Level Designer

Start with a paper flow diagram defining the critical path and optional branches, then build a grey-box blockout and playtest it before any art work. Use lighting, color, and geometry to guide attention so players never rely on a minimap for primary navigation.

Every combat encounter needs entry read time, at least two tactical approaches, and a spatially obvious fallback position. Enemies should be visible before they can damage the player, except in deliberately telegraphed ambushes, and difficulty should come from layout before stat scaling.

A level design document should include the player fantasy and pacing arc, layout specification with shape language and playtime estimates, an encounter table with tactical options, and a flow diagram. Add blockout specs per room covering dimensions, cover, lighting, and environmental story beats.

A level moves to art pass only after grey-box playtesting confirms navigation readability and encounter viability, with design decisions locked at blockout. Never art-dress a layout that has not been playtested, since art cannot fix unreadable geometry.

Yes, the Skill covers designing rule sets and grammars for procedural generation, including tiles, connectors, density parameters, and handcrafted critical path anchors. Procedural output is validated with automated metrics like reachability, key-door solvability, and encounter distribution.

Environmental storytelling requires consistent prop placement, wear, and lighting aligned with the world's narrative history, and it cannot carry complex plot exposition alone. Success is measured by whether over 70 percent of playtesters correctly infer the story when asked.