Have you ever wondered how a level in A Webbing Journey at Fire Totem Games gets made? Our game designer Federico has some cool insights for you. The process begins with a huge brainstorming session involving the whole team, where we throw out every possible idea, including the ones that seem too ambitious or a bit odd. Its a constant flow of sketches, wild concepts, and free-form discussions that gradually get filtered, refined, and structured. By the end of this phase, we usually have a beat chart, a mood board brimming with reference images, a breakdown of possible interactions, and a list of objects that might pop up in the final environment. Once Sebastian, our game director, signs off on these documents, the real work begins. While Anja and I might still fiddle with the mood board or look for new references, we start turning those ideas into something we can walk around in. Anja drafts a 2D outline of the level to capture an initial sense of spacing and architecture while I build a rough 3D block-out in Unity. It might seem strange to do a sketch and a block-out at the same time, but this dual approach helps us compare our original concepts with how a spider might actually move through this space. Even in the block-out stage, Im always thinking about how webs could latch onto surfaces, how the spiders vertical climbing might affect quest designs, and how to ensure that the layout isnt too cramped or too scattered.
During this back-and-forth process, I spend a lot of time tweaking the shape and geometry of the level, moving walls or adjusting corridors to see if it feels right to walkand especially climbthrough them. Early on, we can discover issues, like players completely missing a key area or ignoring a particular room. Its easier to fix those problems when the level is just a bunch of placeholder shapes rather than after everything is fully modelled and textured. We iterate multiple times and keep fine-tuning until it all starts to feel cohesive. As soon as the block-out is stable enough that we know we wont be moving entire walls around, we begin to split responsibilities. The artists focus on environment designcolor palettes, concept art, final modelingwhile I start tackling quest design, which is where the bulk of my energy goes. Although I played a hand in puzzles and 3C (character, camera, and controls) design earlier in the project, quest design has become my specialty, and its often the most time-consuming task because there are so many moving parts to consider. For each quest, I create a separate document describing what triggers it, how players will progress, and what kind of reward or feedback theyll get. Sometimes, I think the quest is clear in my head, but as soon as we try it out in a prototype, we realize players will use the spiders web abilities to bypass half the steps, or well see that the objective is too obscure and nobody can figure it out without a clue.
In other cases, the quest might be too similar to something weve already done, so we scratch it and brainstorm something else. Over time, we discard a surprising number of ideas because they dont quite work, or we merge several smaller quests into one bigger, more interesting challenges. Even after a quest is well-documented and seems logical on paper, it often is still necessary to do a small in-game prototype of some components to confirm that it feels right. This step is where everything either clicks or falls apart. If the quest is too easy, we might add an extra step or throw in some sort of challenge. If its too complicated, we might pare it down or shift an interaction to a different prop. When we finally reach a point where testers say the quest was fun, or at least makes sense, we move it into production. Thats where we figure out the final assets, the right sound effects, or any dialogue that needs to accompany it. Meanwhile, iterative playtesting runs in the background. We try to catch issues early, because A Webbing Journey is all about creating fun out of simple interactions. The spiders movement can be unpredictableplayers love slinging webs in ways we never plannedso we do as many tests as possible. The feedback loops are invaluable. We might discover, for instance, that certain areas are too easy to skip because the spider can attach a web to the ceiling, or that a prop meant to be decorative is so interesting that everyone thinks its part of a quest. Eventually, the level starts coming together in a more polished form. Artists finalize the 3D assets, textures, and lighting, and I keep an eye on how all those visual elements impact gameplay. The last stretch is a period of balancing, polishing, and quality assurance, where we tweak the environments materials, refine the quest flow, and handle any audio mixing or UI elements that need adjusting. When everything finally locks into place, the level can stand on its own: the spider can climb and web-sling in entertaining ways, the quests flow logically, and the setting looks and feels like it fits within the broader universe weve created. By then, weve produced countless documents, prototypes, and iterations, but its all worth it once players get their hands on the final version and discover moments of surprise and joy in every corner. Thats when we know all the hard work has truly paid off.