Level designer | Multiplayer, First-Person Looter Shooter | Unreal Engine 4
SUMMARY
"Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. As a spin-off in the Borderlands series and a sequel to Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, the game is set within the world of a fantasy-themed tabletop role-playing game."
- Wikipedia, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
Game TRAILERS
OFFICIAL HD TRAILER
SEASON PASS TRAILER
ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the employment of Lost Boys Interactive (LBI) and in collaboration with Gearbox (GBX), I worked on both the main base game and season pass DLCs as a Level Designer, which included both traditional layout and geometry responsibilities as well as combat and objective placement.
My work on Tiny Tina's was included complete level layout design and implementation from inception to release, integration and placement of all gameplay elements (objectives, challenges, combat spawners, navigation, ammo/health pickups, etc.), and lots of back-and-forth communication with art, tech, design, and production departments to ensure consistency via Teams correspondence and Confluence documentation (findings, how-tos, sharing information on levels and encounter setups, etc.).
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COILED
CAPTORS
(DLC 1)
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I worked on two levels in this first DLC.
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Second Level
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timestamped 10:18 - 14:33 in above video
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This level I had inherited from a coworker so the challenge here was maintaining the general footprint and vibe he had crafted while adjusting player flow and gameplay to suit the addition of objectives and prolong the playtime. I did this by iterating on the level design and combat placement/density, as well as implementing gates to “gate” the player by requiring them to complete simple puzzles to open up different areas of the map.
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Fourth Level
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timestamped 17:45 - 21:43 in above video
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This space started with the theme - I wanted to create a space similar to an ancient bathhouse that had long-since fallen under disrepair. With the objective being “survive until the water rises,” my focus here gameplay-wise was on player flow and combat placement. I wanted players to feel like they were being attacked often but that they always had a path to safety, whether that meant quickly climbing out of the lower section, taking cover behind a pillar, or running down a side path to find an alternate route.
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ANIMATED
BEAUTY
SHOTS
MOLTEN
MIRRORS
(DLC 3)
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I worked on two levels in this third DLC.
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Crystal Chasm
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timestamped 3:20 - 5:38 in above video
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Visually, I worked closely with the art team to make this level unique and “unicorn-y” with the use of brighter, lighter colors and softer, rounded structures. This helped the sharper, jagged pieces related to the objectives and enemies stand out more and play into the theme of “this used to be a pristine place until it was corrupted with evil crystals.” Level and combat design-wise, I wanted to utilize flying enemies in this open space but provide succor for players by placing more ammo pickups, health pickups, and ample cover in the lower areas of the level. Because the objectives required players to stand in primarily open spaces and be more vulnerable to attack, making that lower area “safer” allowed players to find moments of reprieve to stock back up before jumping back into the action.
Fyodor Boss Arena
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timestamped 15:04 - 20:03 in above video
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For this level, I worked closely with our tech design team to create a boss arena that was more than just a giant arena. We did that by adding these “gauntlet runs” along the sides of the map that the boss can knock the player into, forcing them to run down a lane of enemies and/or traps to get back to the main arena. The gauntlets are all a bit different with the traps and enemies they utilize, all used to challenge and obstruct the player in a variety of ways. At the main arena, there are small sections of cover of varying heights to protect from the central turrets and enemies rushing you, as well as pockets of limited health and ammo pickups - though some players might choose to jump down and risk searching the gauntlets if they find themselves desperate for more.
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I worked on one level in this fourth and final DLC.
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Third Level
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timestamped 16:07 - 20:00 in above video
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I approached crafting this level with the visual and gameplay intentions of utilizing the wyvern enemies. Going with the theme of wyvern nesting grounds, I focused on player flow and verticality in my design. I designed this with multiple walkable/mantleable paths between the different verticality levels as well as placing jump pads to increase access to higher gameplay spaces. This allowed players to not only get to certain heights and areas on the map more quickly and easily (a necessity due to the explorative nature of the objective), but also gave them the opportunity to fight wyverns in the air as if they could fly and fight on their level.
ANIMATED
BEAUTY
SHOTS
SHATTERING
SPECTREGLASS
(DLC 4)
ADDITIONAL
IMAGES
