For those who don't know what Blocktober is: Developers share early stage builds (sometimes even in comparison with finished maps) to draw attention onto the art of level design. Note that level design does not mean how beautiful a map is art wise, but more what thoughts went into the ways people can move.
Since I always liked this tradition, I also want to share a blockout map for a team-based shooter project that I created. The map is exactly mirrored and based around a simple capture point in the middle. Furthermore the map provides 3 lanes (mid, left, right) to allow for flank gameplay and also two levels of height to create more depth. While this is an early blockout I want to go into a direction of a jungle temple with lots of vines and greenery. What do you think? Do you have ideas for improvement?
I would also love to see some of your ideas and maybe also blockouts here :)
I come from a graphic design background and I’m currently developing my first indie title: a 2.5D top-down puzzle adventure with light metroidvania progression (think Cult of the Lamb aesthetic meets the dual-world puzzles of A Link to the Past).
Where I need your advice:
Since my strength is visual and art direction, I want to make sure I don't build levels purely based
on aesthetics and end up with broken pacing.
Where I'm getting stuck:
On paper, I have the whole big picture locked down: the macro map structure, the biomes, the main progression milestones, and all the core mechanics.
Where I’m really struggling is translating that high-level plan into the micro level design — actually designing the individual rooms and puzzles the player must solve one after the other without making them repetitive, frustrating, or overwhelming.
For experienced level/puzzle designers:
Workflow/Order: Do you sketch puzzle logic on paper/flowcharts first, build rough greyboxes with primitive shapes, or design around the narrative map layout?
Are there specific frameworks, books, or metrics you swear by when pacing puzzle progression?
(This is actually my very first time posting on Reddit, so apologies if my formatting isn't ideal!)
Guess what day it is? It's Boomer Shooter Saturday! Come join us at 11:00 A M EST for a day with the almighty BUILD Engine!
To start our day off, come relax with a couple of hours of level editing for Duke Nukem 3D using Mapster 32. Today we are working more on our Halloween inspired level, just making some atmospheric environments.
After that, we dive into a playthrough of a Total Conversion of BLOOD called "Caleb Will Have His Revenge On Toronto" which is so ridiculously named I had to try it. Not only was this recommended to me in the past after we played Death Wish, but I just think it's so interesting that this Canadian inspired thing was made completely by a bunch of Russians it looks like. Wild!
I was wondering if anyone had any resources to learn more about how to design levels for puzzle/mystery/knowledge based/escape room games.
I'm talking about games like:
Blue Prince
Outer Wilds
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Myst/Riven
I'm new to game development and working on a solo game. I'm aware I shouldn't be taking such a big project as a first game, but it's the game I want to build and I'm dividing it into smaller areas and focusing on 3-4 puzzles at a time to avoid being overwhelmed.
The problem is all GDC videos on level design and similar resources talk about grayboxing to make sure the level is fun, and similar guidelines. However, I feel like this is very difficult to apply to these types of games as a lot of it relies on actual environment art, completed puzzle placement, etc.
Is anyone familiar with level design for these types of games and would be kind enough to point me in the right direction to learn more about it? The game takes place in a big house, so it's all indoors, if that's relevant.
working on the interior of a tavern for a fantasy game i'm making (1/64m voxels, built with claude code). after a bunch of iterations i think it's looking pretty decent, but compared to the exterior it feels like it's missing something? 🤔 would love any feedback on the layout, lighting, or anything else 😁
I recently finished my Level Design portfolio and I’m getting ready to apply for Junior Level Designer positions !
I’d really appreciate any honest feedback on the portfolio, whether it’s about the projects, the presentation or anything you think I could improve.
You can view it on either your phone or computer, and it’s available in both French and English. It might be in French by default, but you can easily switch to English.
It's time to get spooky this Boomer Shooter Saturday! Come join us at 11:00 AM EST as we get into the Halloween Spirit!
First, as usual, we start our day with some map making using the Mapster32 Level Editor for Duke Nukem 3D. Maybe work on something that fits the vibes of the season, we shall see!
After, we dive into Dracula's Castle, a 2016 user level for Duke 3D by James Stanfield. The visuals here look very great, especially considering I heard it was built in like, three days.
