Switchback VR

Supermassive Games, 2023

Come face to face with the most terrifying antagonists from Season One of the Dark Pictures Anthology and feel the horror up-close with the PlayStation VR2’s innovative capabilities. It’s your own personal nightmare where each track has multiple terrifying paths. No two runs will be the same, but each will test your reactions in this multi-sensory VR horror experience.

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Developed and published by Supermassive Games as a launch title for the PlayStation VR2.

Achievements

• Winner of the Innovation award at Guildford Games Awards 2023

• Nominated for Best VR/AR at Horror Game Awards 2023

• Nominated for Best Creativity in Games, Best Arcade Game & Best VR/AR/XR/MR Game at TIGA Awards 2023

• Shortlisted for Audio Innovation of the Year at MCV Develop Awards 2024

Individual Contribution

I became the Lead Level Designer for a year of production until release, leading a team of 3-6 level designers, and owner of 4 of 10 levels from concept to final implementation and QA including the vertical slice, tutorial and final boss. I was fortunate to experience the full development cycle of Switchback VR, joining the project during pre-production and continuing to release, post-release patches and DLC.

Deliveries

• 4 levels end-to-end: Welcome To Inferno (tutorial), Abandon All Hope (Little Hope level 1 & vertical slice), Burning Trials (Little Hope level 2) and Frozen Hell (final boss).

• Additional work on remaining 6 main campaign levels and 1 credits level.

• Implementation of 5 inter-level cinematic sequences

Responsibilities

• Using Unreal Engine and relevant hardware for pitching and rapid prototyping of key gameplay features:

  • Test environments for game metrics

  • Prototypes for puzzle mechanics

• Creating pacing maps and floor plans with consideration for gameplay focus, narrative and content distribution (e.g. weapons, enemies, breakables)

• Iterative design and implementation of whitebox levels

  • 3D blockout

  • Blueprint logic (scripted and conditional event triggers)

  • AI encounters

  • Spline physics

  • Sequences

  • Art assets

  • Placeholder lighting and audio

• Designing and implementing polished moment-to-moment gameplay in combat encounters, rollercoaster traversal sections, puzzle spaces and free-look cinematic scenes

  • Enemy behaviour and placement

  • Object placement

  • Dialogue

  • Character & prop animations

  • Set dressing

• Collaborating with a wide range of disciplines including production design, systems design, engineering, environment art, character art, animation, VFX, audio and QA

• Conducting playtests and level reviews, implementing feedback, problem solving and bug fixing

In April 2022, I was promoted to Lead Level Designer for the remaining duration of the project. I worked closely with our game director, lead systems designer and leads from other disciplines to mentor 3 level designers and evangelise the core pillars of the game. I was responsible for design and implementation across 4 levels, alongside contributing to all other levels by playtesting, providing feedback and reinforcing design rules.

My additional responsibilities as a lead included:

• Establishing LD rulesets to ensure design cohesion and best practices

• Design and technical documentation in addition to QA test plans

• Managing scope of levels and defining key requirements for milestone deliveries

• Mentoring other designers through skill shares, workshops and providing feedback

• Optimising pipelines between LD and other disciplines

• Liaising with game director and production to delegate tasks and manage workloads

• Conducting interviews with external candidates

Watch 'A Wolf in VR' playing the Little Hope theme in Switchback VR

Watch full gameplay of Switchback VR

Screenshot Gallery