Far Cry 6

Level Design Team Lead and Senior Level Designer:

Released: October 7th 2021
Genre: FPS Action-RPG Open World
Platforms: PS5, PS4, XBOne, XB Series X/S, PC

Lead Level Designer – Outposts, Checkpoints and Ambushes  – Open World – Single player and Coop

  • Lead for three major Open World Activities for the Toronto side:
    • Outposts – 14 Locations
    • Checkpoints – 18 locations
    • Ambushes – 7 locations (inherited after OW team achieved shippable quality)
  • Manager of a team of four of various experience levels in person and remotely
  • Organized and led meetings, reviews and standups, took notes, provided design/art feedback, meeting agendas and recaps, followed up on various issues across different teams and tasked direct reports for:
    • Biweekly/Weekly Outpost Design/Art reviewsWeekly Checkpoint Design/Art reviewsBiweekly (every other week) Outpost AI reviews – stealth/combat focus
    • Guerrilla path meetings with the World Geography Director
  • Created a streamlined pipeline design review process for my team
  • Provided/created confluence pages, time estimates and descriptions for Jira tasks
  • Attended leads/manager meetings, playtest feedback meetings and provided information for my team including project updates, upcoming milestones and playtest dates and findings
  • Created and updated Project Deliverables, Epics and Jira tasks for design and tech review checks and task completion
  • Provided time estimates for production in terms of team tasks and workload
  • Scheduled and created roadmaps that resulted in no overtime for my team
  • Managed the personal development of my team by providing monthly check-ins, offering career options and advice, training, design feedback and following up on mental health, as well as helping with HR matters
  • Efficiently managed team time (schedule and tasking) which resulted in my team helping out other teams (General Open World, Object Bank), receiving the responsibility for another Open World Activity (Ambushes)
  • Frequent communications across the Toronto team (OW LD, Animation, Audio, Game Design, Tech Design, Production, QC) as well as between studios (Montreal, Kiev, Shanghai)
  • Leveraged my strong relationship with another team to facilitate a move of one of my Level Designers to help in a Technical Design capacity in Object Bank
  • Achieved above shippable quality across the board for all three major Open World activities, one major level above that quality, (each level requires a technical and quality check with QC testing)
  • Created tasks to optimize areas and ensure location budgets were met
    • Had several discussions with Art Technical Director about budget and location size in regards to GP objects and other categories
  • Participated in initial design meetings for various features relating to my scope/activities
  • Requesting of various gameplay objects or art assets through established processes for the Outposts/Checkpoints
  • Unblocked designers for various art assets and gameplay objects etc
  • Liaised with various teams in Toronto and Montreal in order to meet Level Design Open World objectives and created and maintained great working relationships
  • Mentored several LDs of various levels, one of which started as a QC, responsible for mentoring and training throughout the project which resulted in a permanent LD position
  • Spearheaded AI/LD meetings with AI lead to adjust Outpost/AI difficulty, balancing and general issues, booked and organized meetings, provided review schedules, used data and feedback to assist in selection of outposts for playtests
  • Monitoring of direct report tasks and workload to ensure team health and well being
  • Co-organized events and socials for my team and direct QC team to encourage team synergy and keep up morale during WFH during and after work hours

Senior Level Designer – Outposts  – Open World – Single player and Coop

  • Owner of five large locations for Open World activities, three at ship:

  • Cortina Weather Station (L3/ship)
    • Blocked in layout with 3DS Max, lego and existing assets
    • Worked with location LA and Lead LA to use the Admin kit for the building
    • Used location as a prototype to implement many other gameplay ingredients in other Outposts (download, recon laptop, vendor, vehicle depot) to provide documentation and examples for other designers
    • Initial and final general AI and STP pass
    • Initial and final setup of secondary objective and outpost
    • Initial and final general setup of gameplay objects
    • Initial and final general setup of post liberation AI and STPs
    • Set up of vantages and surrounding guerrilla paths (worked with OW LA)

  • GDP Oil Platform (L3/ship)
    • Complete redo of layout and scripting and blocked-in with 3DS Max, lego and existing assets
      • Prototyped/requested new pieces (call-outs and references)
        • Steeper stairs to reduce layout footprint (tested extensively with QC)
        • Large platform cut-in for better flow, believability and space utilization
        • Catwalk grate for gameplay variety
        • Triangle piece for visual language with ziplines
        • Small blue crate (open and closed version)
        • Horizontal crane for verticality
        • Crane lift
          • Worked with Animation Lead for lift
          • Worked with Lead LA for the specific object planning
          • Worked with another LD for scripting logic
        • Pipe creation and colour selection
        • Wayfinding language
        • Shipping crate offices
        • Optional objective tanks (red and white)
          • Worked with animation for the valve interaction
          • Worked with Object Bank for the destruction behavior and final asset
          • Provided initial prototype and marking/behaviour proposal
          • Custom navmesh work
      • Gutted all interiors, repurposed buildings and rooms (server room, kitchen, barracks)
      • Deleted old prototype scripting and implemented new gameplay
      • Proposed and implemented visual language for pathfinding using markings on floor, stairways, optional objective and stealth areas
      • Themed and colour blocked areas (admin/barracks, shipping, rig, processing area)
      • Added verticality above and below main floor, fixed flow, pacing, GP usability, cover, location narrative, access points and vantages
      • Added establishing shots and reveals, created strong silhouette
      • Redo of all AI types and budgets
      • Final STP setup
      • Final setup for the optional objective and outpost logic
      • Complete metrics pass/fixing
      • Final setup of gameplay objects
      • Initial and final general setup of post liberation AI and STPs
    • Worked alongside location LA and Lead LA to establish the oil platform kit
    • Extensive kit and metrics testing for oil platform kit
    • Reworked layout to fit amigos metrics
    • Set up of vantages and approaches

