
VANA
VANA is a 3D narrative driven platformer
Play as a mysterious, magical character, helping souls to pass on to the afterlife by collecting scattered pieces of their soul. Explore an oneiric limbo world and face challenges to complete your mission and unravel the secrets and mourning of the lost souls.
Role: Level Designer
Engine: Unreal Engine 4.27
Genre: 3D Platformer
Team size: 25
Platform: PC


Single Player
Level
Designer
Cutscene Designer
University
project
Narrative
Designer
Project Roles
Level designer
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Conducted research for the creation of 3D platforming challenges in unreal engine
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Created Blockout for intro and outro levels
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Created a blueprint that plays the 3D cutscene
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Created a blueprint that opens doors with triggering a pressure plate with a telekinesis cube
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Collaborated on creation of Macro Design document
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Conducted focus testing to meticulously design and enhance the player experience, while intricately fine-tuning game balance based on the insights gained from comprehensive playtesting analyses.
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Contributed to Quality Assurance (QA) efforts, actively identifying and fixing bugs for improved game performance



Narrative designer

Biome (Narrative Board First draft)
Narrative summary
Narrative Elements
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Developed multiple drafts for the game's narrative
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Collaborated on a graphical representation linking narrative beats with gameplay
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Strategically placed hero assets within the game levels
2D/3D CUTSCENES
2D Cutscenes Planning
3D Cutscenes Planning in StudioBinder
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Revitalized storytelling through meticulous planning and execution of 2D and 3D cutscenes.
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Directed artists to create visually stunning frames for dynamic 2D cutscenes, ensuring a seamless narrative flow.
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Worked with Widgets and frames to enhance the way that the 2D cutscenes were presented
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I worked on prototypes for the early stages of 3D cutscene development, introducing dynamic camera movements, defining main focus points, and crafting meticulous framing for a cinematic and immersive narrative experience.
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Elevated the final iteration of 3D cutscenes by orchestrating captivating camera movements, managing focus, and refining framing for an immersive gameplay experience.


Design Pillars

Traversal
Sensation
Narrative
Visuals
Final iteration
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Progression can be seem by collecting the piece of soul from the statues, the player clears the area from corruption
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The level is metricized and the player can use different ways to traverse the level
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The level has been playtested biweekly and iterated from the playtesting data.
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There are elements that leash the player, such as the light polls that serve as checkpoints and hero assets

Miroboards
Y2C - Biome (aka VANA)
Y2D - VANA board


Level Planning
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Researched other platforming titles such as Journey.
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The level was split into 4 sections and w created a level design document to decide what mechanics and type of challenges should be tested.
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Worked on mechanics in gym level
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Created challenges and tested them in gym level
Playtesting
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VANA was playtested by all sorts of audiences . by colleagues ,students and people outside our course such as kids. This is the feedback we received from a group of kids
