Little Hope is the second instalment in the Dark Pictures Anthology. Set in a small abandoned town in rural Massachusetts, a group of college students and their professor find themselves trapped. While being pursued by grotesque beings from the towns dark history and coming face to face with their doppelgangers, the gang must unravel the mysteries of Little Hope and find a way out.
I was part of the core team involved with bringing Little Hope from pre-production to final release. Using the studio modified version of Unreal Engine 4 and their proprietary visual scripting language, I delivered levels from storyboard to final, while also producing the games core narrative and gameplay beats.
Roles And Responsiblities
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Creation of levels and gameplay using the in-house storyboard tool to pre-vis the game from start to finish.
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Developing levels from blockout to final release and iterating upon them alongside the environment artists based on director feedback and needs of the story using a modified version of Unreal Engine 4.
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Blocking out and building upon gameplay mechanics such as interactions, exploration cameras, event triggers etc.
-
Scripting cinematic sequences and integrating third-party animation data to create the games sequences.
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Balancing and adjusting the pacing of sequences based on playtesting and director feedback.
-
Creating the moment-to-moment game flow and logic for the games branching narrative using the studios in house scripting tool.
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Part of a small strike team that determined and evolved the games signature Bearings System, auditing the major choices in the game and how they affect the player.
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Helped determine the games golden path for both Single Player and Alternate Single Player, as well as balance which characters were playable in Multiplayer.
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Onboarded new members of the Design team.
-
Assisted the outsource team with Design and Implementation.
-
Iterating upon gameplay mechanics such as interactions, exploration cameras, event triggers etc.
-
Integrating and editing third-party animation data to create the games sequences.
-
Balancing and adjusting the pacing of sequences based on playtesting and director feedback.
-
Building and iterating upon the collision and navmesh throughout the game.
-
Aided the core team in bug fixing and additional design work using the studios proprietary tool set.
Little Hope is the second instalment in the Dark Pictures Anthology. Set in a small abandoned town in rural Massachusetts, a group of college students and their professor find themselves trapped. While being pursued by grotesque beings from the towns dark history and coming face to face with their doppelgangers, the gang must unravel the mysteries of Little Hope and find a way out.
I was part of the core team involved with bringing Little Hope from pre-production to final release. Using the studio modified version of Unreal Engine 4 and their proprietary visual scripting language, I delivered levels from storyboard to final, while also producing the games core narrative and gameplay beats.
Roles And Responsiblities
-
Creation of levels and gameplay using the in-house storyboard tool to pre-vis the game from start to finish.
-
Developing levels from blockout to final release and iterating upon them alongside the environment artists based on director feedback and needs of the story using a modified version of Unreal Engine 4.
-
Blocking out and building upon gameplay mechanics such as interactions, exploration cameras, event triggers etc.
-
Scripting cinematic sequences and integrating third-party animation data to create the games sequences.
-
Balancing and adjusting the pacing of sequences based on playtesting and director feedback.
-
Creating the moment-to-moment game flow and logic for the games branching narrative using the studios in house scripting tool.
-
Part of a small strike team that determined and evolved the games signature Bearings System, auditing the major choices in the game and how they affect the player.
-
Helped determine the games golden path for both Single Player and Alternate Single Player, as well as balance which characters were playable in Multiplayer.
-
Onboarded new members of the Design team.
-
Assisted the outsource team with Design and Implementation.
-
Iterating upon gameplay mechanics such as interactions, exploration cameras, event triggers etc.
-
Integrating and editing third-party animation data to create the games sequences.
-
Balancing and adjusting the pacing of sequences based on playtesting and director feedback.
-
Building and iterating upon the collision and navmesh throughout the game.
-
Aided the core team in bug fixing and additional design work using the studios proprietary tool set.
Little Hope is the second instalment in the Dark Pictures Anthology. Set in a small abandoned town in rural Massachusetts, a group of college students and their professor find themselves trapped. While being pursued by grotesque beings from the towns dark history and coming face to face with their doppelgangers, the gang must unravel the mysteries of Little Hope and find a way out.
