My workflow - when it comes to map design, environmental development, and level flow optimisation - is to first find a point of realism and then build fun and balance into that initial structure. This allows me to create believable settings that compliment gameplay which typically go hand-in-hand with the mechanical testing area in order to create a functional and balanced environment.
Through The Waves (2024)
For the purpose of an Abertay module in partnership with Konglomerate Games, I took charge of game design with three artists and two programmers working on the design of the game. This was the first time that I had ever worked on an underwater environment, but with lots of heavy lifting from the artists, this is easily one of the most beautiful games I have worked on so far. My immediate issue when designing a playable space was how to keep the player from leaving the space, which seemed like an impossible task given the nature of being an underwater creature in its natural habitat. This lead me to research realistic ocean terraforming and eventually to the pleasant sweeping section we landed on.
Map design v1
Map design v2
Map design v3
River development
Costal erosion
3D map design v1
POI highlight design
Directional indicator design
POI highlight
Directional indicator
Exit design
Exit
Final map design
Dishonored DLC (2021)
As part of a D&A college module, we were asked to critically analyise and create DLC for a game we liked. One of my top games of all time is 'Dishonored' (2012) and has served as inspiration for a lot of my work. In this setting, the player wakes up in a strange nightmare world with the goal of saving the game's plot vitctim, Emily. The setting spans the majority of the city, exploring previously undesigned areas and revisiting previous notable points, this time from the lens of a total plague lockdown, building on the existing lore. In the city, the player can come across the three main factions already present in the main game, the Overseers, the Sixway gang, and the infected Weepers, each of which can be interacted with throughout the levels to impact the later levels, something'Dishonored' does very well.
Progression map
Sewer design
HQ floor 1 design
HQ floor 2 design
Who Am I (2022)
A D&A college module, the brief prompted us to create a sci-fi setting in which the player awakens with no knowledge of how they got there. My first thought was some kind of scientific laboratory, along 'Portal's lines - it had to be clinical, imposing and abandoned under odd circumstances. This led me to create a strange 2000s inspired office setting with multiple derelict offices, infrastructure to support a large workforce, and a lavish workspace for the higher ups. The game is mostly a walking sim and the story is vague but the environment conveyed the sense of curiosity I wanted.
2nd floor design
3rd floor design
Map design draft
Map design final
D&D and Misc Projects
This is a series of different map designs that I have done for personal projects thoughout the years. Predominently homebrewed 'Dungeons & Dragons' content, this section also explores some of my smaller projects that are not notable enough for a dedicated space.
Mosswell Manor.
A once noble family residence, the towns residents report it falling into disrepair with a sickly aura eminating from its grounds - inside, unbeknownst to the villagers, a strange cult summoning an ancient monstrosity and the madness left in the ritual's wake. Originally a standalone adventure, it was incorperated to my Saffen's Tower series.
Floor 1 design
Floor 2 design
Basement design
Mosswell Hamlet and RED 3D's starting town.
Both small personal projects, the hamlet served as reference when running my game session with each location having npcs each with relevant information to the situation at hand, while the starting town is more of a 'set dressing' for the beginning of an advanture - designed for the player to leave behind.
Mosswell Hamlet design
Starting town v1 design
Starting town v2 design
Thellon Valley.
Originally a design I came up with while in art class in highschool ten years ago, the setting was an island and the project was Thellon Isle, it has seen recent development into a realisitc and plausable setting. The world was designed with the idea of keeping the player inside without needing invisible barriers and so instead nestles the entire setting in a eco-pocket of a much larger mountain, surrounding the space with impassible cliffs and a sheer drop.
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This project is currently my map for 'Saffen's Descent' and so I wanted to put some real effort into it, looking into real life weather patterns, biome and terrain distribution, environmental determinism and real world river formation.
Thellon Valley layout
Thellon Valley design
more Thellon Valley design
Strandmire. Homebrewed D&D.
This one is set in a vast swamp with the only habited locations being small coastal towns. The swamp holds an ancient sealed evil and its long forgotten army. The story follows the players' disurbing its rest and resulting in a minor apocalypse - classic 'The Mummy' (1999) type stuff.
Strandmire sketch
Strandmire digital sketch
Tavern layout
Tavern design
Shadow Over Innsmouth. Abertay module.
As part of a module on level design in Unreal, I put together a small setting in a tavern on a lone island. The player wakes in a room with bustle downstairs and 3 possible paths to get downstairs, realising the building is diserted when they get there with the ambience chaning to a harsh storm and whispering. They are given 3 more paths forward, each leading to a different ending - there is even a secret ending.
3D tavern
Final tavern
Mushroom concept
New World. A Dundee and Angus module.
This project was more of a setting and environment than map design but is worth mentioning as it turned into one of the more interesting 3D pieces I have done. It takes place on a world covered in lava rivers, constant electric storms and a heat-resistant mycelium that has populated most of the planets surface, it thrives on the geothermal heat and static.
Final environment