumanji 1995)
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Try a different type of level design aimed at a broader demographic
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Revisit Lego as it was one of my favourite toys growing up (my Dark Age is now over for those in the know)
Presentation
Contents
1.
Here you can quickly select an individual area of the level to check out in more detail.
Each level area features playthrough footage, design highlights, and key developments. You can also take a look at the Final Level Pacing Chart to understand how the broader level fits together.
2.
Here you will find an overview of my design process.
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Project reflections and learning outcomes.
Level Design Concept
Design Introduction - Level Map - Event Summary - Playthrough Gallery
Level Name
Dice Roll #5 - ‘Faster Than Bamboo’
Level Intro
I decided to focus on a level which begins with one of the my favourite scenes in the movie; the Jumanji jungle begins to take over the mansion, and Peter is grabbed by a huge carnivorous plant which Alan refers to as ‘The Big Yellow One’, from there I end my level with the next dice roll in ‘The Library’.
A major element at this point in the movie is the Jumanji jungle, I wanted to expand on that ‘jungle’ theme so based most of the major obstacles around plants and growth.
In the movie the journey between the ‘Big Yellow Plant’ encounter to the Library was uneventful, however I felt this was an opportunity for the player to explore the house with all four of the main characters before the house inevitably succumbs to more transformative damage soon after, and the ‘jungle growth’ theme was lush with obstacle ideas so I felt it was a natural fit to build a more challenging journey here.
In terms of a ‘bigger picture’ I imagine the ‘Lego Jumanji’ game’s levels would be chaptered into ‘Dice Rolls’ and so in that context I felt it was even more important to fill the space between ‘Dice Roll 5: Faster than Bamboo’ and ‘Dice Roll 6: The Hunter’ (Van Pelt encounter).
I did not include 'stud' bread crumbing in my level concept, while I understand the TT Games Lego games use studs extensively throughout the environments to guide the player and entice exploration I felt this would be something added during a later stage in development as 'icing on the cake', whereas my concept is mostly concerned with the 'Critical Path'.
The Characters
It was very important to establish the level's character's abilities early on as these inform the obstacles and encounter designs. This PDF is the working document I was using to ideate and lock-in character mechanics.
My aim was to make sure each character has a unique ability so the player must use all of them to complete the level, this is something I gleamed while studying Lego Jurassic Park.
In summary the character skills used are as follows:
Alan - Acrobatic, High Jump, and gains a Sword Item allowing him to cut objects.
Sarah - I gave her Psychic Senses as she is portrayed as a psychic medium in the movie. This manifested as a mechanic where she can detect hidden objects in the environment.
Judy - 'Shorty Character' and gains a Ranged Weapon during the level. (The only ranged attack character in the group)
Peter - 'Shorty Character' and has a Torch item so he can explore 'Dark Spaces'.
Final Level Map
Level Sequence
Summary
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The level begins in the West Living Room where Peter has been grabbed by a (The Big Yellow One) carnivorous plant. The other characters play tug of war with the plant.
Sarah finds a way for Judy to get into the Entrance Hall where Judy gains a ‘Flower Dart Gun’ granting her ranged attacks.
Judy uses her new ranged attacks to destroy some curtains in the West Living Room, resulting in Alan being able to collect a Sword item.
Alan chops the Carnivorous plant's vine tongue freeing Peter. Alan clears the way forward of vines with his Sword until the group reaches the Staircase Area where the group encounters a troop of enemy monkeys.
The Library door is blocked by thick vines, the player must find a way to get Alan onto and across all the Chandeliers (East Dining Room > Staircase > West Hall) requiring multiple puzzles to be solved and all the characters skills to be used.
In The Library the player fights another troop of monkeys, and explore and solves puzzles to find bricks to build a table and chairs to finally setup the Boardgame and ‘Roll the Next Dice’ (level end).
The Kitchen contains an optional puzzle with a bonus rare item reward.
Level Playthrough
The galleries below are in playthrough order showing my Concept Blockmesh with annotations included.
The Big Yellow One
Save Peter from the giant carnivorous plant.
The Long Hall
Complete a sequence of puzzles to open the Library Door.
The Library
Build a table and chairs to setup the Board Game at and roll the next dice.
The Kitchen
Optional puzzle to be solved which rewards a rare collectible item.
Development
Movie Research - Game Study - Event Sequence - 2D Layouts
I studied the movie:
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I watched Jumanji (any excuse) as a refresher and to decide which parts of the movie I’d like to design a level for.
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I broke those movie scenes down into 'Beat Storyboards' for my reference.
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I gathered reference imagery of the mansion and created a semi-accurate 2D layout of the location so I could use it to inform my level design.
The mansion layout study with reference imagery.
Movie Beat Storyboards covering all the scenes I had in mind for my original project scope.
Reference imagery for the mansion's hallways.
Reference imagery for the East Living Room where my level design begins.
I studied TT Games Lego Jurassic Park:
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I played through the game picking apart level structure, gameplay mechanics, character mechanics, level elements, gating mechanisms, cutscene usage, how humour is used, and developing an understanding of how the source material is adapted to the Lego world.
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Overall I was trying to get into the 'headspace' of a TT Games Level Designer.
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I took loads of in-game screenshots to reference key ideas later.
Key Takeaways:
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Make sure each character’s abilities are used during a level. Combine skills in more complex obstacles.
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Combat exists but is never overly challenging, more so to add some light action variety to play.
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Collect, there's loads of stuff to collect.
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Add lots of fun reactive elements to the environments, lots of surprises, doesn't have to make a lot of sense, aim to delight visually and audibly.
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Plenty of silly humour both in-game and in cutscenes adding levity and keeping things light-hearted. Laughs for kids and adults cleverly used, reminds me of Pixar movies humour direction.
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There’s plenty of artistic license to adapt the source material, expand scenes, skip them, throw in out of place set pieces, so long as it's fun!
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Studs are often used to ‘breadcrumb’ guide the player, and show where the players can and cannot explore; background set piece, or secret area? Studs reveal all.
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Almost everything in an environment can be smashed up. I think this is some sort of variable reward hook, it’s really hard to avoid drifting into compulsively collecting studs, but it is damn satisfying.
Reference imagery capturing gameplay, encounters, gating mechanisms, puzzle sequences, brick use, cutscenes, anything that sparked ideas.
More References!
Lots of ideas for mechanisms, puzzles, obstacles, contraptions, and whatever caught my attention. I thought it was important to look at far flung ideas to add surprises for the player when they build level elements.
Garden references as I was initially going to design more level areas, specifically I was going to start my level design in the Mansion's front garden. This was dropped later in the project.
Idea generating images specific to the Library area of my level. There are also reference images from the movie so I could 'overlay' and mix ideas with the actual movie environment to see how my ideas might fit together true to the source.