Game & Level Design: Tactical Worlds, Emotional Depth

Crafting a Living London: Level Design in Watch Dogs: Legion

2025-09-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

In a recent article, I explored the interplay between procedural generation and traditional, hand-crafted level design. My role at Ubisoft Toronto on Watch Dogs: Legion allowed me to blend these approaches, shaping a dystopian London where every character contributes to a living, breathing world. As a Level Designer, I’m immensely proud of my work and would be honored to collaborate with Ubisoft again, perhaps on the fourth Watch Dogs title. To respect NDA restrictions, I’ll focus exclusively on ambient level design, specifically character placement and environmental storytelling, avoiding any details about combat AI or gameplay action mechanics.

During pre-production, I brainstormed concepts, drafted design documents, sketched gameplay ideas, and created 2D top-down layouts. I built greybox environments and gameplay gyms, test spaces where we iterated on mechanics to “find the fun.” While guided by design metrics, unexpected successes, such as a vendor placement that sparked immersive player interaction, highlighted the creative freedom in level design. Procedural tools, such as spline-based systems, generated base layouts, which we refined with deliberate, hand-crafted details to ensure narrative coherence and immersion.

As the only Level Designer on the Living World team in Toronto, I contributed to the E3 2019 demo, which earned over 65 awards and nominations. My role, though modest compared to the massive team effort, focused on placing playable characters (PCs), a term I’ll use for simplicity, given Legion’s “Play as Anyone” system, where every NPC is recruitable. My work centered on ambient level design: crafting a believable world through thoughtful character placement. For example, I positioned drug dealers in discreet Camden alleys, out of sight of Albion guards, the game’s oppressive private military force, to ensure logical, immersive interactions. Similarly, I placed characters in a black market illegal grow operation, tucked into dimly lit, hidden corners of London, creating an atmosphere of secrecy that reflected the city’s criminal underbelly.

To ensure authenticity, I researched London’s diverse boroughs, from the tourist-heavy Piccadilly Circus to the gritty Camden Market. I also underwent "people watching" body language, non-verbal psychological training, details of which I’ll omit to avoid NDA issues, which informed my understanding of character intentions and motivations, such as the desperation driving grow op workers. In Camden, I placed vagrants, graffiti artists, and performance artists to capture its bohemian spirit, contrasting with Piccadilly’s polished vibe, where news reporters with hovering drones and Albion guards reinforced the surveillance-state narrative. The protest scene in Trafalgar Square, inspired by London’s history of dissent, featured protesters, Albion operatives, and props like barricades and graffiti-covered boards. These were arranged to create dynamic tension and support gameplay flow through environmental storytelling, allowing players to navigate stealthily without my involvement in action mechanics.

At Scotland Yard, I placed janitors on cleaning patrols and vendors outside to make the precinct feel alive. Player starts were meticulously aligned, some PCs leaning against walls or ledges, to ensure seamless, immersive spawns. This required extensive iteration, as even slight misalignments could break immersion, teaching me the value of precision in ambient design. The design mantra of “Camera, Character, and Context” guided my work, balancing natural camera angles, character behavior, and environmental storytelling. For instance, a news reporter with a drone in Piccadilly Circus amplified the dystopian themes, while a street performer in Camden added local flavor. Other character types, like construction workers with cargo drones or street artists, further diversified the world, as seen in the E3 demo.

Collaborating with a Lead Animator, rather than a traditional Lead Level Designer, was a shift. My lead, an experienced part-time professor, guided me in aligning character placements with animation cycles, ensuring, for example, that janitor patrols matched their cleaning animations for a cohesive world. Working with the Animation Director, we recorded gameplay vignettes on cell phones, later prototyping animations using the Xbox Kinect with the Kinect SDK to capture skeletal data before Ubisoft’s motion capture studio was built. PCs were tagged by gender and one of five archetypes: Hacker, Enforcer, Infiltrator, Medic, or Operative, affecting their animations and contextual Player Start positions.
Random generation often produced inconsistent results, akin to “spray and pray” a term from other projects describing unfocused approaches. Our deliberate placements, like a sniper’s precise shot, prioritized authenticity and immersion. A key tip for level designers: always test ambient placements in-game to ensure they enhance believability, as subtle tweaks can transform a scene’s impact. For example, adjusting a vendor’s position after testing created a moment where a player noticed their banter, adding depth to the world. This project reshaped my design philosophy. Adapting to a people-first approach, informed by psychological training and cross-disciplinary collaboration with animators, taught me to prioritize cultural and narrative context alongside environmental design. For players, these placements, like noticing a protester’s graffiti or a vendor’s interaction, created immersive moments that made London feel alive.

