Binding of the Sun
Binding of the Sun
On Binding of the Sun, I was a game designer during preproduction and a level designer during production.
During preproduction I led the charge with a few other designers on writing, revising, and refining our Game Design Document. I also contributed to writing several Object and Func Specs.
During production, I switched over to level design and built from the ground up one of our key levels with Unity. Binding of the Sun was Diablo III meets Dark Souls with an Aztec setting. I began development by paper-prototyping the level's flow, the size of the environment, and enemy placement.
I then moved on to greyboxing. Initially, the level was set in a jungle/rural environment, but a few weeks in it was changed to an urban one. My new setting was Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. I began doing research on the city, as well as on how Diablo III's city environments look through their isometric camera, which our game had as well.
After many incarnations, I got the level's flow, enemy encounters, and pacing where it needed to be. As more art assets became available, I began to replace my temporary greybox with them. With (much) help from our environment artists, I was able to make the level not only look great, but look like an actual city.
As our enemy A.I. was finishing up, I was also tasked with creating the NavMesh for the level with NavMesh Extension.
Throughout the entire process, I received and implemented constructive criticism from artist, programmers, fellow designers, and management.
Overall, I was able to, with my team, make Binding of the Sun look great, while also, and more importantly, being fun to play!
