The Levels
During the Fall 2025 semester, I worked in a group of 5 Game Design students to design individual game levels for a course taught by Christopher Barney. Throughout this 4-month journey, I took on the role of Project Manager, and I played a key role in the planning and designing of each level. Each level was created over the span of one week, and throughout each week, we became more comfortable with our tools and designed levels worth sharing. While called levels, they serve more as small snapshots of bigger worlds worth exploring in the future. Below are some examples with playable links:
Undead University
In the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, you play as a lone student hiding in the second dirtiest place in the world: a college dormitory. You have been holed up for weeks, and your supplies are running low, so it’s time to gear up and get busy. We based the interior of the room off of a Northeastern dorm room, and we have suggestive elements throughout the scene, such as a map on the bed showing which places have or haven’t been looted. We had a lot of fun coming up with this level, and it’s probably my favorite when it comes to its theme and atmosphere.
Mid-Life Crisis
You play as Joe Smith, Washington’s local superhero Strongman. You were once a defender of the innocent and protector of peace, but now you lay alone in a run-down motel freshly divorced. As your life falls apart around you, you begin to lose hope in your abilities until breaking news appears… We wanted to try and capture the essence of a crappy hotel through the narrow design, dirty textures, and trashy props. I had a lot of fun designing the screens and experimenting with Blender to create a loose mask. By this point in the semester, my team had gotten much more comfortable with the tools we were given, and I think it shows.
