Unannounced Title - Mars Games

Lead Level Designer, Level Design Producer, and Gameplay Designer

Role Responsibility and Tools

  • Unreal Engine 5

  • Research level and create documentation

  • Create level map layouts

  • Lead other designers

  • Blockout level

  • Build level mechanics

  • Test functionality

  • Create tasks and track work progress

Cathedral

This level was built as a Gothic-inspired cathedral emphasizing player flow, verticality, and encounter design. Starting with 2D layouts, I planned navigation routes, sightlines, and points of interest to balance exploration with combat opportunities. The blockout established scale and pacing, while modular structures like arches and buttresses supported consistent rhythm and readability.

The final iteration focuses on player guidance through spatial design and lighting, using focal points such as altars and statues to draw attention naturally. This project demonstrates the full level design workflow from concept to blockout to polish, while prioritizing gameplay clarity, atmosphere, and immersion in Unreal Engine. The map layout was created using Draw.io

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Research

The Gothic-inspired cathedral serves as a landmark for players to use as a sense of direction (Mars Games, n.d). Yu and Liu (2022) talk about implicit versus explicit player guidance and how explicit wayfinding, such as glowing paths and objective markers, will ruin player immersion and experience. They also discuss how environmental layouts and landmarks help players gain a sense of direction (Yu & Liu, 2022). Combining these elements helps draw attention towards the cathedral without having to use explicit guidance and break the player’s immersion and experience (Mars Games, n.d; Yu & Liu, 2022).

Button combination puzzle

This is a button puzzle combination I created that has multiplayer functionality. The buttons will always be different so the it changes every time the player sees it. It also communicated with the “clues” on the wall so you would know which order to press it in. I had numbers showing for simple debugging to make sure the randomness worked correctly. All the code is my own and gives a breakdown of how I created this. The last screenshot is the code for the door that opens once the combination is correct.

Steamboat Dock

This level presents a steamboat dock environment. The dock layout was designed for the ship to provide a strong visual landmark. The environment was developed to a more final gameplay-ready state, with props such as crates, barrels, boats, and market stalls reinforcing navigation and environmental storytelling. Rock formations and water boundaries help guide player flow naturally while maintaining immersion. The steamboat was also created by me

Research

Xu and Verbrugge both talk about how visual affordances are environmental features that suggest how a space can be used for the player to move. This steamboat dock has different visual elements being used, such as leading lines and breadcrumbs, to direct the player towards the steamboat (Mars Games, n.d; Xu & Verbrugge, 2025). The steamboat also serves as a landmark, as another visual affordance for players to use for direction towards important areas (Mars Games, n.d; Xu & Verbrugge 2025).

Swamp

This level showcases a swampy environment with a temple as a focal point. The map layout was created in Draw.io trying to get solid placement of key locations. The objective was to create a map with different features and scenarios that included the swampy features required. The blockout was done entirely by me, and I modeled the tree home. The rest is all placeholder assets that were already owned.

Research

Nisbet talks about different methods to highlight points of interest, such as lighting and environmental details, to direct players to a focal point (Nisbet, 2016). The swamp level has different paths leading around the area for the player to explore, but the main path has a long line of statues that the player will be directed towards from all the environmental details (Mars Games, n.d; Nisbet 2016). There is also a foggy look to reduce visibility so the player can only make out large objects easily, such as the temple (Mars Games, n.d; Nisbet 2016). The use of these different environmental details will lead to a more immersive and engaging experience without having to take away from the player’s realism (Mars Games, n.d; Nisbet, 2016).

Castle Level Layout

Here is a level design document I created for a level. I was asked to have multiple paths leading into the core area and then have different places for the player to explore and use as cover. My sole objective was to update the current map with a better layout for player flow. The map layout was created using Draw.io.

Research

The main point of the castle level layout is to give players multiple ways to traverse the castle area (Mars Games, n.d). Grau (2025) mentions different methods of leading players through large open spaces in a world or level. There are different landmarks created, such as the gates and large arena with the boss, to direct players down the critical path (Grau, 2025; Mars Game, n.d). Different pathways serve as leading lines where the player can travel (Grau, 2025; Mars Games, n.d). With more implicit ways of directing the player, they will have a strong sense of direction without needing to include waypoints or obvious markers on screen, allowing for a more engaging experience (Grau, 2025; Mars Games, n.d).

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Roller Ball Escape