Project Overview

What made Phantom Hellcat unique with its Level Design was its mixing of 2D and 3D elements. Levels needed to use both 2D side-scroll pathing and 3D in the same physical space, with the same movement tools and without the player feeling limited or confused.

This allowed us to do all sorts of fun shenanigans with secrets and hidden paths. 2D paths that showed secrets in the background for the 3D route to go collect, 3D areas that can “bypass” the 2D gates to reach otherwise inaccessible areas, finding ways to use depth in 2D to make the return in 3D just as interesting, just to list a few.

This also required extensive coordination with Art to ensure landmark and hero models were in places that let the player make a mental map despite the camera shenanigans. The main characters’ extreme movement tech heightened this even further, making every inch of the map require consideration.

My role in the project

My role on Hellcat as a Principal Level Designer involved me in all the internal managerial roles for Level Design within Ironbird, including (but not limited to)

• Create Levels from Paper to Blockout
• Trained Juniors to professional Level Designers
• In-depth review processes to secure product quality
• Created the company’s LD processes, from reviews, breakdowns and templates.
• Involved in the hiring process as a technical reviewer

I was also heavily involved as a Movement and Game designer. Due to my proficiency and understanding of relevant movement systems in other games, I often met with our combat and game designers to help build the core pillars the level design team needed to make critical decisions.

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