Project Role
Dusty Mayhem was developed as a student project at BUas based on the game Mashed. As level designer, I was responsible for the one of the track's layout. My focus was on interweaving tracks with space for chaos.
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Designed a race track
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Aided in designing power-ups fit for the action
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Implemented the camera for the track
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Implemented power-ups
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Aided in playtesting
Unreal
13 People
8 Weeks
Level Designer
Constraints
Scope
With only eight weeks and no prior experience in track design, I had to quickly learn how race tracks are build. I researched topics like racing lines, positive camber, and common track layout pitfalls to avoid issues such as unclear routes or awkward turns.
These are scrapped track designs. Too many quick turns in sugession makes the track too difficult which makes no room for player interaction. The tracks also don't space out their gameplay beats, making some parts boring and others too intense.
Track Design
Mashed uses simple, short tracks that keep all players close together, which is what makes the game so chaotic. The layouts are easy to read, so the action stays on the screen and players are always bumping, crashing, and fighting for the lead.
Early Designs
Design Intent
Pillars
The track loops back and intersects to create familiarity and coherence. It adds to the worldbuilding.
Compactness
To prevent players from staying alive too long and rounds from dragging on, the track includes elements that can eliminate the player. The purpose of the ramps, items, and cliffs is to help rounds end, but a great side effect is that they also create many opportunities for wacky, unintentional scenarios.
Flow
Turns and straightaways are equally spaced out so players have room to focus on each other or driving.
The track has lots of jumps, crazy turns and setpieces that create hype and frequent lead changes.
Spectacle
The track is designed to intersect itself at different heights so players get moments of recognition. The main focus is the center section, a small cliff beneath the upper track, combined with big jumps and a heavily banked turn that encourages speed but punishes mistakes. This area is where most players fall and where rounds often end.
A smaller jump earlier in the track introduces this risk in a safer way, onboarding players before they reach the main challenge.
Track Highlights
Ramps break up the road and pacing to create hype moments where players interact, take risks, and sometimes wipe out.
Layout
Ramps
Items add chaos and strategy by creating situational moments where players can eliminate others, catch up, or break away.
Items
Cliffs act as high-risk points that force player interaction which can lead to wiping out. They also synergize well with close quarter items.
Cliffs
Development
Spline Tool
Making the track posed a problem. The project needed a tool to allow me as level designer to quickly create the track and make iterations.
The spline tool allowed me to quickly make the track and iterate. I made my own modular pieces of the track to quickly place and remove parts.
Modular assets created by the environment artists were used to block out the edge of the world. Invisible barriers were later placed to define the playable zone.
World Boundaries
Looking Back
Looking back, this project was my first time working in a multidisciplinary team, which made it both challenging and very enjoyable. Coordinating with designers, artists, and programmers tested my communications skills, forcing me to improve. Having many people involved made the work more intense, but it also made the process more fun and rewarding as the game slowly came together.
Track design itself was a new and unique challenge for me, which is what made the project especially engaging. Designing for chaos, player elimination, and player interactions required a different mindset than traditional level layouts, especially under a tight deadline.
If I were to redo the project, I would focus more on clearly defining the edges of the world. Improving player affordance in those areas would reduce confusion and make risky moments feel more intentional and fair.