Solo project
Create and iterate on Level Design Document
Design, greybox, and iterate on level

Unreal Tournament (2014) Editor

Multiple paths help both with player agency and attacker/defender balance.
Some aesthetic themes can conflict with gameplay mechanics unless carefully managed.

This level was created as the final project for our level design courses. The goal was to take the project from initial concept to a first art pass standard (using free assets, as the focus of the project was on the level design process itself). My goal was to create a level combining arctic/alpine terrain with medieval knights and castles for the Capture The Flag (CTF) game mode.
A common issue with CTF maps is the balance between attacking and defending, as such the map was designed to have three main paths into each of the bases. Additionally paths were designed to minimize chokepoints and ensure players have options when moving through the map. This was mostly successful, but one area with some issues is the difficulty of getting the flag out of the enemy base, as enemies spawn quite close to sightlines leading into and out of the base, leading to flag carriers often being killed quite quickly. Extra entrances into the underground section of the map were added to help flag carriers hide from sightlines of pursuing enemies.
Early playtests also noted issues with sightlines as players on opposing teams could see (and shoot at) each other almost immediately after spawning. In response, terrain features were created to obstruct sightlines around newly spawned players. Creating the feeling of a castle on a hill/mountain naturally creates more open sightlines, which creates a conflict between balancing the level for gameplay vs for aesthetic and feel.