I defined the movement contract (jump distances, ledge heights, coyote time, and jump buffer) and the camera rules for different contexts: narrow alleys, open plazas, and arenas. In alleys I set a guard band to prevent occlusions, in plazas I slightly increased the FOV with smooth spline-based transitions, and in arenas I applied a partial azimuth lock to keep patterns readable.
Until Eye Leave
Unreal Engine 5.4 – Puzzle-Adventure – Lead Level Designer
game description
Until Eye Leave is a dreamlike action-adventure Vertical Slice set in a gothic city suspended between memory and death. You play as Zoe, an heroine who gradually discovers she used to be a cat, as she navigates a world of dangers and puzzles, using the creatures she meets as solutions to progress (activating them, distracting them, making them interact) rather than treating them as simple targets.
The Diary/Bestiary pages reveal clues and lore for completion-minded players, enriching the experience and accompanying the journey. The slice culminates in a boss tied to a past trauma, the encounter with her owner, whose appearance it has taken on. Defeating it unlocks a crucial part of Zoe’s memory, giving her the push to continue her path.
overview
I was the Lead Level Designer for the Vertical Slice, a dreamlike action-adventure developed in Unreal Engine 5.6.1. I led a small group of three level designers (myself plus two juniors) within a multidisciplinary team.
My first goal was to define the backbone of the experience with a central hub that opens into three main paths and to give the project a shared language: clear metrics, camera rules, and a readability kit, so that each designer could build different spaces that still felt cohesive within the same world.
rhythm and flow
As the person responsible for level flow, I authored the VS golden path and supervised the junior-owned sections with weekly reviews. I wrote and maintained the LDD, a concise Camera Bible, and guidelines for checkpoints and shortcuts with measurable time savings of at least 30 seconds.
I grounded the game’s level design in the core principle of “creatures as tools” and the instructional progression “teach → use → twist” for both puzzles and creatures, so interactions with enemies became environmental solutions rather than simple elimination.
Operational Production
Results and What I Learned
I learned that results depend first and foremost on establishing the movement contract early. Coyote time, jump buffer, solid metrics, and modularity make every level design choice clearer and cut down on rework.
I also validated the value of context-specific camera rules, with a guard band in alleys, a wider FOV in plazas, and a partial lock in arenas, and I saw how a coherent readability kit matters more than ornamental detail.
Shortcuts only matter if they actually save time, because players perceive value when the gain is measurable. The teach → use → twist progression proved to be the best metronome for introducing a rule and then varying it without confusion, while the creatures as tools principle gave the gameplay its identity by turning enemies into environmental levers.
Lightweight but living documentation, like the LDD and a one-page Camera Bible, quickly aligns the team and technical decisions. When rules become team policies, everyone applies them autonomously and the world feels cohesive. Fewer polished mechanics beat many half-baked ones, because a Vertical Slice works when every piece talks to the others.