Creative reuse of spaces

The red area indicates the first part of the game (the player's first spawn point).
The blue zone is an area that the player discovers after about 25 minutes of play.
The green arrow indicates the player's critical path.

We optimized the space in Crypt Enigma by reusing certain areas of the game from different angles. For example, the player traverses the same location twice: first on the ground floor, then on a bridge that overlooks the initial area. This approach not only enhances immersion but also creates a subtle "wink" to the beginning of the game, inviting the player to rediscover a familiar space from a new perspective.

Riddles

A major constraint in the level design of the puzzles was integrating the horse, the player's essential companion, in a meaningful way. The horse had to be more than just a means of fast transportation; it needed to play an active role in puzzle-solving and exploration. This constraint guided the design of the levels, where each puzzle had to leverage the horse's unique abilities to create a rewarding and cohesive experience.

In this image, the player must guide their horse remotely over pressure plates. Each plate is connected to a moving platform in front of the player. Activating a plate will lower the platform connected to it, allowing the player to move forward and reach one of the four openings. However, time is of the essence, as the platforms rise after a certain delay, forcing the player to act quickly. Three of these openings lead to a surprise fight against a skeleton.

Fight and final boss

The level design of the boss room was designed to create an intense atmosphere and a memorable fight. The room is large, with imposing columns and an atmosphere subdued by torches, creating a dramatic and tense setting. The Orb, the first phase of the boss, is located in the center. The design of the room allows the player to move and exploit the environment to evade attacks, while remaining immersed in the atmosphere of the game.

Crypt Enigma - Level Design

I worked on the level design of Crypt Enigma starting with sketches on paper , solo, to define the basics of the levels and gameplay. After validation and adjustments by the team, I created a block-out on Unreal Engine 5 , laying out the main elements to test the game mechanics. Following the feedback from the tests, I integrated the final assets to finalize each level, ensuring immersion and consistency with the vision of the project.

When the boss appears, the player must not only deal with the boss's attacks, but also with the skeletons that appear behind the open doors during certain phases. The integration of the wooden bars for the grappling hook in the room allows for varying the height of the fight, while exploiting the vertical space. This level has been carefully designed to use every element of the scenery, thus ensuring an experience that is both visually captivating and technically consistent with the game's mechanics.