Ellie Tsamouli
Level Designer
BLADE OF POWER
INTRODUCTION
This is was a group project aiming to create a game focusing on AI, while the theme was antagonists. My responsibilities included:
​
designing the onboarding level
​
reinforcing the mechanics through level design
​
setdressing
​
​​
7 Weeks​
7 People​
Unreal Engine
GitHub
Jira
Pre-Production
During this stage the core mechanics and narrative was established by the team. It was important for my process to have a good grasp of them in order to deliver levels that are cohisive and complimentary to the gameplay.
Narrative
In this game you play as a monster hunter that has no power, so she uses a power-stealing blade to fight back.
Enemies
Since this project was focused on AI, understanding the enemy behavior and ability was crucial for me to build the levels and puzzles. There are types of enemies:
Shooter: This enemy is usually very agressive and shoots fire balls.
Time Slower: This enemy is usually more passive and throws time slowing bombs.
Exploader: This enemy is agressive and is throwing blast bombs.
Charger: This enemy charges on, but his power can be used to dash upwards.
2D Map
Once we had figured out the mechanics, enemy abilities and narrative it was time to start sketching the 2D map. My responsibilities included making the onboarding level as well as the final arena.
The intention during the onboarding level
​
Familiarize the player with the movement
Introduce abilities
And teach them how to best utilise them
The intention during the final battle
​
Give freedom of movement
Provide angles, cover and a variety of elevation
Peak the difficulty of the game (final boss fight)
Having the final arena next to the common area and passing by it before you could interact was intentional. It provided a foreshadowing moment and enhanced the narrative adding to the player's familiarity.
References and Locations
Since this would take place in an underground society, it needed to feel rough, and claustrophobic like no clear air has passed through in a long time.Simultaneously, considering this is a boomer shooter game, there should be arenas and spaces that promote fighting.
1. Common Room
In-game implementation
Reference: Military Bunkers, kitchen, living room and working space.​
Purpose: An environmental storytelling beat. ​
Characteristics: Personal, spacious, friendly, safe.
​
2.Corridors
In-game implementation
Reference: The catacombs ​
Purpose: A negative space used for platforming, puzzles and cool-downs.​
Characteristics: Tight, claustrophobic, low ceilings, elevation versatility.
​
3.Armory
In-game implementation
Reference: Underground Temple​
Purpose: An environmental storytelling beat combined with puzzles.​
Characteristics: Tall, circular, spacious, and safe.
​
4.Prisons
In-game implementation
Reference: Dungeon Prisons​
Purpose: Ability tutorial gameplay beat.​
Characteristics: Tight, hostile a variety of elevation versatility.
​
5.Arenas
In-game implementation
Reference: Pankration fighting pits​​
Purpose: Host fighting that provides space and guiding lines toward the end. ​
Characteristics: Open,hostile, a variety of elevation and versatility.
​
Production
In this section we will talk about my process as a level designer during production. After all the components and characteristics of the game had been placed it was time for me to start with the grayboxing and blockout.
Blockout & Grayboxing
This project was all about iterations. From my first blockout until the final, there were 6 different iterations. For the sake of this portfolio piece, I will only analyse the version that was used and the reasons for the design and iteration.
Workflow
General Shape Layout
Once I pinpoint the basic shape, I add details like obstacles, enemies, and puzzles.​​​​​​ The most important part during this process is testing. Getting feedback is crucial since making changes at this point is easier and cheaper. ​​​​
Firstly, following the 2D Map, I make a generalized layout with prominent shapes.​That helps me understand scale, player view, and movement.​​​ This is usually when I make the most notable changes.
Blockout & Enemy Encounter
Setdressing
Usually setdressing is not in my responsibilities as a level designer but in this project, we did not work with artists.
​​​​​
However, I worked as if I was working with artists, following guidelines to help with textures and setdressing.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Setdressing was a great experience since I came into the position of an artist, understanding their process better and appreciating their contribution even more.
​
Lighting
I used lighting not only to set the mood but also as a key element of level design. Given the fast-paced nature of the game, it was crucial for players to instantly recognize where to go.
Strategic lighting provided clear direction, ensuring smooth navigation.
Additionally, darker areas created a sense of danger, while well-lit spaces felt safer.
Optimizing lighting for performance was another important lesson I learned throughout the project.
