IDO
Third-Person, Action, Adventure, Hack-n-Slash
Lead Level Designer (University Project)
(4 months)
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Team size: 20
As the Level Design Lead, my role focused on developing unique design concepts and creating numerous levels featured in the game. The project was built on a modular art pipeline that allowed for rapid asset creation, while the dreamscape storyline provided creative freedom and room for abstract designs. Working on IDO has been a tremendous growth experience for me as a level designer, helping me learn new development skills, refine design concepts, and deepen my understanding of architectural design principles.
IDO started as a two-person project, just me and a friend, but eventually grew into a team of 20 over the span of 20 weeks.
Responsibilities:
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Designing 3 distinct level layouts and crafting gameplay progression for each.
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White-boxing the first level, "Toy Realm."
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Set dressing all levels and populating game spaces with assets.
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Building and polishing lighting for all levels.
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Using Blueprints to script gameplay events.
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Creating cinematic cutscenes for level introductions and boss reveals.
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Implementing Level Streaming across major levels to optimize performance.
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Developing an art pipeline to streamline and accelerate asset creation.
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Coordinating with the art team to determine and prioritize the assets needed to support both art and gameplay requirements across all levels.
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Delegating tasks to fellow level designers on my team to ensure alignment and consistency across the project.
Map Designs
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IDO's core mechanics centered around combat, puzzle-solving, and platforming. The goal was to isolate each mechanic, allowing players to learn them individually and create dynamic moments where they could apply their skills.
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IDO's levels were designed to immerse players in various dreamscape realms.
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Before creating a level, I prefer to start with a rough sketch using pencil and paper to capture my ideas. This sketch helps quickly map out the level's flow and pacing. The largest and first level in IDO, the "Toy Realm," was designed to mimic a toy city, featuring oversized toys and buildings.
Rough Sketch of the "Toy Realm"
Illustrated map of the "Toy Realm"
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After completing the rough sketch, the next step was to recreate and refine the map in Adobe Illustrator. This helped establish a clear foundation for the team to visualize the critical path and gameplay progression. The addition of a legend, elevation markers, and grid scales made the map easy to read and reference during the creation of the whitebox levels.
Breakout Maps
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Breakout maps were a new challenge, but they became essential for designing large levels. They helped me detail specific events, obstacles, pickups, and enemy spawns not needed in the overview map. I created separate illustrated maps for each major section to give the team a clear breakdown of the level.
Just a few of many breakout maps created for all 3 levels, "Toy Realm" (Left), "Reflection Realm"(Middle), and "Sunken Realm" (Right)
World Creation
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Once the maps were designed, with their shape tailored to the level's pace and theme, I would create a blockout using BSP meshes for testing. This helped ensure that the scale, flow, and pacing were enjoyable and within scope.
Early blockout prototype scene for testing core game mechanics
Early Combat Design
Open combat areas give players freedom to move and fight. This is where players first learn to engage enemies, with minimal obstacles to avoid overwhelming them.
Enclosed Visibility
The level is filled with oversized toys and structures, designed to keep players focused on their surroundings as they move through the rooftops. By varying the spaces slightly, we maintain the player's curiosity throughout.
Player Guidance
Visual Elements
Landmarks help orient the player and guide them through the dreamscape realms. Lighting and set dressing are used to create paths that lead toward the next combat encounter, with small glowsticks drawing attention. Key structures like the "Toy Ferris Wheel" act as larger points of interest visible from a distance. These elements were added after realizing the level lacked clear markers to guide the player on the correct path.
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I’ve been with this project since it was just me and a friend, and watching it grow, along with the obstacles we faced, has been a humbling experience. I’ve gained new technical skills, refined design principles, and, most importantly, learned how to communicate openly and honestly with my teammates. As part of the leadership team, I also gained a deeper understanding of how to collaborate across departments. Holding weekly meetings and submitting daily scrum reports were new experiences for me. Despite the challenges and frustrations, I’m incredibly proud of what our team accomplished. I’m excited to carry these skills forward into my next project, and I’m eager to continue improving my craft in game development.
Post-Mortem
