Level & Design Philosophy
At the core of this project was a desire to create an experience that invites exploration and experimentation without relying on traditional fail states. I wanted players to feel comfortable taking their time, trying things out, and moving through the world without the pressure of punishment or forced resets. This was especially important since the project also functions as an interactive portfolio, allowing recruiters and players to discover my CV, portfolio, and website directly within the game itself.
Instead of punishing mistakes, the world and its systems were designed to gently guide the player forward. Visual cues, lighting, UI feedback, and environmental storytelling were used to communicate direction, intent, and mood. UI and worldbuilding were treated as equally important, working together to support exploration and help players feel oriented without breaking immersion.
This mindset also shaped how I approached performance and optimization from the very beginning. Visual clarity and atmosphere were always a priority, but never at the expense of responsiveness or stability. Throughout development, I continuously reviewed assets, materials, textures, and effects to make sure they earned their place. This process gradually reduced the project size from roughly 7 GB to around 1.2 GB, improving load times and overall performance while preserving the game’s visual identity.
One of the main challenges was ensuring that players still felt guided despite the lack of explicit objectives or hard failure conditions. To solve this, I relied heavily on lighting contrast, landmark placement, and subtle environmental framing to naturally draw attention toward points of interest. This allowed the experience to remain open and exploratory, while still giving players a clear sense of direction and purpose.
Level Design
This portfolio experience was intentionally designed without a fail state. Wherever a player could fall during traversal, there is always a way back up. The goal was to create a space where players feel free to explore without frustration, encouraging curiosity rather than caution.
I wanted the player to feel like they could go anywhere while still being gently guided toward points of interest. Subtle landmarks, lighting contrast, elevation changes, and set dressing were used to draw attention naturally without explicit instruction. Using Unreal’s Modeling Mode and Landscape tools, I shaped paths and terrain to invite exploration in multiple directions.
No matter which direction the player chooses, there is always something interesting to discover, whether that is a hidden area, a visual detail, or a pickup. Some secrets are partially visible from a distance to spark curiosity and reward players who take the time to investigate further. Platforming sections are intentionally forgiving, as the primary objective is not mechanical difficulty but discovery, ultimately leading the player to interactable pickups that reveal my CV and portfolio content in game.
The result is an environment designed to feel open, safe, and inviting, while still structured enough to guide players toward meaningful interactions.
Game Design
Beyond environment layout, I designed and implemented several core gameplay systems, including a state-based movement system with walking and jetpack flight, a fuel mechanic that limits airborne traversal, and pickup systems that allow players to recharge and continue exploring. These mechanics were intentionally simple on their own, but designed to interact meaningfully with verticality and level layout.
During playtesting, it became clear that players were sometimes unsure of their current state, such as fuel availability or nearby interaction opportunities. To address this, I refined HUD elements and contextual UI prompts to provide clearer, real-time feedback. Fuel bars, tutorial popups, and interaction cues were adjusted to better communicate system states, helping players feel more confident when experimenting with movement and traversal.
Technical skills & Problem solving
A major focus throughout the project was building clean, modular, and scalable Blueprint systems. I structured my visual scripting to be readable, reusable, and well-documented, avoiding tightly coupled logic and minimizing the risk of spaghetti code. UI systems were designed so that new menus, popups, and interactions could be added without rewriting existing logic, supporting fast iteration late into development.
Beyond system structure, I spent a significant amount of time working with navigation and performance. This included setting up and iterating on NavMesh to support enemy pathing and reliable AI behavior, as well as continuously validating navigation as level layouts, collisions, and assets changed. Maintaining stable navigation across iterations was critical to keeping levels playable and predictable.
Performance optimization was treated as an ongoing process rather than a final pass. I addressed performance issues related to lighting, foliage, materials, and effects by downscaling textures where appropriate, simplifying materials, and reducing unnecessary visual overhead. These optimizations helped maintain stable performance while preserving the game’s visual identity and readability.
One recurring technical challenge involved overlapping events and audio triggering repeatedly when players entered certain areas. I resolved this by restructuring overlap logic so events only triggered when intended and by refining Blueprint flow to better control state changes. Together, these changes improved stability, reduced bugs, and helped ensure the game remained responsive and reliable throughout production.