level design
Unreal 5 | PC | singleplayer | puzzle platformer
LEVEL DESIGNER
high-level design goal:
possession-based platforming
design process
cONTRIBUTION
I worked on all five maps in Ling and the Corrupted Hollow but led the design of two: the tutorial and the final level, “Primordial Shrine”.
I took the maps through the entire design pipeline, from paper design to final shipped version. My work included layout planning, blockout, puzzle design and implementation, and collision.
DESIGNING FOR A PLATFORMER
Pacing: Good pacing is the core design principle used throughout the game. Shuffling the order of platforming and possession sections was key to creating non-repetitive and engaging gameplay.
Balancing difficulty: Since touching water is lethal in Ling, it’s everywhere in the final level. We leveraged splines and terrain tools to create intentionally complex and diverse bodies of water for the player to traverse over.
Conveyance & color: We used the bright red umbrella-platforms that dot the level to convey the intended path.
SETTING the final experience: “primordial shrine” concept
As Ling and the Corrupted Hollow is strongly inspired by traditional Chinese urbanism, the design team wanted the final level to be architecture focused. I was tasked with concepting the map’s setting.
I decided a traditional shrine would be the best candidate to support our object-possession mechanic.
The concept image on the left inspired the level’s layout, flow, pacing, and sightlines.
PACING
challenge & flow
Early MITIGATIONS: SIGHTLINES
Since Chinese shrines tend to be very linear and rectangular, long sightlines became an issue during early blockouts.
To mitigate this, we raised the walls in each section and tightened the entrances and exits. This chunked the level down to a consumable level.
This created a new problem: the high walls blocked players from seeing their final goal - a large monument - from the level start.
After several iterations, we decided to raise the player start to a hilltop, and then adjusted the flow to force the player downwards into the main playable space.
tutorial
primordial shrine
primordial shrine
cut content:
enemy system
tutorial
FINAL VERSION
TEACHING MECHANICS: COMBINING CINEMATICS AND DESIGN
Conveying the object-possession mechanic and its applications was the most important goal of the tutorial level.
Working with the cinematics team, I set up a simple scene that shows the idea of possession and then requires the player to replicate the action to advance.
2D map
teach, reinforce, master
gallery
postmortem
(design perspective)
What Went Well
Smart reuse of assets: We were able to produce six quality tracks by reusing a small number of obstacles and props. Our Mirror Mode felt unique and produced a new play experience.
Pipeline: Overall, the design pipeline was solid. From prototype to finished product, our pickups, obstacles, and track designs were implemented early, allowing for more iteration and higher shipped quality.
Team roles: The break-up of the design team into strike teams (Tracks, Islands, Obstacles + Pickups + Systems) created a strong workflow. It also gave each designer more agency and freedom in their work.
What needs improvEMENT
Getting Modular Parts in earlier: Due to several UI/UX issues, the modular parts system was implemented very late into development. This created stress on the design team and shrunk our time for iteration.
Even Better If…
More track environments: Given the short development time, the team could only produce three environments for our races. With a longer timeframe, the game could be raised to another level with additional tracks.
Multiplayer support: For UI/UX reasons, multiplayer was cut from HardDriverz. Many aspects of the game’s design were built with split screen in mind, so they don’t shine as well in a singleplayer scenario.
image credit
Steam icon: “Steam icon - free download png & SVG | streamline,” streamline, https://www.streamlinehq.com/icons/download/steam--31088 (accessed Jul. 16, 2025).
Website icon:
Chinese Shrine Concept: