Rise Of The Shogun

Project Overview

GDD

Rise Of The Shogun — A solo action‑adventure level built to demonstrate pacing, exploration, and player choice through environmental design and gameplay mechanics.

Role: Lead Level Designer (Solo Project)
Responsibilities: Level layout, gameplay scripting, map blockout, asset placement, pacing, and environmental storytelling.

Design Goals
Player Choice & Agency:

• Allow players to select their preferred weapon at the start of the game, enabling them to adopt a combat style that best fits their playstyle. NPC dialogue choices further influence gameplay, letting players respond either kindly or aggressively. While both options progress the story, aggressive responses provide direct answers to the final puzzle, whereas kinder responses result in riddles, encouraging players to engage with the narrative and problem-solve.


• The player character is intentionally aggressive, reflecting their backstory and personality. I chose to reinforce this through dialogue design, where aggressive responses feel more natural and provide clearer progression.
  
  This decision was made to move away from the common “hero-focused” design seen in many games. Instead, I wanted players to experience the world from the perspective of a more hostile, morally ambiguous character, while still maintaining meaningful choice.
  

Interactive Progression

• Encourage players to explore the environment and engage in critical thinking through interactive mechanics such as shooting hidden targets, collecting keys, and deciphering a code. These mechanics are integrated into the level layout to reward curiosity, control pacing, and gradually unlock new areas, ensuring that progression feels earned while directly supporting narrative advancement.

Clear Player Objectives

• Clear Player Objectives: I guided players primarily through lighting and visual emphasis rather than relying on UI or text prompts. Key items such as the crossbow, health pickups, and other important objects are highlighted with focused lighting to naturally draw the player’s attention.
  
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  This approach extends to character placement as well—NPCs are subtly lit to make them easier to locate and encourage interaction without explicitly directing the player. Gameplay objectives are reinforced in the same way; for example, targets that must be hit with the crossbow are visually emphasized through lighting, helping players connect tools to their intended use.​

Process on the map design 

• Initial Inspiration: Reference photos shape the map's concept.
• Drafting: Started with a basic map layout in Figma.
• Iterative Design: Blocking out the map sparks new ideas for gameplay.​
• Gameplay-Driven Level Design: Integrate gameplay mechanics directly into the level layout, ensuring combat encounters, puzzles, and progression systems are built into the map design rather than added on afterward.

Early Level Blockout (Graybox)