Dohyo

Dohyo is a place in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. Doyho focuses on interior combat with a heavy emphasis on close quarter duels and the parkour mechanics. This map took six weeks to make from start to finish.

Block Out

Bathhouse concept

The original concept for Dohyo was a bathhouse with multiple stories. The inspiration for this map derives from Spirited Away and the bathhouse which the movie primarily takes place in.

Dohyo's blockout had to go through many iterations due to gameplay mechanics and the theme changing. However, the general idea of multiple stories with corridors were kept intact.

Multiple Iterations

Map Expansion

The map itself grow in size after gameplay mechanics were fully realized during the development process. Walls were also lengthed and heightened due to gameplay mechanics.

Initial Construction

Lighting

The next phase was getting the lighting right for Dohyo. I wanted to have a mixture of a warm lantern lighting and cooler moon lighting. The moonlight shines through the rooftop illuminating the top section of the map.

Map Improvements

The middle of the map was changed and overhauled to provide a middle tower for players to use as cover and a platform for movement. The middle bridge that appeared in the block out was removed and replaced with this middle tower.

Map Improvements pt.2

After further testing, I discovered better ways for the walling running mechanic to flow better. Implementing more walls for players to wall-run and raising the roofs helped with moving around the map.

Final Pass

Lighting Overhaul

Some feedback from playtesting was the lighting. Many of the areas on the map were difficult to navigate because it was too dark. Also, reducing the number of dynamic lights and expanding the attenuation helped illuminate the darker areas.

Better Dueling Spots

The bottom floor where sumo wrestlers would compete was improved upon. Removing the lanterns and making the sumo ring wider opened up the bottom floor for dueling. Making the spectator stands around the ring smaller further opened up the space. This change enticed players to fight more on the bottom level.

Parkour Improvements

The final improvement for the map was giving players more opportunities to utilize the parkour mechanics. I raised the roof higher and added platforms/walls to help with traversal. With these changes, players were able to outmaneuver opponents if they were skilled in parkour.