Role: Lead Level Designer
Duration: Nov 2017 - February 2018
Genre: Narrative Adventure
Engine: Unity
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Mac, Linux, Mobile
Developer: Deck Nine Games
Team Size: ~55
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: March 5, 2018
Unity
Maya
Jira
Confluence
Perforce
Office
Inkscape
During the time I worked on the Life is Strange: Before the Storm bonus episode, “Farewell”, I served as lead level designer. I was a working lead so I continued to be responsible for levels of my own but also took on new responsibilities. I served as the point of contact for the department and worked with production to create a schedule for our tasks. I also reviewed all the levels in the episode to ensure a high level of quality. During the course of production on the episode the team continued to work closely with environment and narrative as we had while making the core game’s episodes.
Managed the level design team:
Created and maintained documentation:
Took levels from concept to polished final product:
During the bonus episode “Farewell” I was responsible for two levels, Attic and Downstairs. The two have very different themes and gameplay with the Attic being puzzle based and Downstairs being exploratory.
During the Attic level Max (player character) has gone into the attic in Chloe’s house to search for an amulet they hid there when they were younger. She spots the amulet when she enters on the opposite side of the cluttered space. To get there the player must re-arrange various pieces of furniture in order to open up a path Max can squeeze through. (31:27 – 38:07)
During the Downstairs level Max and Chloe go through the time-capsule they’ve unearthed in Chloe’s back yard. Chloe finds a drawing pad in it and heads off to the couch to draw while Max looks through the other things. The player must look at a specific number of objects before Chloe finishes her drawing. Once Chloe announces she is done the player can speak with her to start the cinematic to end the level. (49:06 – 1:09:11)