Get ready to get moving! In the LEGO® Obstacle Course template, you'll run, swim, leap, and climb your way up an obstacle-filled mountain to find and collect the 5 golden coins!
The Obstacle Course, or obby template, teaches you how to take basic Fortnite gameplay ideas and use them in the LEGO® Minifigure world. You can use what you learn in this template to make your own version of the game, or build something totally new!
There are slight differences from Fortnite; some devices are unavailable and some building settings are hidden. Players can't mantle, vault, crouch, or slide as a Minifigure, so jumping becomes much more important for players. To learn more, refer to Working with LEGO® Islands.
Obstacle Course Features
When you load into your Obstacle Course, click the Start Game button from the Sidebar menu to playtest it.
When the game starts, a message will appear that gives you your goal: Reach the top of the mountain while collecting the 5 golden coins along the way.
Walk forward onto the jump pad to be launched onto the course (and into the water)!
Game Flow
This section covers the different parts of the Obstacle Course template and some of the design decisions that went into making each area.
The main idea of an obby game is to reach the end goal, but you want to make the experience of getting there fun and memorable for your players. Start small and easy, and keep upping the difficulty and complexity as your players get closer to the end.
At the start of the level, players climb the stairs out of the water and arrive at the first series of jumps. There's no penalty for missing these jumps since if they do, they'll fall into the water and can try again.
When designing an obby, it's good to start with a few easy jumps players can retry to ease them into the game.
After players learn a mechanic, you can follow up with a variation, such as harder jumps, jumps on moving platforms, or jumps on a time limit. For example, this template starts with simple jumps, then introduces moving platforms.
Next is the balance bridge. Players can either carefully walk across, or apply what they've learned earlier and run and jump across at max speed.
Sections like these are good to challenge new players who might not be used to the movement and reward skilled players with quicker progression.
Every part of this sequence introduces a new idea: 1. Simple jumps 2. Moving platforms 3. Either careful balance or skilled jumps across the bridge. The player learns a new way to tackle obstacles at each step and gets a consistent sense of progression as they're learning.
Later in the template, there is a large open area with targets on the walls and platforms the player needs to raise by shooting the targets. A nearby vending machine drops a Burst Pulse Rifle for the player to use to shoot the targets and raise the platforms. This breaks up the pace of the obstacle course and adds a new experience by mixing in shooting.
Introducing mechanics then mixing and matching them lets you create unique gameplay experiences, and adds variety and fun to your game. It keeps the experience feeling fresh as you give your players new ways to interact with your world.
Collectibles
Collectibles are another great way to engage with your players. You can place them in hard-to-reach spots, or hide them in sneaky areas to encourage your players to explore. These give players a secondary objective , and you can use this to both challenge and guide players.
In this template, the collectible coins are used to reward exploration and progression. Two of the collectibles aren't immediately obvious though, and require players to explore a little to find them.
Pacing is important in an obby, and sometimes it's refreshing to give players a break from jumping.
Small milestones or areas where players can explore, and placing discoverable rewards like coins rewards their curiosity. This setup ensures players get most of the coins in their first playthrough and minimizes backtracking if they don't find all of them by the time they reach the end.
This template uses collectibles as part of the condition to complete the course, but finding collectibles can also be optional.
You can place collectibles that are worth more in difficult areas, or make some collectibles run on a timer and disappear if players don't reach them fast enough. You can also pair collectibles with other mechanics like items and powerups so that players need to bring the right tools for the job if they want to maximize their score. For instance, a player may need to grab a grappler to reach a coin up high or grab a health powerup to survive a run across spikes. Experiment with different placements and ideas and see what works best for your game!
Customizing Your Obstacle Course
Now that you've completed the obstacle course, it's time to take what you've learned to make it your own. It's your island, your rules, and you have the power to bring your ideas to life, LEGO style!
Creating Your Own Mechanics
The same series of jumps can get boring quickly, so thinking of different ways to mix things up is important to making an engaging obby. Maybe the player has to avoid oncoming obstacles while making jumps. Maybe the player has to grab a Snowball Launcher and shoot a switch to progress.
What about adding some stealth, like hiding in a box to dodge a laser? Imagine a low-gravity section or one that doesn't allow jumping. What if you combine all of these into a super-difficult obby that challenges players every step of the way?
This template includes plenty of different devices you can look to for inspiration, such as the teleporters on the cliffs, the different water levels, or buttons players activate to change parts of the course.
The sky's the limit, so get creative and get building! Don't be afraid to pull mechanics you enjoy from other games into your obby. Randomization, level-up systems, challenges, and item shops are all different ideas you can use.
Environment and Art
A huge part of the fun in creating islands is getting to see your ideas take shape. Maybe you thought about making an obstacle course on the moon, jumping across space rocks to reach an asteroid? Or maybe you're climbing a windy mountain, trying not to slip on ice as you carefully balance on a cliff. Or how about a prehistoric jungle, evading raptors and dodging boulders as you race to your time machine?
All these ideas are possible, and at their core, they all share the same basic mechanics. The thing that separates them and makes them unique is how the environment and art are shaped around those mechanics.
By thinking about the environment as you design you could turn what was once a simple series of jumps into an exciting leap across a lava field.
The jumps are a lot scarier when they're over lava, aren't they?
Try fitting your obstacles to your art and mixing mechanics to create unique gameplay scenarios. Think about what kinds of items and props would exist in your world, and adapt your obstacles to them.
For instance, take a movie studio theme. Instead of shooting a basic switch to open a door, you're shooting a power box to turn out the lights and deactivate a lock. Instead of jumping between moving platforms, you're jumping between camera dollies as they film an action scene.
Fortnite provides lots of different LEGO Galleries in the Content menu that contain ready-made props and environments for you to place in your Island. Mix and match props to create cool landscapes, scenic views, and exciting locales for your players to navigate through! For a full list of assets you can place on your LEGO Island, check out LEGO® Inventory Assets!
Playtesting
The most important thing is that your players have fun. This is why it's important to playtest your island as you make it. Frequent playtesting lets you find what works (and what doesn't!) and helps you develop your ideas into actual gameplay. Strong fundamentals make good games, so test early and test often.
Start with your basic mechanics, like a series of jumps made up of basic blocks. If playing it feels good, develop your island further. Keep testing as you go until you have a sequence you're happy with.
If it's fun to play, add some art! Spice up your sequence with a cool environment, and maybe add some collectibles and extra gameplay elements! Who knows, you may just stumble upon something new and end up with a totally different design than what you started with!
On Your Own
Now that you've learned the basic ideas of creating your own obby, get out there and get building! To learn the basics of creating on a LEGO Island, check out the LEGO Home Builder Template!
Is this your first time designing a game? Here are some helpful resources for creating the ultimate LEGO experience!