Iron-Haven Adventure 

Genre: Single Player / Action Adventure
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Assets Used: IWALS-Jakub, Level Design Kit, Synty Studios
Play-tests: #6
Iterations: #6

Duration: 10 weeks
Role: Level Designer

Iterations Overview

Design Intent

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Each section was built to gradually increase tension while giving players choices in movement, observation, stealth, and engagement.

Design Goals

Deliver a focused third-person level experience within the target gameplay time.
Support player agency through multi-route navigation and vertical traversal options.
Use Blueprint scripting to implement encounters, interactions, and scripted level moments.
Reinforce story through district identity, atmosphere, and scripted moments.

Level Overview & Technique Highlights

Introduction 

Ironhaven Heist follows a skilled infiltrator searching for a stolen heirloom in a corrupt medieval port town.

The highlights below break down how traversal, guidance, pacing, and environmental storytelling shaped the player experience.

Highlight 1: Vertical Traversal & Player Choice

Designed traversal routes across ground and rooftops to support player agency, stealth , and environmental exploration.

Execution:

Built interconnected traversal spaces with varying risk and visibility
Used elevation to create safer observation and infiltration routes
Allowed players to naturally bypass or engage encounters through route selection

Highlight 2: Guiding Players Through Environmental Cues

Used environmental framing, lighting, and recurring landmarks to guide navigation without relying heavily on UI markers.

Execution:

Reinforced player direction through repeated visual landmarks and framing.
Used sightlines and vista moments to establish long-term orientation
Directed player attention through framing, lighting, and environmental composition

Highlight 3: Pacing Through Spatial Contrast

Used spatial contrast, environmental compression, and traversal pacing to create shifts between tension, exploration, stealth, and release throughout the level.

Execution:

Alternated between open spaces, tight corridors, and controlled reveals
Used environmental compression and expansion to shape player tension
Varied visibility and movement freedom to create pacing rhythm

Highlight 4: Storytelling Through District Identity

Used architecture, environmental density, lighting, and spatial composition to communicate narrative tone and create distinct district identities.

Execution:

Designed each district with unique environmental language and gameplay tone
Used lighting, props, and structural decay to reinforce narrative context
Created visual contrast between districts to strengthen progression and atmosphere
Reinforced emotional pacing through environmental identity shifts

Walk-through & Level Beats

Select a beat below to view its gameplay breakdown.

INTRO — Arrival at Ironhaven

Purpose: Establish the player’s identity, motivation, and tone.

Intent: Set up the story, mood, and long-term destination.

Player arrives by steamboat at Ironhaven’s damaged outer port.
Intro text frames the player as a lone investigator searching for a stolen heirloom.
Smoke, unrest, missing contact R, and guard-tower views establish danger and direction.

Beat 01 — Port Arrival & Contact Lost

Purpose: Establish stakes while introducing traversal and stealth.

Intent: Teach early mechanics through investigation and narrative consequence.

Player explores a raided port filled with fire, panic, and destruction.
NPC chatter and blocked routes guide the player toward an alternate climb path.
A dead contact and R’s note reveal corruption, betrayal, and the shift into guarded stealth spaces.

Beat 02 — Slums Escape & Market Approach

Purpose: Shift from investigation into pursuit.

Intent: Build pressure through confined traversal and stealth navigation.

Player moves through damaged slum interiors, ledges, and narrow corridors.
Tight interior spaces slow pacing before opening into wider exterior sightlines.
Elevated views, guard presence, and protected valuables point toward a larger conspiracy.

Beat 03 — Market District Investigation

Purpose: Expand worldbuilding through exploration and observation.

Intent: Reward curiosity with narrative discovery and traversal freedom.

Player explores a semi-open market with rooftop and street-level routes.
NPC chatter reveals lockdown, unrest, and conflicting civilian/guard perspectives.
Landmarks and an optional NPC guide players toward the watchtower zipline route.

Beat 05 — Zip-line & Warehouse Backrooms

Purpose: Reveal the conspiracy and redirect the player underground.

Intent: Deliver narrative payoff through restricted-space exploration.

The zipline moves the player from rooftops into an abandoned warehouse district.
Damaged interiors, contraband, and documents connect the raid to Council shipments.
Guard dialogue reveals R escaped with explosives through the sewer route.

