Game Designer
Genre: 3D Physics-based Action Platformer
Release: February 2024
Platforms: Steam, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series S/X
Studio: Evening Star
Publisher: Private Division
Level Design
Designed gameplay revisions, layout clean-up, and environment decor across 15+ story mode levels across Vanillatown, Moltobene, Industria, and Edditorium worlds. Led the gameplay design and art direction of the Star Globes world, along with final gameplay tuning across all levels.
Economy Design & Balancing
Owned the balancing of the in-game scoring system and economy. Set point values for all in-game character moves, interactions, superlatives, and level targets to unlock postcards.
Quality Assurance
Was the primary internal QA Tester, and performed regression testing across all major platforms for 1st-party submissions and publisher milestone deliveries.
Selected Level Design Examples (gameplay videos above):
Vanillatown 1-4 went through several iterations during it’s design process. Initially, the Penguinball Boss Battle was built into the finale of this level. I was tasked with removing the Boss Battle from the level and replacing it with core gameplay sections. I also added in Denizen Dilemmas and Super Coins; these are collectables found in every game level.
Industria 7-1: Magnetic Attraction
For Industria, I was given the levels in a whiteboxed state and utilized our studio’s proprietary 3D engine tools to paint and decorate the entire world. I did this across Vanillatown, Moltobene, and Edditorium levels as well.
This involved manually “painting” all terrain faces/edges, building out new geometry for mid-ground architecture, placing decals and environmental decor, and gameplay adjustments as needed while ensuring gameplay continuity.
The Star Globes are a series of 15 challenge levels that can be unlocked by getting collectibles in Story Mode. They typically focus on 1-2 gameplay objects used in creative ways not found in other parts of the game.
I led the world’s visual direction to ensure it did not conflict with the existing gameplay, as the levels had been built prior to any conceptual art or asset creation.
I took complete ownership of 3 levels, and did all final level revisions and environment decor for the remaining 12 levels.