Watch Dogs: Legion offers a masterclass in balancing procedural tools with craftsmanship, creating a world where every PC, from a graffiti artist to a spy, feels part of London’s pulse. As level designers, how do you craft immersive character placements in your projects? Share your insights to keep the conversation going!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6kNQrY5ydQ

LD Workflow Mechwarrior ProcGen & Handcrafted

2024-11-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

Level Design Workflow

Pre-Alpha Stage:

In pre-alpha, the Level Designer's job is to block out areas, work with LD metrics, and “nail the scale.” The focus should be on establishing the grey block with designer intent, followed by playtesting, iteration, and refinement. This process continues until the area is fun and enjoyable, before integrating environmental art, usually in collaboration with an artist.

Collaboration with Artists:

Some artists can create stunning landscapes and buildings. However, if the landscape doesn’t serve the layout's purpose, such as proper sightlines and visual blocks, it can detract from the gameplay. Key design elements should draw the player’s attention and motivation, like a distant landmark such as a tower or castle.

Flow and Functionality:

An artist may create a beautiful room in a castle, but if doors, archways, windows, and access points don't flow and complement the intended level design, it can hinder encounters or scripted events. A visually appealing environment should consider a 360-degree player approach, especially in open-world games. LDs often use tools to guide and block player access, setting up goal discovery and encounters.

LD Metrics:

Proper LD metrics ensure that gameplay elements, like jumps, are feasible. If a jump looks possible but is impossible, players may waste time attempting it, leading to frustration. It’s crucial for the LD to work with artists to develop a cohesive visual language, helping players understand navigable areas based on the world's familiarity and in-game rules.

Game Design Integration:

Game Design (GD) usually precedes or coincides with LD. GD defines gameplay mechanics, which LDs then utilize to create interesting situations and psychological experiences. This ranges from tight, confined spaces to wide-open areas that evoke different emotions. Sharp, jagged shapes can signal danger, while rounded shapes and colors can alter the mood. Lighting, music, and effects are integrated later in production, often as far as the Beta stage.

Insights from Mechwarrior 5 DLCs and Clans

Mechwarrior 5 DLCs:

Working on the Mechwarrior 5 DLCs provided valuable experience in using procedurally generated maps with some authored elements. This approach allowed for the efficient creation of vast, diverse environments. However, procedural generation sometimes led to repetitive elements, necessitating careful curation and manual adjustments to ensure variety and maintain a high-quality player experience.

Mechwarrior 5 Clans:

In contrast, Mechwarrior 5 Clans focused on bespoke, handcrafted levels. This method offered greater control over the environment, enabling the creation of intricate, narrative-driven experiences and finely tuned gameplay elements. Handcrafted levels ensured that each area felt unique and immersive, enhancing the overall player experience.

Key Differences:

Procedural Generation: Efficient for creating large-scale environments quickly, but requires careful curation to avoid repetition and maintain quality.
Handcrafted Levels: Time-consuming but offers greater control and the ability to create detailed, narrative-driven experiences with unique and immersive environments.

Examples from Other Games:

Minecraft: Uses procedural generation to create vast, randomized worlds. The open-ended gameplay encourages exploration and creativity, with some handcrafted elements in specific structures or biomes.
No Man’s Sky: Known for its procedurally generated universe, offering an immense scale and variety of planets, each with unique landscapes and ecosystems. It combines procedural elements with handcrafted updates and narrative content.
Astroneer: Features a mix of procedural and handcrafted elements, allowing players to modify terrain and build their own structures, encouraging creativity and exploration.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Utilizes handcrafted level design to create a seamless open world. The detailed, curated environments ensure a consistently high-quality player experience, with landmarks and points of interest that guide exploration.

Experience with "ARM: Planetary Prospectors"

Procedural Generation and Destruction: In "ARM: Planetary Prospectors," space and asteroids are procedurally generated, offering a vast and dynamic universe for players to explore. The fully destructible asteroids add an engaging layer of gameplay, allowing players to mine resources and reshape the environment. This approach provides endless possibilities and keeps the game world fresh and unpredictable.

Core Gameplay Focus: Despite the ambitious vision, focusing on core gameplay mechanics, such as mining and resource management, was essential. The goal was to create a solid foundation before expanding into more complex features like VR integration or large-scale planetary exploration.

Balancing Innovation and Practicality: Learning from the experience, it became clear that balancing innovative features with practical implementation is crucial. Procedurally generated content can offer vastness and variety, but requires thoughtful design to maintain quality and player engagement. Handcrafted elements, meanwhile, provide control and narrative depth, but are resource-intensive.

Lessons Applied: Combining procedural and handcrafted approaches can create a dynamic and immersive game world. Prioritizing core mechanics, refining procedural generation techniques, and carefully integrating handcrafted elements can lead to a well-rounded and engaging player experience.

Level Designer Handcrafted/Mixed Procedural musings of floating islands

2024-11-15T16:41:00.002-08:00

...having a mix of handcrafted "Authored" professional maps ("islands"). If they are floating in the sky, we simply cover the bottoms of the missing terrain with static meshes. This is the easiest solution, with the potential for artificial semi-destruction if needed (debris and particles chip off, and some minor pieces could fracture away, but overall, the island can't be destroyed). This is a solid first step before considering full destruction.

An alternative solution would require code support to allow the designer to sculpt the terrain using the various methods/tools and plugins listed below.

World Machine: Better for massive-scale floating islands.
LandMass: Good for modifying terrain; a way to make better UX design and allow players to have similar abilities.

Once the terrain is sculpted to a good shape for the upper half of the island, save the terrain and make a mirror copy inverting it so the top matches the bottom. Then the designer could separately and independently edit the bottom terrain. Once satisfied with the bottom portion of the island, a stitching function would need to be called to attach the two terrains at the seams so there are no holes. Any anomalies in the terrain with holes could be patched up with static meshes—this isn't the final solution, but perhaps the best for an Alpha prototype. Planet-sized terrain can also be generated with geospheres made of quads, with procedurally generated tilesets.

User-Generated Content: Creating and building experiences can be like a game. To maximize accessibility and allow players to intuitively create and play, serious thought and design need to go into the type of terrain, if it is a floating island which can be a bit trickier but very plausible. Whether it is fully destructible or not, having a special type of player tool like in Astroneer, allowing the player to mine, sculpt, and add terrain, will provide a lot of creative freedom.

Biomes and Tilesets:

Biomes are "dressings" applied over a tileset.
Levels consist of multiple square terrain tiles (chunks) assembled based on matching edge profiles and metadata as determined by the mission director.
Terrain Chunk Size: The terrain chunk size is 757.5M square, chosen based on Unreal’s terrain resolution. The chunk size can be tuned as needed.
Tileset: A set of 750x750 heightmaps generated from World Machine, each with specific topologies (e.g., Mountains vs. Dunes). Tiles fit together using terrain generation rules.

Terrain Techniques:

Unreal Voxel Plugin: Useful for combining fluid simulation with destructible environments in Unreal Engine.
Voxel Farm: A versatile tool for voxel-based terrain.
LandMass Plugin: High-fidelity terrains that can be fine-tuned.
MegaScans: Adding foliage, rocks, and static meshes.
Houdini: Powerful but complex; potentially useful for creating user-friendly player tools.

Planetary Prospectors, Where I've been the +4 months...space and beyond

2014-09-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

Been super-ultra busy lately, and Haven't had the time to update recently, because I've been focusing on Planetary Prospectors, an Indie game that our company Nefarious Dimensions has launched on

Steam Greenlight

The project was built during a Summer Capstone project at Sheridan College, in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The core team consists of three Post Graduates of Advance Game Design at Sheridan. Two of them being Programmers and myself as the Designer. We also received some additional help with art and sound. Since then we have being looking for more help in terms of improving all our art/design and technical aspects of Planetary Prospectors. More work to be done, so I need to get back at it, more updates coming sooner, or later. Maybe I could turn this into a bit of a dev blog, another item on the list:)

I really dig, digging mechanics

2014-02-05T19:41:00.001-08:00

In the near past, the dig mechanic historically dates back to 1982 with the retro arcade classic puzzle game Dig Dug. Players control a 2D avatar to dig into the dirt in 4 directions, limited to only horizontally and vertically.

Gameplay video link here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrvmDJxq86I

Recently in 2013 SteamWorld Dig was released for the Nintendo 3DS

It has been successfully combining digging mechanics with fun 2D Platforming.

There has been many games that have used the similar mechanic that uses 2D voxels that can be destroyed to clear a path.

Minecraft being the major success of combining 3D voxels into a mining and crafting game.