  • Maria Marquessa Productions (L3/ship)
    • Blocked in with 3DS Max, lego and existing assets
    • Creation of prototype office building and interior using 3DS Max
      • Worked with Lead LA and modeller to add this building to the Admin kit
    • Worked alongside Lead LA for the Warehouse kit
      • Included planning of other locations using the same kit (Includes Warehouse kit interior)
    • Initial and final AI and STP pass
    • Initial and final setup of secondary objective and outpost
    • Initial and final general setup of post liberation AI and STPs
    • Dressing and layout rework of admin building area to facilitate mission, planning/player leading and requesting of mission specific assets, debug
    • Prototype creation and call-outs before LA ramp-on (sign, set pieces, buildings)
    • Set up of vantages and surrounding guerrilla paths (worked with OW LA)
    • Narrative area setups (ex. Maria’s fan in house nearby with shrine)

  • Dolce Sugar Mill (L2)
    • Block-in with 3DS Max, lego and existing assets
    • Worked with LA Lead for this location and Maria Marquessa Productions for the Warehouse kit
    • Initial general AI and STP pass
    • Initial setup of secondary objective and outpost
    • Initial general setup of gameplay objects
    • Initial and final general setup of post liberation AI and STPs
    • Set up of vantages and surrounding guerrilla paths (worked with OW LA)

  • Espinosa University (L1)
    • Helped establish the university kit with layout blocking with Lead LA
    • Initial general AI and STP pass
    • Initial setup of secondary objective and outpost
    • Initial general setup of gameplay objects
    • Initial and final general setup of post liberation AI and STPs

Additional Outpost work for my locations:

  • Level Design Documents (Layout, AI types, Reinforcement waves, Resource types)
  • AI placement, patrols and timing, STPs
  • Setup of Outpost script and optional objective
  • Block-in of layout and cover
    • Prototyping assets and buildings
    • Block-in rough terrain and cover grass
  • Creation and placement of narrative notes
  • Placement of GP elements (Alarms, grapples, ziplines, ledge grabs, ladders etc.)
  • Placement of resources and explosives
  • Placement of temp VFX for intention
  • Placement of Ammo
  • Placement and setup of vendor, changes post beta at all locations based on creative director feedback
  • Placement and setup of post-liberation AI and patrols
  • Setup and/or coordination of multiple teams of miscellaneous items (helicopter, crane lift, vendors)
  • Setup of vehicle depot, add-ons and clearance for spawning
  • Setup and debug of drop off area for convoys
  • After Beta, responsible for debugging and fixing nine of the fourteen major locations for one of the major open world activities as well as integration of director/playtest feedback to all locations needed
  • Created Level Design documents, layout plans, AI budgets, etc.
  • Worked alongside Level Artists, Modelers, Object Bank, Branding, Open World Province LDs, Technical Designers, Game Designers, Audio Designers, Narrative Designers, VFX and Animation
  • Created/contributed to many regularly used documentation pages for different processes and setups and communicated to the appropriate groups
  • Created/updated LD Outpost contact pages to also enhance the coordination and communication between groups, updated location jiras to appropriate owners when needed
  • Helped other teams in implementation, testing and documentation for assets or items they wanted rolled out (animation, game design, narrative, object bank)
    • Recon laptop
    • Oil valves – specifically for Oil Resource objective
    • Alarm (Armored, wires, lights)
    • Download objective
    • Hostage objective
    • Placeholder text for notes and GP objects (keys, HUD)
  • Built a strong relationship with the OW art team which resulted in learning the art pipeline and assisting in prototyping art for both my own and various open world locations to help other LDs to unblock their maps as a temporary LA
  • Provided references, documents and callouts for these created prototypes to artists ramping on to these locations afterward
  • Narrative note requests
  • Set up of initial cameras for Cinematics team for post-liberation
  • Placed resources and explosives
  • Placed all vendors and vendors stand and STPs in all Outposts
    • Provided confluence pages on locations, layout and type for other teams
  • Worked with various Game Designers on ammo placement and types
    • Made ammo confluence page for Outposts/Checkpoints
    • Worked with Game Designer on allocation in Outposts/Checkpoints
  • Narrative note pass (creation when needed, hookup and some placement for all TOR Outposts)
  • Stash room sign pass
    • Worked with art team coordinator to request signs for all Outpost stash rooms
  • LD point of contact for locked doors at Outposts and Checkpoints
  • LD point of contact on Outpost/Checkpoint keys, naming of keys and key description in Oasis and key inventory on VIP AI
  • Created temp strings for objectives and flavor text in Oasis
  • Toronto LD Point of contact on bunker ladders, recon laptop (and all assets related to that), armored alarm, alarm light, security center
    • Wrote various information e-mails or confluence pages on setup when needed
    • Checked that assets were to metrics and worked with animations
  • LD point of contact on some Optional Objectives (download, secure oil resources, hostage)
  • Helped TOR OB with vehicle depot add on and created a confluence page for information and setup
  • LD contact/tester for various kits (bunker kit, university kit, oil platform kit, catwalk kit, warehouse kit, admin kit)
  • Judge for the NEXT 2019 Level Design Competition
  • Judge for the 2020 Indie Series Competition
  • Co-Facilitator on a roundtable initiative to improve cross communication amongst the Level Design job family in the studio