Velan Studios

Responsibilities

In 2018, I was hired to contribute to the foundational level design of Knockout City. My key responsibilities included:

Co-creating and documenting the game's design metrics.
Developing and applying the "carousel effect" to establish level language.
Designing new mechanics and enhancing player experiences.
Leading the level design team in high-stakes meetings with senior management.
Planning and conducting playtests to gather feedback and analyze player behavior for a better competitive experience.

Designed Maps

Rooftop Rumble
Jukebox Junction
Back Alley Brawl
Lockdown Throwdown

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Level Design

Game Summary

Get ready for a knockout, brawlers—Knockout City™, that is! Crew up and send your rivals flying off the map in this all-new take on team-based multiplayer games. There are no special powers or abilities here. You’ve just gotta throw, catch, pass, dodge, and tackle your way to victory! Once you’ve customized your character and joined a Crew, it’s game time. Master trick shots, coordinate with your teammates, and work for those KOs. No ball? No problem! You can literally ball up, roll into a teammate’s hands, and become the ultimate weapon. Bombs away! With multiple gameplay modes, maps, specialized balls, and customization options, the hits never stop coming.

Rooftop Rumble

My first map for Knockout City had one requirement by the design team, which was "play on top of a big sky scraper and use gliders to cross on top of the spaces". After some deliberation, I opted to design two symmetrical spaces with a single planked bridge to connect them for non-glider players. This came from the idea that players liked to play in spaces where the ball was central to the combat.
I opted to build 4 mini spaces with simple architecture that drawed the players into them, then merged 2 spaces (each) to create a single building. At Velan, we called this the 2Fort of our game as it resulted in feeling like two sides controlled the play field with the single bridge being the heart beat of the maps action.

Back Alley Brawl

My second map for Knockout City started as an original blockout. It was far more complex than Rooftop Rumble, as it was initially designed for a drastically different game, but it had all the elements of a great map. What it lacked was a proper metric pass (which I co-created with the game director) and a distinct map gimmick.

Early on, I realized why some players internally disliked the blockout as many felt certain spaces were difficult to reach. To address this, I designed a teleportation system, three different versions, to be exact and it eventually evolved into a tube system. I hooked it up and prototyped my concept with Velan’s tech designer, creating a solution to the initial problem. As a result, Back Alley Brawl took shape into what it ultimately became.

Jukebox Junction

My final fully designed map for the game was Jukebox Junction. It was based on an original map concept from the game’s first prototype, where a train ran through the top layer of the map. I decided to retain this element, as I felt it had been underutilized in its previous form. To bring it to the forefront of the playing field, I designed the rail line in the middle of a ball spawner. I also introduced various ways for players to interact with or traverse around it, including hazard jump pads that resulted in an instant KO beneath the train, ramps players could roll under, and clear sightlines for lob throws over it.

This interaction was later expanded to two additional rail lines at the request of the Game Director, who wanted a larger play space. Instead of placing ball spawners in these lines, I built two parallel tracks with a platform in the middle, inspired by train stations in the Netherlands, such as Rotterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal.

Lockdown Throwdown

Originally, this was intended to be my final map for the game, but it evolved significantly from my initial vision. My original concept featured security cameras that would shoot cage balls at players when they stepped into a spotlight, triggering the system. I designed three distinct spaces around this mechanic, but as development progressed, the idea expanded beyond what I had originally planned.

The final version of the map differed greatly from my initial design, though key elements remained. My contributions included the ramps at the center of the level and the pits surrounding them, as well as the core concept itself.

Additionally, the basketball net was a fun Easter egg that I prototyped to add humor to the experience.

Reviews of my work

What the industry had to say about my work:

"My favorite map of the bunch was Rooftop Rumble. The area consists of two skyscrapers connected by a small bridge, which usually acts as a fun and chaotic choke point for teams to collide. In terms of size, it’s a happy medium: big enough to allow some degree of hiding and ambushing but compact enough for constant skirmishing and minimal downtime. Since it’s on a rooftop, it also sports the added perk/danger of sending foes over the edge." - Marcus Stewart, Game Informer.