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1943: Rise of Hydra

Level Designer

Release date: 2025

In October 2022, I was hired by Virtuos as an Associate Level Designer to work with Skydance New Media on

1943: Rise of Hydra. This project is expected to release in 2025.

Responsibilities: 

  • Worked alongside Senior Designers throughout various stages of production to build and iterate upon multiple Level Design spaces involving Traversal, Combat, Exploration, and Navigational Puzzles.

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  • Conceptualized, pitched, and designed rich gameplay spaces for main story beats that ensured adherence to high-level Design Pillars as well as major narrative themes.

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  • Redesigned existing level layouts based on feedback to better align with Narrative and Gameplay requirements.

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  • Utilized Unreal Engine Blueprints to script combat encounters.

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  • Rapidly prototyped Level Design Testbeds (i.e. Level Gyms) using blockmesh/geometry to assist leadership in evaluating engagement metrics of various traversal player mechanics via contextual and abstract environments. [Example here]

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  • Communicated and collaborated with both internal and client-side developers (Design, Art, Engineering, Creative Director) to review designs, receive feedback, and iterate using novel solutions that achieved critical Design, Art, and Narrative requirements.

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  • Communicated and collaborated with Camera team to ensure cinematic presentation of gameplay spaces.

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  • Participated in playtests and level reviews to inform various departments of bugs, identify improvement points, and provide feedback/solutions.

Overview

Narrative/Setting: In the chaos of war, worlds collide. Captain America and Azzuri, the Black Panther of the 1940s, must overcome their differences and form an uneasy alliance to confront their common enemy. Fighting alongside Gabriel Jones of the Howling Commandos, and Nanali, a Wakandan spy embedded in Occupied Paris, they must join forces to stop a sinister plot that threatens to turn the havoc of WWII into the ultimate rise of Hydra.

Genre: 3rd Person, Narrative-Driven, Action/Adventure
Platform: PC/Console
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Team Size: AAA
Role: Level Design

This project was featured at the GDC 2024 "State of Unreal" Presentation (skip to 2:53)

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