All'Alba | Level Design Document

All'Alba, meaning 'At Dawn', is an introductory level that would act as a tutorial for the freerunning / parkour mechanics featured within the GLEAM game concept. This project served as the final for my Level Design class I took in Autumn of 2025.

Note that some, but not all of the art in this level design document is generated by AI like ChatGPT or MidJourney.

Overview

This level is also the foundation for the concept's story and theme, as the core notes for GLEAM's story are presented and set in motion, acting as a cold open. The player will experience the level as Gleam, a Pompeian who had recently awaken beneath a chapel, and after unknowingly bearing fangs in front of a priest, had a rude awakening to the reality of her being. The priest would call the town guards, which prompts the start of this level. Gleam has to escape from the guards as dawn breaks, a threat she never knew before.

The level, before throwing the player into a race for survival, will show new players the basics of the freerunning mechanics via 'ghosts' that project forward, showing how the mechanics look, while displaying the basic button pressing. Then the player is free to attempt their escape through 1700's Pompeii. 

Conceptualization and Development

This project originally began as an assignment to evaluate a level from an existing game, and I analyzed 'Sibling Rivalry' from Assassin's Creed II, an introductory level in order to introduce the parkour mechanics that Assassin's Creed is famous for. Despite that fact, 'Sibling Rivalry' is notorious for being an unreasonably difficult level despite first glances, something that I soon came to realize. Through analysis, I was able to create the cornerstone of this project with what I believe were good aspects and without the bad aspects of 'Sibling Rivalry', before truly making the level my own.

As noted in the document, I drew inspiration from several sources for many aspects of this level. The chapel that exists within this level is actually based off of the Santuario del Rosario within Pompeii, a beautiful shrine just outside the Pompeian ruins. Huge cities, like Roma, Paris, New York, often get the spotlight in entertainment media, so I like looking into smaller yet historically intriguing locations, like Pompeii, Cahokia, Nazca, Karakul, etc.