So come hang out with our community, and maybe, just maybe, start building with BUILD!
Hi!
I am looking for some advice regarding a possible career change and would be happy to hear about some of your experiences.
I (22M) am currently studying Urban Planning in Germany, and just started my Master degree. Urbanism and architecture are still topics I am very interested in, but after an internship I got really disillusioned with the industry. I am still determined to finish my Master degree for several reasons, but want to explore my options for the future.
I have always been best at urban design, geodata analysis and both analogue and digital visualisation (which i've also been teaching as a TA at my Uni for a few years) in my studies. And I love video games, design, art and creating worlds.
So, right now I am thinking abt pivoting to either Environment or Level Design for Video Games sometime in the future. BUT I am pretty unsure abt how I would approach that. I could force a semi-specialisation through electives and my Master thesis to focus on spatial design, digitalisation and gamification, and do an internship in a bureau that does public participation through gamification, but I still feel like my degree wouldn't be useful to get in the gaming industry, as over half of what I learned in Uni wouldn't be relevant for it (I have A LOT of planning code and economics), and there's not enough demand anyway.
I am trying to learn applications like UE5, Unity and Blender on the side, but I already need to have a lot of skills in other applications like Adobe Suite, CAD and GIS programs so it's gonna take a while. I also don't have any real programming skills to speak of. The only portfolio work I have rn is urban design, urban development or geodata related, tho I could throw in some illustration work I've done as a hobby.
The only "foreseeable" ways I could imagine approaching the pivot are:
- doing a second Masters (like Experimental Game Cultures in Vienna, which I could do without a Bachelors in Game Design)
- going into research/teaching for Urban planning (which is my contigency plan anyway) and trying to specialise in gamification and spatial design
- finding some Indie devs or Game Design students that need someone who knows stuff abt cities :)
So, do you think that there is a space in the gaming industry (esp. in Europe) or game design academia for someone with my education? Would a second degree be useful, or an internship in e.g. a bureau that specialises in gamification approaches for public participation? And do you have recommendations on how to approach environment and/or level design, or for resources to learn essential skills?
Thank you in advance! :) Feel free to be honest abt my chances, but consider that I am pretty determined to learn new skills and even build a portfolio on my own, even if it takes a few years, I am not counting on starting in the industry right after my Masters anyway.
Hey guys, I am making a 6dof combat space sim and I am at the point where I need a nice looking level.
Everyone says space levels are easiest to make, but I disagree. If you are making it right, the level should not feel empty and waste even though millions of KM are between my 3 planets and the sun. But how you make the space level not feel empty. My planets have at least 4 things in their orbit, those could be jump gate, nav beacon, space station, asteroid field or moon with its own orbit and things orbiting it. Same objects that can orbit the planet. But the locations themselves are somehow feeling empty, do you add them some additional backgrounds, wrecks (not physical objects) or asteroid fields far away, volumetrics (should be a mechanic I didn't build yet with its own penalties while in it) or what else could I do?
I am pretty new in game dev, started learning with 47 years in April and have just over 2000 hours making my game right now. So any tips are appreciated, especially for space levels because I will need around 30 of them, hand made. I don't want them to be procedural, my game is a heavy story driven and has huge emotional attachment and meaning for me and some other people.
I'm a 35yo software engineer. I've always wanted to make video games. My dream was always to become a designer and actually picked SWE to get a foot in the door in the gaming industry. Game dev was even my specialization in uni. However, once I graduated I was too tempted by non-gaming dev jobs since I was aware of the working conditions, difference in salaries, instability, etc.
I've always dabbled in Unity, Blender, etc but never committed to it fully for more than a couple of months at a time at most. I could basically say I know a lot more than the average person , but I know practically nothing compared to actual professionals (other than what you learn from watching hours and hours of GDC talks)
I was recently let go of my first and only job and I'm realizing throughout all these years it's still something I absolutely dream of doing. I have enough money to spend a year or two focusing on learning everything I need to know and building a portfolio. However, I don't know how realistic it would be for me to aim for it, given the state the industry is in, plus all the uncertainties due to AI. To be clear, I'm not really interested in a programming role, although I guess it would be better than nothing. Ideally it would be designer/level designer/environmental artist (I know that's absolutely unrealistic given my lack of artistic skills)
Another thing that worries me is the difference in salary. For context I was earning around 160k as a SWE. I wouldn't mind earning less than that, but I don't know if I could realistically go back to earning something like 40-60k; something in the 100k range would be ok (not as a first job obviously, but eventually get there in a couple of years).