I was part of the core team involved with bringing Little Hope from pre-production to final release. Using the studio modified version of Unreal Engine 4 and their proprietary visual scripting language, I delivered levels from storyboard to final, while also producing the games core narrative and gameplay beats.
Roles And Responsiblities
-
Creation of levels and gameplay using the in-house storyboard tool to pre-vis the game from start to finish.
-
Developing levels from blockout to final release and iterating upon them alongside the environment artists based on director feedback and needs of the story using a modified version of Unreal Engine 4.
-
Blocking out and building upon gameplay mechanics such as interactions, exploration cameras, event triggers etc.
-
Scripting cinematic sequences and integrating third-party animation data to create the games sequences.
-
Balancing and adjusting the pacing of sequences based on playtesting and director feedback.
-
Creating the moment-to-moment game flow and logic for the games branching narrative using the studios in house scripting tool.
-
Part of a small strike team that determined and evolved the games signature Bearings System, auditing the major choices in the game and how they affect the player.
-
Helped determine the games golden path for both Single Player and Alternate Single Player, as well as balance which characters were playable in Multiplayer.
-
Onboarded new members of the Design team.
-
Assisted the outsource team with Design and Implementation.
-
Iterating upon gameplay mechanics such as interactions, exploration cameras, event triggers etc.
-
Integrating and editing third-party animation data to create the games sequences.
-
Balancing and adjusting the pacing of sequences based on playtesting and director feedback.
-
Building and iterating upon the collision and navmesh throughout the game.
-
Aided the core team in bug fixing and additional design work using the studios proprietary tool set.
Narrative Games
Level Design
Level Design
Writing and Narrative
Writing and Narrative
The Host of Seraphim
Role: Level Designer | Environment Artist
Project developed during Master’s Degree in Game Design
Inspired by the haunting and ethereal track The Host of Seraphim by Dead Can Dance, this two-week solo project challenged me to design a visually striking and emotionally immersive environment. My focus was on level design and environmental storytelling, using mood and atmosphere as key design pillars.
Project Goals:
To create a dark, otherworldly setting that visually echoes the emotional tone of the music—invoking isolation, beauty, and mystery within a playable open-world space.
Key Responsibilities & Tools:
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Level Layout Design: Planned level flow and structure using hand-drawn sketches and environmental design references.
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Landscape Creation: Utilised World Creator 3 to generate height maps, which were then imported into Unreal Engine 4 for terrain sculpting and world building.
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Whiteboxing & Navigation: Established spatial structure and basic geometry to define player navigation and interaction zones.
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Lighting & Mood: Implemented a fully dynamic lighting system with post-processing to enhance the atmosphere and visual tone.
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Environment Art: Placed assets, adjusted terrain, and used UE4 sculpting tools to create believable yet surreal landscapes.
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Level Streaming: Set up optimised level streaming for performance in an open-world setting.
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Audio Implementation: Integrated audio based on physical materials to enhance immersion.
Features:
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Open-world exploration with seamless transitions
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Heightmap-based terrain using World Creator 3
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Fully dynamic, optimised lighting and post-processing
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Atmospheric particle effects and layered environmental storytelling
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Optimised terrain and foliage placement
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Audio cues linked to physical surfaces for added immersion
This project was developed as part of a one-week Ludum Dare game jam, with the theme centered around music. Our chosen track was The Host of Seraphim by Dead Can Dance, which inspired a deeply atmospheric and emotionally-driven experience.
I was responsible for level design, lighting, and environmental art, using World Creator to generate terrain and importing it into Unreal Engine 4 for world-building, sculpting, and mood setting.
The focus was on capturing the haunting tone of the music through visual storytelling and environmental design.
Tools Used:
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World Creator 3
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Unreal Engine 4 (UE4)
To explore the full design process, you can read the documentation here:
Trailer and Screenshots
