Time to create: Approximately 115 hours
Design process: I hand-sculpted the landscape and used blockout tools to create the level by follwing my map design
Level design: I carefully placed enemy encounters, loot, chests, traps, NPCs, hidden areas, a main boss room, and a secret boss location
Player experience: I wanted the level to feel intentional, thrilling, exciting, and dangerous while delivering the action RPG experience players love
Estimated playtime: Players can expect to spend roughly 2–3 hours completing the area, depending on their experience with action RPGs
Lighting: I used my intermediate lighting techniques to make the area look and feel more engaging
Time to create: Approximately 45 hours
Purpose: This tower is a key area players must climb to progress to the next Level of the game.
Level design: The tower features secrets, unique enemy encounters, traps, item placements, a puzzle that tests players’ perseverance, and a mini-boss near the top
Player experience: Reaching the summit gives players the chance to witness something they may not have experienced in a game before
Estimated playtime: The level takes around 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the player’s experience
Blockout details: The video focuses on the blockout, so I’ve hidden the enemy placements and encounters, side quests, and puzzles. I also completed the tower’s lighting, enemy placement, puzzles, and breakable objects as part of the blockout design
Design inspiration: The company founder pointed me toward Dark Souls II level design as a reference. I had already spent more than 4,000 hours studying the series becasue I find thier level design intriging and intreasting, a major reason why I become a level designer in first place. That research has helped me understand the core principles behind why it was necessary for the series to have interconnected spaces and carefully guided exploration that felt open and yet so personal exploring the design. Rather than copying its layouts, I drew on those principles to create the tower’s design.
Time to create: Approximately 45 hours
Scale: This level is much smaller than the ones shown in Images 1 and 2
Design process: I took the level from the initial blockout all the way through to set dressing
Update: this map has been now updated with new layouts (10/11/2026)
My work in this project: blockout level designs, gathering references, enemy placements/encounters design, traps, few side quests/puzzles, making breakable objects, provide help in environment set dressing, internal playtesting, discussing new ideas with the company founder/programmer, and Making primitive prototype traps using blueprints.