Deer Hunter World
3D Level Designer - Glu Mobile (Later, EA)
November 2019 - Current
Deer Hunter World was a mobile first person shooter; a hunting game rooted in real life hunting with an assortment of animals and weapons. I was brought on to the project to help ramp up level design and innovate in the design space to get players more invested in the game.
Duties
Level design: Responsible for creating new PvE missions, Tower Missions, PvP Missions
Configured target behavior scripting, pathing, health, hunt objectives
Designed mission objectives and progression in tandem with level design
Created levels to support PvP game mode from it’s inception
PvP Levels started from my initial greybox, all the way to textured and shippable
Coordinated level design across different disciplines
Worked with engineering and QA to itemize, debug, and solve issues
Documented design practices and processes
Researched and developed new and old design vector combinations to create unique levels
Creating maps to support PvP game mode
One of the roles I was brought on for was to design a set of levels to support the PvP game type that was in development. The big design challenge wasn’t itself making a multiplayer map; the challenge was making a singleplayer map that had enough possibilities to make a fun multiplayer experience.
The process had me researching real world places for visual inspiration, to greyboxing PvP levels, presenting to different disciplines, coordinating with art teams, and eventually implementing the finished product.
I had a great experiencing coordinating the needs of systems designers and project managers with the capabilities of 3D and texture artists.
From Greybox 1...
To Shippable!
Greybox 2...
Shippable 2: A blend of rocks, grass, and hills to provide natural cover
A forest PvP area, inspired by older Deer Hunter titles
A PvP level that I designed from the ground up!
As a Level Designer, one of the many responsibilities I have is iterating on map designs to make for a better experience.
The White placeholder spheres from the previous picture have turned into beautiful rocks!
Deer Hunter World was going to be Glu Mobile’s first crack at the hunting IP, but it faced many challenges, from deciding the different game modes, and player retention. As level designers, we made great strides on defining new design vectors, combinations of mechanics, and maps which capitalize on the first person perspective.
It’s unfortunate that Glu Mobile has sunset Deer Hunter World and stopped development, but the experience and opportunities I’ve gained from my time on project is invaluable. I look forward to bringing that experience with me into the future!