San Saeon

Personal Project - Unreal Engine

Summary

The Republic intercepts a rumor of a data drive guarded by General Draven, ruthless leader of a Brotherhood-held city, containing secrets that could shift the tide of the bio war. Agent Shadow is dispatched behind enemy lines to infiltrate Draven's stronghold, eliminate him, and retrieve the drive. The fate of the war now hinges on the data it holds.


About the Level

  • Developed over 6 weeks

  • Unreal Engine 5.4.4, Illustrator, Photoshop

  • All meshes hand modeled (excluding character)

  • IWALS v1.1 Combat Kit

  • ~15 minutes of Gameplay

  • FPS Campaign Level

Intentions

  • Showcase Mission Design, Scripting, Level Design, Modeling, Stealth Route Design, and Combat Space Design Skills

  • Script utility that functions to guide the player along the golden path

  • Design Exotic Vistas that showcase the level

Top Down 2D Layout

Custom Blueprint Systems

Tutorial Widget

Player Death (Teleport)

Checkpoint System

Quest System

Loading Docks

This section opens the level with a scripted boat ride, built using UE5 Sequencer and a custom trigger system. I designed it to control the player's entry point, frame the environment, and deliver initial narrative context through a diegetic voiceover. The setup introduces the space without a cutscene, giving the player a smooth, in-world transition into gameplay.

Invisible Boundaries

  • Purpose: Prevents players from leaving the intended gameplay area

  • Setup: Large red walls used as invisible collision barriers, visible only in editor

  • Design Intent: Maintains immersion while guiding player flow without obvious visual blockers

Multi-Route Design

  • Route 1 (Yellow): Passes through crane sequence with movement-focused interaction

  • Route 2 (Green): Offers direct rappel from rooftop for vertical access

  • Design Intent: Routes built to feel distinct and reward exploration

  • Result: Adds replayability and supports varied player approaches

Boat Ride Intro

  • Purpose: Cinematic boat ride introduces the level and sets tone before gameplay begins

  • Setup: Player spawn triggers a Sequencer controlling boat movement and intro voiceover

  • Initial Problem: Logic was placed in Level Blueprint—caused voiceover to repeat on every respawn

  • Design Impact: Broke immersion and created audio overlap during testing

  • Solution: Moved logic into a custom Blueprint with a one-time trigger

  • Result: Intro now plays only once, cleanly onboarding the player without disrupting future respawns

Crane Sequence & Movement

  • Purpose: Creates a shortcut to an upper platform, giving players a new way forward

  • Setup: Trigger box starts a Timeline that animates the crane and cable

  • Movement Logic: Cargo lifts, moves across a gap, and drops into position as a bridge

  • Design Intent: Timeline used for precise pacing and to clearly show world reaction to player input

  • Result: Adds optional path without requiring combat or backtracking

Guard Tower

  • Designed two approach options: frontal assault or stealth via side scaffolding

  • Ground floor enemies encourage cautious play or early engagement

  • Locker room provides a deliberate stealth entry point for silent takedowns

  • Scaffolding route bypasses first two floors, rewarding exploration and stealth

  • Routes converge on upper floors to maintain structure and pacing before rooftop fight

  • Goal: Give players flexible tactical choices while preserving tension and escalation

Guard Tower Layout & Iteration

  • Final design: 2 full floors and 2 half floors along the south wall

  • Early version had 4 full floors—slowed pacing and diluted tension

  • Iterated by reducing two floors to half-width, preserving vertical progression

  • Tightened traversal timing and encounter spacing to keep pressure high

  • Balanced cover, sightlines, and enemy placement for fast, room-to-room combat

Helicopter Mini-Boss

  • First major enemy encounter, serving as a mini-boss before the final showdown.

  • General Draven, inside a helicopter, deploys four elite troops to engage the player.

  • Designed to escalate difficulty and create a high-intensity moment.

  • Bridges the gap between standard encounters and the climactic boss fight ahead.

General Draven’s Penthouse

The level culminates in a rooftop boss fight against Draven, reached via zipline and maintenance elevator. This encounter was designed to feel personal and high-stakes, emphasizing his role as the core antagonist. After securing the data drive, the player jumps from the penthouse and parachutes to the dockside boat introduced at the start. This final sequence ties the level’s spatial loop together, rewarding players who tracked environmental cues.

Zipline Escape – Design Notes

  • Non-combat traversal moment to shift pacing mid-chase

  • Framed for skyline reveal and vertical scale

  • Tuned zipline speed and camera to feel urgent but controlled

  • Bridges combat beats while maintaining narrative tension

Final Escape & Mission Complete

  • Parachute drop from penthouse to docks after Draven’s defeat

  • Landing zone mirrors opening scene, closing the loop narratively

  • Designed as a cinematic finish with a clear sense of closure

  • Highlights the Data Drive objective and rewards the player’s pursuit

Water Treatment Facility (Exterior)

This area introduces the level’s first open-ended space, offering three distinct paths.

  • Vertical Route: Rooftop access with a sniper rifle rewards tactical players

  • Underwater Route: Hidden path for explorers willing to stray from the main flow

  • Key-Based Entry: Direct path through the main doors, reinforcing narrative progression

  • Each route was designed to support different playstyles and increase replayability through meaningful player choice.

Multi-Route Design

  • Designed this space to offer distinct, replayable routes aligned with different player instincts:

    • Yellow Route: Swim through purifier tanks—hidden, exploration-focused path

    • Green Route: Side approach that encourages experimentation and non-linear traversal

    • Red Route: Rooftop flank with sniper rifle placement, rewarding tactical positioning
      Each route supports a unique engagement style, reinforcing player choice and agency.

Rooftop Combat Design

  • Sniper rifle placement encourages long-range engagements and tactical variety.

