Phantom: Covert Ops
nDreams
Level Designer (November 2018 – October 2019)
Proposed, designed, built, and owned single player missions from concept, documentation and presentation to final.
Executed level blockouts, defined objectives, developed story beats and level hooks, designed enemy encounters, produced feature documentation, and applied VR-centered design principles.
Championed level structure, ensuring each level adhered to best practices and provided a satisfying 1:1 navigational experience within a kayak environment.
Collaborated closely with art and engineering teams to deliver a high-quality VR stealth action experience within the mobile hardware constraints of the Oculus Quest.
Ruins
Missions 3, 5, and 7
Working on Phantom: Covert Ops was a surreal moment for me. I vividly remember being left speechless after playing the original pitch demo – to this day I have yet to experience anything in VR which has felt so immersive or emergent. It was an instant “yes” for me to join the team on a 1 year contract.
Within the project, the Level Designers tackled many facets of the game, but my primary focus was the Ruins biome. This environment featured a collection of decrepit man-made structures: a town square, quarry, dam, factory, and subway tunnel. We began by developing a sniper enemy archetype, which I was responsible for designing, prototyping, and polishing in collaboration with a gameplay programmer. This design was integrated throughout the game and eventually evolved into a boss battle, where players were tasked with cutting through anchor points to bring down a makeshift sniper tower. I still recall the Game Director’s amusement that our work was inching closer to Metal Gear Solid, given how similar my boss concept was to Sniper Wolf... I didn't even realise it at the time, or my brain was trying to deny it.
Landing my first role as a Level Designer in the games industry was a dream come true – I could hardly believe it when I saw my first payslip. I remain forever grateful to the teams at nDreams for that opportunity, and I cherish the fond memories of the project and amazing team.