Mechanics in the game include exploration, gathering resources, crafting, and combat. Although the main mechanic is arguably digging. The majority of the time, the player spends digging through various surfaces such as dirt, rock, snow

Pickaxe is required to mine stone-related blocks, such as iron-related blocks and ore.

Shovels are used to dig dirt, grass, sand, gravel and snow faster than by hand. Shovels are required to dig snowballs.

In our recent Sheridan College student capstone project, ARM is the working title currently named Asteroid Robotic Miners. The core mechanic is drilling, cutting, and blasting holes into 3D voxel asteroids.

Space Engineers has a mechanic of mining, with a custom crafted spaceship that can be equipped with an approximate 3 meter spinning drill bit. This drill acts as a melee style ‘weapon’ that can cut into rocks at close proximity. Overtime, the drill bit can overheat and eventually break.

Learning from games that have similar digging mechanics, the choice has been made to make the core mechanic based on digging for minerals in a 3D space.

The main focus is for the mechanic to be fun, simple to pick up and play, and allow the player to become a master of the tools. When doing so they are rewarded with higher purity minerals that have more value, rather than minerals that have been hastily dislodged or damaged from the asteroid.

"We don’t want boring with a drill bit, to be boring, drilling pun intended." - Clinton Bowman

The choice has been to go with a fast and fluid flight controls mixed in with a tools that can be the optimal choice for the targeted asteroid. The design choice is to lean towards fast, fun and casual, opposed to slow, boring simulations.

Rather than the player being confined to tight claustrophobic mine shafts, the player has the freedom to fly and explore 360 degrees around the asteroids. Freely moving and positioning the allows for free range to ‘attack the situation’ at the precise angle and distance. Tools such as The plasma cutter are a similar comparison to an advanced space blowtorch. Its alternate fire, can change the nozzle and allow for a wider spread torch

Various degrees of scanning an asteroid can reveal valuable information about the structure density and geology. If the asteroid contains mainly iron and ice, the player may want to only equip on the drone Plasma cutters and Heat Rays. In situations where the asteroid is 90% Ice, the best option would be to ‘dual wield’ two Heat Rays, to more efficiently melt the ice to expose the minerals.

Once the minerals are dislodged, the player can switch back to piloting the cargo frigate, and align the electromagnetic beam to retrieve the alloy based minerals. Gases, and other non-metallic resources can be collected from other tools such as the Anti-gravity disruptor that can control the gravity so the resources will ‘fall’ towards its direction. Gases can be collected in tanks, once the airlock is opened, they suck in the gases like a vacuum.

This is the second attempt that I had to rewrite this blog, due to losing my original copy. Kinda, actually glad that I had to rewrite it, because it allowed me to look at it from another perspective. Almost tempted to writing it a third time to see what other mechanics I could dig up.

Level Design Portfolio Clinton Bowman Demo Reel 2013

2013-04-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

What I'm currently playing...

2013-04-19T12:23:00.006-07:00

A game that I am playing on my phone is Galaxy Life, it's a fun strategy game that players build a base on a planet and collect resources while building and upgrading armies to send through Stargates, in order to invade and defend against other planets. Friends can connect with each other and help with resources and defenses. After expansions, other planets can be colonized. The progression in the game allows for players to feel attached and engaged over long periods of time.
Candy Crush Saga has a great mechanic that also allows stringing together combinations of different types of candies to achieve higher scores. Chaining together special candies for a super attacks rewards the Players make the best matching choice based on availability of random placed candy. Starcraft 2's Multiplayer is extremely well balanced and fine tuned for strategic competitive tournaments, that requires competitive players to anticipate and counter the opponent. The asymmetry of the 3 different races, allows for some interesting rock paper scissors style attack cycles. Assassins Creed III has some really fun well placed mobility sections that have a good pace and rhythm to them. The stealth mechanic isn't really forced much, as the players can use the updated combat system that has been greatly improved since earlier adaptations. There is also a good sense of scale with mixture of bright open worlds combined with darkly lit dungeons with interior puzzle rooms. Call of Duty:Black OPS 2 has some of the most realistic and customizable weapons in any game. Rewards for kill-streaks provide even more of a tactical advantage and excitement.

2012-08-31T23:31:00.002-07:00

Games can help you see better,more study's find

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/science/how-video-games-could-improve-our-vision.html?_r=1

AHA Moments and creativity

2012-03-28T20:09:00.002-07:00

Daniel Goleman on the "AHA Moment" You Tube 2:17

Many creative thoughts come from AHA moments of realization. They usually happen in a relaxed day dream like state. Perhaps not being 100% focused and letting ones mind wander can have its own creative advantages.