  • Designed to give players the option to experiment with different combat styles.

  • AI spawns via trigger boxes, ensuring encounters feel reactive to player movement.

  • Patrol routes vary in timing, creating dynamic engagements that reward observation and planning.

Electrical Power Plant

Built to contrast aggressive and stealth-focused playstyles through route-driven consequences:

  • Direct Entry: Swimming or main door triggers an alarm, escalating into a 6-enemy firefight; sniper rifle near entrance rewards awareness

  • Stealth Route: Vent shaft bypasses the alarm entirely, allowing silent re-entry into the plant

  • Payoff: Button inside disables alarms, triggering a short camera sequence that reveals a final enemy ambush
    Designed to create tension through contrast—chaotic combat vs. quiet control—and reward players who approach methodically

Multiple Routes to the Alarm

  • Yellow Route: The safest option, offering ample cover and high vantage points for tactical play.

  • Green Route: The fastest but most dangerous path, with minimal cover, requiring speed and aggression.

  • Red Route: Bypasses the alarm entirely, connecting from the ventilation shaft for a stealth approach.

  • Designed to let players adapt their strategy based on playstyle and previous choices in the level.

Locked Door & Alarm Shutdown

  • After the firefight, a locked door blocks progression, requiring player interaction.

  • Button in the offices disables the alarm and unlocks the door.

  • Designed to create a brief moment of tension before moving forward.

  • Encourages environmental exploration and reinforces the level’s interconnected layout.

  • Rewards spatial awareness by making players engage with their surroundings.

Alarm Trigger & Combat Encounter

  • Entering from any route except the ventilation path triggers an alarm, alerting six armed enemies, including snipers.

  • Designed to create a chaotic, high-intensity fight, requiring quick reactions and smart positioning.

  • Secret ventilation path rewards exploration, offering a stealthier, more controlled entry.

  • Intended to escalate tension while reinforcing player choice and risk vs. reward dynamics.

Water Treatment Facility (Offices)

This section opens with a water-maze puzzle that requires players to trace power flow, disable fan obstacles, and progress through light exploration.
Combat then ramps up with flexible enemy placement supporting both stealth and direct engagement.
On the second floor, a vertical alternate route—accessible by climbing boxes—rewards curious players with a flanking advantage.
Designed to blend light puzzle-solving with tactical freedom and replayable encounter variety.

Rotating Fans – Environmental Obstacle

  • Fans block the player's path to the Water Treatment Facility, acting as an interactive obstacle.

  • Triggered by a single box trigger when the player enters the water area.

  • Rotation controlled by a Timeline node to create continuous movement.

  • Players must interact with nearby machinery to disable the fans and proceed.

  • Removed additional trigger boxes, simplifying the scripting structure and improving performance.

Multi-Route Gameplay – Stealth & Combat Options

  • Designed with two distinct paths to accommodate different playstyles.

  • Stealth Route: Allows players to bypass combat, avoiding guards on the first and second floors.

  • Intended to emphasize player choice and encourage strategic exploration.

  • Supports varied approaches and adds replayability by offering multiple ways to progress.

Level Design Techniques

Framing - One of my biggest priorities throughout the level was ensuring that objectives and pathways were clearly framed through composition, vantage points, and lighting contrast. To achieve this, I placed POV cameras in the editor at major entry points to evaluate how players would first see each space. This allowed me to iterate on geometry, lighting, and environmental storytelling to naturally guide the player's eye toward their next goal.

Pacing - To maintain an engaging rhythm, I mixed high-intensity combat encounters with non-combat action sequences like the zipline chase after General Draven. This moment was designed as a high-energy traversal moment, breaking up the pacing while offering a dramatic skyline vista, keeping the momentum high without overloading the player with back-to-back firefights.

Lighting for Tension - Late in development, I adjusted the combat spaces to enhance tension. By switching the lighting to a deep red and introducing an alarm sound effect, I created a more urgent atmosphere as the player rushes to escape the energy section and turn off the alarm. This shift made the sequence feel more intense and climactic, reinforcing the stakes of the mission.

First Blockout

Key Design Iterations

Guard Tower Rooftop

First Iteration

  • Highest level of blockout generally assigning the space and that it was going to be used to provide a zipline to the final boss building

Second Iteration

  • Began Developing the transportation from the fourth floor with the elevator and added some light cover along with a maintenance area beneath the platform

Final Design

  • Removed the maintenance hole based on the lack of interest in playtesting and added a helicopter pad. This idea snowballed into adding a helicopter fight

Water Facilities Exterior

First Iteration

  • Highest level of blockout generally assigning the space and that it was going to be used to provide a passageway to the next area through the pools

Second Iteration

  • Added geometry to the surrounding environment to shape the area and give it more of an open area feel with lots of cover and varying sightline lengths

Final Design

  • Added a second route out of the area through the nuclear facility passageway, added area lights to light up important walkways on the catwalks, added a rooftop to the water offices with a sniper for players to enjoy the longer sight lines

Energy Plant Interior

First Iteration

  • Highest level of blockout generally assigning the space and that it was going to be used. Not a clear direction with this area on the first iteration, but I knew that it needed to connect the water facilities and the guard wall. I also knew that this area needed interesting combat and to feel different than the previous area

Second Iteration

  • Added a primary facility to this area and made the gameplay indoors to juxtapose the previous wide open outdoor section. The facility still includes a wide open space with long site lines, but climbing into the scaffolding allows tighter close quarters combat

Final Design

  • To really separate this area from the previous water works I changed the area to trigger an alarm that activates when you approach from any angle except the hidden passageway through the vents. This created a high tension moment with a very different pacing tempo than the previous go at your own pace area

Early 2D Maps

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