LEVEL DESIGN

I was the team's designer for this magnet-based platformer, coming up with the movement mechanics which involved double jumps, magnetism between the two players, and ground pounds. Then, I designed enemies and level hazards to test the player's proficiency with these movement abilities. We worked closely with the programming team to mechanically realize the game from the design documents.

To facilitate the above-mentioned mechanics, I made grey block level layouts and then transferred them to the game with modular 3D art made by my team. The levels each introduce then test a mechanic or skill in three stages of difficulty while building up on top of the last level's lessons. We once again worked with both the programmers and artists to script the Cinemachine camera to properly frame the action and also direct the player toward. These levels and mechanics were then meticulously playtested and refined to ensure a smooth difficulty curve.

Below you'll find the levels, box layouts for those levels, and a small video snippet showing gameplay.

The level design challenge with Coffin Mall was one of immersion and compatibility: The player is chased around by a car in two different areas, so both areas need to be accessible both by a normal-sized human but also drivable, while also putting on a convincing American shopping center facade.

This brought about the necessity of spaces that were open enough for a car to fit in but not too open so the player can still run from the car, without sacrificing immersion or making foot travel tedious.

The map was first drawn, then blocked out in-engine, to figure out where to put objects such as lamps, flower pots, benches, etc. which were used to impede the car but not the player. Then me and my artist did a final pass to do texturing and lighting.