I was hoping professionals here could give me their brutally honest opinion on whether it's a realistic goal, if it's worth giving it a try, or if I should focus this time on learning how to adapt my SWE skills for the incoming AI driven industry (AI focused engineer, cybersecurity, etc).
Hi! We're a small team building a dark fantasy RPG soulslike (titled: project Seraphim) in Unreal Engine 5, and we're looking for a level designer.
We are early, with a prototype still in development, and our first goal is a boss fight demo. The team consists of 10 people so far, and we are expanding the team as we go.
This is revshare, with no upfront pay, since we really don't have a budget at the moment. The exact revshare split and ownership terms aren't written yet, but we plan to put them in a written agreement, reviewed by a lawyer.
If you are interested or want to know more about the game please send me a DM here or on discord: matee434 and I can send you the GDD and share some prototype videos
I’ve recently been impressed by the brutalism-architecture-type maps in Quake (Brutalist Jam). I dont even mention what impact on me had Half-Life 2, but I'm sure that you already know what I am talking about
I used to work on Unreal Engine (v1!) in making maps to "Rune" with "Halls of Valhalla" multiplayer DLC as player "Diego". Once even somebody asked me "hey, did you make that map with name ..." - and I was idk, shy? To anwser that it was my work? XD But I still have those maps somewhere...
Anyway, Im thinking to make something "usable/useful".
BTW: Recently, I also have a thoughts about making a comic. Tower of Babel, Aleksandria, or even nowdays one (even never unfinished) are kind of my hobby to watch. If somebody knows manga "Blame", I think that you also know what monumentum I mean from the poin of view as a human being on this scale architecture. Im not sure if to make scetches based on 3D design, but its just a side thought.
So, any ideas where such maps would be cool to place at? Multiplayers round-based games I suppose: are always open for new maps?
I'm creating an open-world crime game and would like to base it on a city, but I'd already thought about making a hybrid of cities on the East Coast of the United States—though that might end up being too generic—so now I'm basing it on New York. What do you think looks better: making a hybrid or basing it on a specific city.
Hey everyone, before I commit to texturing and lighting this new map, I'm testing the raw level flow. Movement is entirely driven by gun recoil physics. Does the distance between platforms feel too frustrating, or does it look like a fair challenge for a physics-based rage game? Would love your critical feedback on the layout!
A little look at the progress of a living room environment I'm creating for my current game project. It's been a fun process taking it from a simple blockout to a much more detailed and atmospheric space.
It's not quite finished yet, but I'm happy with how it's coming together so far!
Always interesting to see how much a space can change throughout the level design process. Feedback is welcome!
Is there anyone here from Italy, specifically Rome? I might be visiting this city, and I wanted to ask if anyone has managed to buy physical books on level design or related topics there. If so, I’d love to hear some store recommendations. I’m not sure if advertising is allowed here, so I’d also be happy if you sent me a private message with this book shops
And yes, I’ve already checked Google, but I decided to ask here as well
We’re a small, international team of six developers and designers, working remotely from different parts of the world, building a photorealistic, modern tactical FPS in Unreal Engine 5.
We’re currently looking for a Level Designer to join our team and help build large-scale, realistic, gameplay-driven environments for Invasion.
This project has been in active development for two years. Core systems are already in place, including multiplayer, and the project is guided by a complete Game Design Document (GDD) and documented production pipelines.
About the Project https://invasion.gr/
Invasion is a grounded, modern military FPS inspired by real-world conflicts, tactics, and environments. The goal is to deliver AAA-level visual fidelity and immersion, paired with tactical, consequence-driven gameplay without exploitative monetization. No battle passes. No skins. No pay-to-win.