Beat 06 — Warehouse Yard Confrontation

Purpose: Shift from investigation into active combat.

Intent: Test adaptability through cover, enemy placement, and environmental combat.

Player enters an exterior warehouse yard after discovering contraband evidence.
Cover, sightlines, and explosive barrels support tactical combat choices.
Enemy placement forces repositioning before the exit redirects progression forward.

Beat 08 — Sewer Entry & Survival

Purpose: Reinforce narrative element and survival. 

Design Intent: Maintain tension with enclosed navigation, evidence, and NPC dialogue.

Player descends into dark sewer tunnels with low visibility and environmental hazards.
Documents connect weapons, artifacts, Council activity, and the lighthouse.
An injured NPC confirms R helped civilians escape before fleeing toward the old port.

Beat 09 — Flooding & Collapse

Purpose: Create urgency through environmental danger.

Intent: Escalate stakes with flooding, low visibility, and unstable traversal.

Explosions trigger flooding, forcing the player away from standard routes.
Water, pipes, and debris shift pacing into survival navigation.
Parkour and climbing push the player through a collapsing route toward the Old Port.

Beat 10 — Old Port & Lighthouse Reveal

Purpose: Build anticipation for the final restricted zone.

Intent: Reframe the lighthouse as the final destination and set up the last infiltration.

Player emerges from underground survival into an exposed dockside zone.
Fences, containers, patrols, and guarded interiors establish danger and restriction.
The lighthouse and R’s reappearance turn the investigation into a final escape objective.

Final Cutscene — Escape

Purpose: End with urgency, escape, and an unresolved hook.

Intent: Interrupt victory with sudden danger and unresolved tension.

A bomb blast turns heirloom retrieval from success into survival.
R reappears and pushes the player toward a rapid side-dock escape.
Fire, smoke, and the boat escape resolve the objective while leaving Ironhaven’s conflict unresolved.

Beat 11 — Heirloom Retrieval

Purpose: Resolve the core objective before the final escape.

Intent: Deliver a quieter payoff moment after the final resistance.

Player clears the last resistance and reaches the dockside objective space.
The heirloom chest comes into view after the long investigation and pursuit.
VO and interaction prompt confirm retrieval before intensity rises again.

Process and Breakdown

Overview

Market Iteration - 1

Market Iteration - 2

Market Iteration - 5

Market Iteration - 1

1/5

Warehouse Iteration - 1

Warehouse Iteration - 2

Warehouse Iteration - 5

Warehouse Iteration - 1

1/5

Port Iteration -1

Port Iteration -2

Port Iteration -5

Port Iteration -1

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1. Research, Ideation & Planning

Game Analysis: Studied Red Dead Redemption 2, Dying Light, and God of War for level flow, vertical traversal, landmark readability, and open-ended linear progression.
Real-World Research: Referenced historic port cities, especially Dubrovnik, to shape street density, elevation changes, architectural scale, and believable navigation routes.
Design Application: Applied the research to build Ironhaven as a corrupt medieval port town focused on vertical exploration, district contrast, environmental storytelling, and guided player movement.

2. Design Documentation

Design_Doc

Beat-sheet

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LDD: Defined the narrative setup, objectives, mechanics, district structure, tone, and gameplay direction.

Beat Sheet: Mapped each level section by gameplay type, including stealth, traversal, combat, investigation, and story.
Pacing Plan: Tracked escalation, cooldowns, and transitions between exploration, stealth, combat, and high-intensity moments.
2D Map Layout: Communicated player flow, district relationships, traversal routes, and major progression beats through a clear top-down layout.

3. Blockout and Iterations Summary

Built a simple 3D blockout from the 2D layout to evaluate scale, flow, and readability.
Adjusted corridor widths, open areas, ledges, and traversal spaces to better match pacing goals.
Tested movement, stealth, and traversal mechanics directly inside the layout.
Walked through the level repeatedly to check guidance, route clarity, transitions, and pacing.
Identified areas that needed stronger framing, clearer traversal cues, and better contrast between open and compressed spaces.

Select an iteration to view the blockout, playtest, and design changes for each pass.

1. Structuring Key Locations

Define major locations and improve flow between the Market, Guard Hall, Sewers, and Warehouse.