Great Resource for Psychology in Games

2011-08-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePsychologyofGames

Chart of Super Powers

2011-04-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

This flow chart contains many types of super powers.

http://popchartlab.com/index.php/poster_detail/the_illustrious_omnibus_of_superpowers/

Memory may be built with standard building blocks

2011-03-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20256-memory-may-be-built-with-standard-building-blocks.html

Data mining eye tracking

2011-03-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

This tech could be so awesome to track and data mine games. Any Programmers want to discuss a project?

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2011/02/science_knows_where_you_were_l.php

EEG headset used for thought controlling a car

2011-03-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

This seems really safe lol well maybe once the technology is more advanced, having multi sensors and lasers would have to be standard safety equipment. At that point the AI would have to be doing most the grunt work. Then people could drink and drive safely.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/03/braindriver-thought-control-car/

Playing Fast-Paced Shooters Aids Cognition and Vision, Study Finds

2010-05-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.switched.com/2010/05/30/playing-fast-paced-shooters-aids-cognition-and-vision-study-fin/

Gamers are more aggressive to strangers - life - 28 September 2009 - New Scientist

2009-09-29T20:58:00.003-07:00

Gamers are more aggressive to strangers - life - 28 September 2009 - New Scientist

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Top 10: The architecture of computer games (part I)

2009-06-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Interesting top 10, surprised to see that there was no Final Fantasy. FF has some amazing architecture that melds fantasy and sci-fi worlds together. Medieval mega structures as such in Midgar can really make the imagination run wild. To have these massive mega structures and support structures all working in unison to create a living vibrant world, that holds a bit of prestige of being somewhat plausible in some other alien world. Sometimes while playing games, the realism is broken if there is a heavy roof being supported by really small pillars that couldn't hold the load. The minor details in game architecture can equal big differences, especially to the gamer with an eye for detail.

Level Design architecture link

GDC: Game Balance Through Intuition

2009-04-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.edge-online.com/features/gdc-game-balance-through-intuition

Balancing the game so that its fun for everyone, and to accompany for the various play styles. Seems like a really tough tasks to try to find equilibrium within the game world. It seems that the balance has lots to do with how you train the player. Teaching the different tool sets and provide the player with right direction.

Halo did a Great job at the intro when they calibrate the look sensitive and whether or not the player prefers inverse. To get the proper feel for the game and teach the player is something more intuitive the player has to learn those skill sets, as a more hardcore game relies more on instincts for kills, more in the act of doing and not thinking which is more intuitive.

Balance is really tough to please everyone from the causal gamer to the hardcore. The old days of just increasing a bots accuracy and health, seems like a fading trend.

It seems like the scales of balance usually tips towards the casual, due to marketing and for drawing in a wider range of gamers.

To get the proper feel and use of intuition is needed to bring a games level of balance to that polished level. Most of the time, games are being tweaked and balanced up till and even after they ship.

Playtest, Playtest, Playtest...Repeat

Shooter video games 'sharpen vision'

2009-03-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25259100-23109,00.html

I also thought eating lots of carrots improved vision and that playing long hours of videos was a slow way of turning me blind.

Guess I will be playing even more hours of FPS' to "sharpen my vision" well that will be my excuse to play an extra few hours.

Although it didn't mention what kind of display, I am assuming they must have done this test on LCD's? Cause I know long hours working on a CRT, gave me eye strain and headaches.

Introduction to Mapping: Theory, Technique, Time, Tips

2009-03-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.icecreamyou.com/ut3

Game Writing From the Inside Out

2009-03-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3965/game_writing_from_the_inside_out.php

9 Types of Games

2009-03-17T07:40:00.001-07:00

http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2007/05/the_nine_basic_.html

Effects Of Brain Exercise Depend On Opponent

2009-02-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203192425.htm

Makes me wonder, if there is more prefrontal activity based on cause and effect of the reaction of how another is effect based on ones actions. Would a Player maintain this, if an AI took over without the players knowledge? Perhaps its based more on competitive nature?

Breakdown of RPG Players

2009-01-29T15:17:00.001-08:00

http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/gaming/BreakdownOfRPGPlayers.html

The Fun Theory Sequence

2009-01-29T13:42:00.001-08:00

http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/01/fun-theory-sequence.html#more