For the level-design of Cases from the Murder Wagon, we used a very similar method to the one that we used for the Slashers maps: We first think about an enemy and its gameplay by taking inspiration from horror movies, folklores and legends from around the world or even in certain dark news reports. Once we have found an interesting gameplay and creature, we think about a suitable type of environment.
In order to make each game unique and to avoid players getting used to the level layout, each map is generated semi procedurally and id divided into 4 zones, that are also semi-procedurally generated. It features three "normal" zones and a central zone. At the start of the game, the Runner spawns randomly at the entrance of one of the three normal zones then must look for the access to the next area: the central zone. When he's in, he must also look around to find a way to unlock the next area which will be picked randomly among the two remaining areas. As a result, players will never explore the entire map in one game in order to give them the envy to come back to re-explore the environment in another game.
Zones #1, #2 and #3 of the Highschool map made for the 2018 Global Game Jam prototype
Each zone is also semi-procedurally generated. In this way, even if the players have already explored the area during a previous game, some environmental elements such as passages, obstacles or room layouts will be chosen randomly at the start of each game.
The goal is to always make each game unique and prevent players from feeling too safe by knowing too much about the map layout. Players will then have to adapt each time they play, adding a lot of replayability to the game.
Example of different room layouts
Finally, each map has its own dedicated enemy, that can be from three different natures (humanoids, creatures or spirits) and will be intimately connected to its environment. For example, the enemy could be a killer able to set traps and hide them, a fast and blind creature who can detect steps in certain materials or even a spirit that will cause disturbances on electrical equipments around them.