Jumphobia: Homeward Bound (Steam)
A 2D PC platformer game about a courier jump-bot who delivers packages throughout the many layers of a city, but finds himself in unfamiliar territory when he is uprooted from his humble workaday life and cast out in favour of a newer model.
My Role
Level Design Intern
Company
Wix Games Ltd
Tools
In house level editor
Timeline
January 2023 - March 2021
My role
My role on this project was to draw up level designs with a clear interest curve and which focussed on the core mechanic of the game; no jump button. The player had to make careful decisions, controlling the velocity of the character as this dictates the length and height of the jump.
Once I had created a level, I would make it using the in house level editor. As it was a very small team at an independent studio, I would send a version of a level to the Creative Director. He would play the level, give feedback and I would improve it before sending it to him for review again.
Once this process was complete, the Creative Director would cherry pick parts of my levels to implement into the game.
Design Process
Design
Build
Test
Present
Level Design Example
Guest experience
Reflections
As this was my first role in the game industry, one of the most rewarding aspects was learning more about the game development process and gaining an understanding of the different workflows involved. As the team was so small (5 members), I was able to speak to all team members working on the project to understand the detail of their roles.
Learning more about what makes great level design was also very rewarding. The main takeaways were:
1. Focus the level around a mechanic and/or narrative. Find creative ways of using a mechanic to create a deeper gameplay experience.
2. Ensure there is a clear interest curve to create a sense of journey through the level.
3. Ask for feedback as much as possible. Other people will almost definitely say or do something I would never have thought of.