What I did:

Rebuilt the layout with tighter spaces and clearer transitions.
Defined stronger entry and exit points for key locations.
Added early vertical variation to reduce flatness.

Result:

The level structure became easier to read and navigate.
Player flow improved between exploration, traversal, and guarded spaces.

Feedback:

Some areas still felt too open and flat.
Key locations needed stronger identity, landmarks, and spatial contrast.

1/4

2. Improving Path Clarity and Encounter Scope

Improve player guidance between major beats while developing the Warehouse encounter and testing the scale of the final combat area.

What I Did:

Adjusted traversal routes to reduce confusion.
Strengthened transitions between Warehouse, and Port.
Built the Warehouse encounter with cover, entry points, and vertical positioning.
Tested a larger final combat space for end-level escalation.

Result:

Location transitions became clearer and more connected.
The Warehouse began supporting combat, cover, and infiltration routes.
The final combat space felt large, but too unfocused for the intended scope.

Feedback:

Traversal needed higher-stakes moments.
Warehouse combat needed stronger enemy placement, stealth routes, and cover readability.
The final area needed scope reduction to feel tighter and more intentional.

1/6

3. Improving Readability and Guided Discovery

Refine weak areas in the level flow while strengthening player guidance, traversal tension, and narrative clarity.

What I Did:

Introduced scripted moments to communicate story through gameplay.
Reworked the Warehouse layout for stealth routes, combat options, and multiple approaches.
Improved route readability with blocked paths, lighting, and framing.

Result:

Flow between areas felt smoother and more intentional.
Warehouse combat became more controlled, flexible, and readable.
Traversal and stealth gained clearer stakes through patrol placement.

Feedback:

Interactable objects needed stronger affordances.
Darker areas needed better lighting for visibility and wayfinding.
Traversal cues needed more consistency across the level.

1/3

4. Tutorialization, Traversal Tension, and Flow Refinement

Refine level flow, narrative clarity, traversal tension, and onboarding.

What I Did:

Added short cinematic/scripted moments to support narrative context.
Integrated a simple takedown tutorial for stealth onboarding.
Improved stair/window guidance with blocked paths, lighting, and framing.
Added patrols near traversal routes to create timing pressure.

Result:

Narrative beats became clearer during gameplay.
Player flow felt smoother and easier to follow.
Traversal felt more tense, varied, and purposeful.
Stealth and traversal tutorials felt naturally integrated.

Feedback:

Patrols made traversal more engaging.
Guidance improved across key sections.
The ending still needed a stronger moment of impact.

1/4

5. Final Pacing, Encounter Focus, and Narrative Closure

Finalize pacing, readability, final encounter focus, and narrative closure.

What I Did:

Improved lighting and framing for clearer navigation in complex spaces.
Refined the final dock/lighthouse encounter with clearer enemies, cover, and approach routes.
Added a closing cinematic beat for stronger impact and cliffhanger setup.

Result:

The final combat felt more focused and intentional, with clearer player choice in approach.
Overall pacing improved, and the ending delivered stronger impact and direction.

Feedback:

Players responded well to the final encounter.
Lighting improvements made navigation easier.
The ending felt stronger, though small pacing adjustments were still needed.

1/3

Final Iteration and Gameplay

At this stage, the level structure was stable and the core gameplay flow was locked. The final pass focused on clarity, visual quality, and moment-to-moment impact without major design changes.

Added environmental detail, props, and set dressing to complete each space.
Refined small layout and pacing issues from final playtest feedback.
Improved lighting and visibility for navigation, readability, and mood.
Added camera shake and impact effects for explosions and collapse moments.

Final Iteration

Through six iterations and playtests, the level evolved from a simple blockout into a focused and complete experience. Each pass addressed specific problems — from layout clarity and traversal tension to combat structure and pacing.

The process refined not only the spaces, but also how players move, read, and understand the level. Early issues such as flatness, unclear guidance, and low engagement were gradually resolved through structural adjustments, AI updates, narrative support, and final polish.

By the final iteration, the level achieved its intended flow, supported multiple playstyles, and delivered a clear narrative arc within the target gameplay time.

This project was a major step in my growth as a Level Designer, helping me shape a practical end-to-end workflow and build a complete case study of my design process.