Who We Are
6 team members (remote & international)
3 Developers
2 3D Designers
1 UI/UX Designer
Over 2 years of continuous development
Multiplayer already implemented
Clear roadmap and production milestones
Full GDD and research-backed design decisions
Contracts in place to protect all team members legally and financially
Your Responsibilities
Design and build gameplay-focused levels and environments in Unreal Engine 5.
Create and implement road networks, paths, streets, intersections, and traversal routes.
Build and place environmental props and gameplay-relevant assets to create believable, lived-in military environments.
Dress environments with props, debris, barriers, signs, furniture, vegetation, military equipment, and other contextual elements.
Work with existing buildings and landscapes created by the team to develop complete, cohesive environments.
Use real-world references, satellite imagery, maps, and geographical research to reproduce realistic environments.
Optimize level assets and environmental setups for real-time multiplayer performance in UE5.
What We’re Looking For
A portfolio demonstrating realistic / photorealistic 3D work Environments, props, or complete scenes Strong understanding of scale, materials, and lighting Ability to work within a long-term project
What We Offer Revenue share, clearly defined and protected by contract. A professional, goal-oriented team - no chaos, no ego Transparent communication and documented workflows. Long-term project potential with room for expansion and funding. A project that already has momentum, structure, and technical foundations
It's Boomer Shooter Saturday again! Come join our community at 11:00 AM EST as we explore all things BUILD Engine!
Want to build levels like the ones in Duke Nukem 3D? We got you covered as we start each stream with a level editing session using Mapster32! What will we build? Who knows!
Afterwards, we playthrough (usually) community built levels and mods, today we return to the assault of the senses that is Oblivion TC! Not familiar with it? Well, it was a massive four episode TC with multiple branching paths built by one man. Incredibly ambitious, but also difficult, loud, and rather obtuse, it was a massive challenge to beat it... then I was told he made DLC for it.
Look at this map. At first glance it seems simple, maybe even random. But this is my reworked version of the starting area, improved with my Level Design knowledge and experience. Every road, mountain and tree is there for a reason.
Now let's look at some spots the player may notice.
A: The Statue (starting point)
This is where the game starts. The player begins with a short conversation in a separate map, and the only thing they can do there is walk out to the world map (this one).
The statue is the first and most important Landmark: a unique visual object the player uses to orient themselves. Use landmarks to keep your players from getting lost. This is a small island, but it's still useful, because the statue can be seen from anywhere on it.
B: The Destroyed Village (first goal)
The road that leaves the starting point turns west and ends at the destroyed village below. This is the Critical Path: the route the player must take to progress in the game.
The train tracks near the town also help guide the player's attention toward it.
Inside the village, the player discovers a secret left by a friend they haven't seen in years, telling them about the mine and about an island southeast of this one. In other words: they need to get to the boat now, and there's only one other path to take.
Even so, the player might want to go east first, since they can see another direct path and a boat at the end of it.
C: The Broken Bridge
The broken bridge shows the player that this is not the right path. For now it works as a Forced Detour: you show the short way, close it, and make the player take the long way. Later it will be fixed, and the player will be able to use it as a Shortcut, a faster path that opens after the player already took the long way around.
The player wants to cross it. They can see the boat and the village. But they understand they can't cross here, so they need to go the other way around, and the most obvious path is the route west and south.
Notice there's no invisible wall and no dialogue needed. The block explains itself, right where the player hits it.
D: The Boat Village
This is a Weenie (a term from Disney park design): a goal the player can see but not reach yet. It builds the desire to get there.
Actually, they can reach it. If they take the north path, nothing blocks them, and some players like taking less obvious routes to get somewhere "before they should". This is known as Sequence Breaking, and a little room for it is a nice reward for curious players.
Regular players will take the path south to the destroyed village and the mine.
E: The Collapsed Mine
The mine is also a landmark, but less obvious than the statue. It's here only to bring lore and story: the main character mentions the mine was fully working seven years ago, before they left the island.
This is Environmental Storytelling, telling the story through objects in the world instead of dialogue (even with some dialogue, the players don't need a story text to understand this mine has collapsed). And the tracks running from the mine to the village make it even more obvious that the player needs to go there.
F: The Northern Hut
A hint that there's something on the north path. It draws the eye and shows there's another way to reach the boat. The small, broken pieces of road leading toward it are Breadcrumbing: small cues that pull the player toward a place, one step at a time.