Iterations
The biggest lesson from this project was the importance of iteration. We conducted two playtests—one at week four and another at week six—but time constraints allowed us to act only on the first. Still, I will discuss the changes I would make based on the second playtest’s feedback.
Iterations That Made the Cut
1. Shooter Encounter
Starting off this is the first encounter with a shooter enemy.
​
The goal during this part was to make the player aware of this enemy and teach them to take cover. In the first version, the enemy would stun the player forcing them to cover. This had an obvious problem.
Since this is a first interaction the player should not get punished for not knowing.Rather, the monster was placed right in front and was framed by the previous platforming challenge.
That gave the players enough time to prepare themselves and hint the intention.
​
Finally, by the time they take cover, they can see on their right that there is another cover that leads to a hatch.
2. Time-Slower Encounter
Originally this area would be where the player acquires the knives, but due to time limitations it was not the case.
​
The goal of this area was to teach the player how to steal and use the abilities, starting with a harmless ability which was time slowing.
The original idea was having the enemy next to the door to make it obvious as to what the player must do. But that defeated the idea of a puzzle.
I changed the position of the enemy to be aligned horizontally with the door, both being the first things the player sees.​This added a nice complexity to the scene and made the player more proud of themselves when completing the challenge.
3. Bomber Encounter
This is the first encounter with bombers. What was special about bombers was the fact that they could kill two enemies at once when if the bomb designated near them.​ The goal of this area was to teach the player exactly that.
To prevent enemies from parting far away I had them guard the doors. So the only way out was through. The problem with that was that I had two shooters guarding the door and a bomber on the right of the player. The playtesters were just using the shooters to escape, hence the communication was not good. That would cause a problem later on when puzzles and battles because tougher. How could I solve this?
I replaced the two shooter guards with bombers and removed the bomber on the right. Now anytime, and either of them the player stole the ability from it would always clearly communicate the intention.
Iterations I Would Like To Make
Now, we will talk about the iterations that I would make if I had more development time. At the end of the first playtest the other level designer, who was responsible for the bridge level, stepped down. Thus I was responsible for remaking new challenges and arenas as well as iterating on what was left unfinished, so these puzzles were rushly made and are in serious need of an iterative makeover. This is how I would approach this.
1. Bee Hive
This part has a lot of room for improvement. The intention was to create a mission based on an enemy nest to support the antagonist narrative. I thought that the exploders would be a good fit, drawing inspiration from their design I thought they would probably live in something that resembles a bee hive. Also, the cells create the perfect environment to explode two at once, solidifying that information.
​
But, there was a lot of information presented infront of the players making navigation a bit too hard. Also there were a lot of enemies that would attack the player without much cover, putting them at a disadvantage.
If there was time for more iteration I would re-design this section to be like a tunnel, have waves of enemies gradually attacking and a clear light coming from the end. I think that way that this section would feel more gratifying and less overwhelming.​
2. Embrasures
This section was developed to hint at the bee hive arena. I wanted to create a framing of the enemies, pairing it with a puzzle.​Since this would be a negative space in-between arenas, having a safe puzzle was a priority. But this puzzle has a few problems.
​
The first thing the player sees is a wall. Yes, some islands might hint that there is something on the right but it's not a strong indicator for the player.​ The window is small and tight and shooting from further away it might stuck on the window and end up blowing up the player. Lastly, many players did not notice the doors and hence did not make the connection that they had to kill the enemies to open them.
​
If I could remake this part again I would put all the information about the puzzle in immediate player sight, so the player can figure it out quickly, get that sense of accomplishment and continue with the next challenge.
Reflection
This project was truly such a good learning experience. It taught me the importance of persistance trusting the team, good communication but most of all iteration. It was quite difficult at first to be making and breaking my blockouts one by one, but the best parts of my levels in this project are the ones that were remade many times. ​
​
I improved significantly at handling feedback in this project. I used to take it too literally, but I learned to focus on the intent behind it and make meaningful adjustments. I also found it challenging to work on someone else’s level, adapting to their vision and design style instead of my own. It was tough, especially in areas where I would have made different choices, but stepping into their perspective helped me refine the work while staying true to their intent.​
​
If I could change something about this project would be to do more research on setdressing, as it took way too much unecessary development time from my hands. Regardless, it made me so much more appriciative of the artists' work, and helped me design more thoughfully, providing space for setdressing and enviromental storytelling, scaling conciously and communicating lighting in a non intrusive way.