Responsibilities:​
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Polished a multitude of level spaces in Sanctuary and dungeons to enhance the player’s experience.
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Used proprietary technology to clean up navigation mesh and occlusion for smoother gameplay and player character visibility.
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Optimized environments by deleting excess environment art pieces and foliage.
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Worked closely with Blizzard’s Level Design and Environment Art team to make sure changes were cohesive with design and art pillars.
While at Lost Boys, I had the pleasure of working on Diablo IV as an Associate Level Designer. I was partially responsible for polishing the nav mesh and fixing player occlusion for all the zones in Sanctuary and some of the dungeons. I am honored to be a part of a remarkable game with incredibly talented developers!
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Polishing the Diablo Experience
While working on Diablo, our job was to help clean up the nav mesh and adjust any object that occluded the player’s vision of their character. We followed the established level metrics, so players and AI can traverse Sanctuary without getting stuck in a narrow space.
To fix occlusion, we set up objects like trees and massive rocks to disappear once the character was behind them. This was so players could see their character and enemies and carefully coordinate their next moves. We worked collaboratively with Blizzard’s Environment and Level Design team so that environments followed both the design metrics and their creative vision.
Co-Dev and Collaboration
It was a remarkable experience working with one of the titans of the game industry on a genre-defining title. We vigorously worked together to make sure players got the authentic Diablo experience. We met daily with Blizzard’s Level Design team going over before and after images of changes in our work. While we mostly worked on polishing and cleaning up, we also gave feedback on blockouts that their Designers created for Sanctuary.
As time went on, we talked with their Level Art team so that our changes matched the creative vision of Diablo that was well established. Ultimately, the game is not just fun to play but also beautiful to look at.