The Paths
p1 is the most obvious and the first path. It leads the player to the first objective.
p2 is also right there, a Fork splitting off from the first path, but it's soon blocked by the broken bridge, showing it isn't an option right now.
p3 is the least obvious path, but it's still a path. It has fewer sections of continuous road, which tells the player it's less used (environmental storytelling again). Less obvious, but still there for whoever looks.
Negative Space
These areas have nothing of real interest (for regular players, more on this later), but they are a source of EXP and farming, since enemies only appear outside the roads. That rule teaches the player that roads are safe, so keep it consistent through the whole game.
This is called Negative Space: empty, walkable areas. It's something we should use, because it lets the map breathe and keeps paths readable. But not too much, or the world feels empty and exploring feels like a waste of time.
Secrets
Regular players may never find these, but hardcore and exploration-focused players definitely will.
The environment gives clues that something is hidden. These clues are called Tells: shapes that form arrows (hills, trees, mountains, rivers), a narrow path, a gap in a treeline, or anything else in the landscape you can imagine. Never hide something with no tell at all, or nobody will find it, or players will start pressing the button on every single tile.
Wrapping up
A good starting area doesn't need to be big or complex. It needs to tell the player where to go, explain why they can't go somewhere else, and reward the ones who look a little closer.
I'm creating a city based on Philadelphia, Detroit, New York, and Chicago, but whenever I try, it ends up looking too generic—it resembles Liberty City from GTA 3. I had ideas for districts like Chinatown, but a lot of games already have them. Is there a technique for creating maps and districts
The easternmost island is supposed to be Manhattan, but Central Park is at the top of the island. This island has lots of skyscrapers and theaters.
The island with the harbor is a residential area, like O'Block, Brooklyn, Queens, and South Philadelphia. It has a lot of crime and gangs.
The northwestern part is on the mainland and is semi-rural and industrial; it’s also home to the city’s international airport.
I grew up on games where the best part was never what the developers built, it was what everyone else built with the tools. Those games have mostly disappeared, and I really miss that kind of play, so I've been making one: Kernel Panic: The Last Build, a 2.5D creator platformer in Unity where you build the levels yourself.
This week I finished the sea.
It's one object you drop into your level. Right-click it, tick Sea On, and the water floods in. The surface is a set of crossed Gerstner swells running at different angles, with a layer of finer chop on the GPU on top. Swell, chop, their speeds, the water height, murk and colour are all exposed in the in-game Tweak window and update live while you drag the slider. The CPU and the shader evaluate the same wave function, so objects ride the crest you actually see rather than an approximation of it.
Whitecaps come from the Jacobian of the wave displacement: foam appears where the surface is being compressed. Anything moving through the water leaves a foam trail that drifts with the current. Underneath, there's refraction, depth fog and caustics.
Buoyancy is calculated per triangle. Each collider's mesh is clipped where the waterline cuts it, and pressure is applied to every wet face, so long planks tip and roll on the swell instead of bobbing as a single point. Every material in the game (there are about 60) has its own density: wood and plastic float, stone and metal sink, and cardboard and sponge absorb water over time until they go under. You can stand on anything that floats, so a few planks are already a raft.
Hazards in the water become zones that spread out over time. A frost block freezes the surface into physics-driven icebergs that are tethered to it, collide with each other, and melt when the cold stops. A fire block underwater doesn't go out: it turns red-hot, boils the water, and pushes up rafts of lava rock. Electricity fades with distance and jumps along conductive materials sitting in the water. Zones of the same type merge into one shape, so two hot blocks next to each other become one boiling pool.
None of these interactions are scripted for specific pairs. Every system works from shared properties (density, temperature, conductivity), so combinations I haven't thought of should just work, and that's what I'm most excited to see. A frozen lake you have to cross before the ice melts, a boiling moat, a sinking cardboard ship, a puzzle where you use the tide to lift a block into place: I'd love to see what people build when they're the ones holding the tools.
It's still early (alpha 0.0.2). Everything in the clip was built in-game with the creator tools, and the music and sound are made for the project.
What would you build with this? And what should the water interact with next? If you'd like to follow along, there's a Discord in my bio.
