KRISTOFFER LÖVGREN Level Design & Scripting
 Portfolio |
 CV |
 contact@kristofferlovgren.com |
PAYDAY 2 is a first person co-operative shooter where robbing banks and partake in other criminal activities is the name of the game, either solo or with friends. One of the core pillars is all about replayability.
The level design of PAYDAY 2 is quite unique, the levels are scripted but not designed to be holding the player’s hand throughout the whole experience. Layouts of levels tend to be less linear and offer different paths throughout, rewarding risk-taking and gives the player more freedom to move around.
The most important aspect of PAYDAY 2 level design is randomisation. To keep the levels interesting and stick to the core pillar of replayability after hundreds of playthroughs, level designers have to come up with and script randomised features in a level.
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BASE GAME HOLDOUT As players go into a Holdout, they are faced with waves of enemies, which gets stronger for each one completed. The play area is restricted during these waves and a variety of events can happen on set waves that either make it harder by spawning more special enemies or dynamically changing the play area. I was responsible for setting up the shared instance containing the asset and make the guidelines for picking out levels as candidates, and if they fit certain criteria, I would proceed by looking at possible areas that could make for interesting combat. After I determined that a level was a good fit, I would start adapting it to the new game mode and make sure that everything worked from scratch and that combat felt balanced, giving the player a fair challenge. LEVELS |
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| The Diamond | First World Bank | Heat Street | Watchdogs |
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| POST-MORTEM – HOLDOUT |
| Transitioning from learning the editor, mostly on my own, to fixing various bugs for a short amount of time to finally land on Holdout was a great move that was timed quite well. It quickly gave me the challenge that I wanted in level design and have the ability to be more creative while using my interest in analysing to determine what levels could be great candidates for this game-mode. Setting levels up using the same method allowed me to take a new level and have it playable for Holdout within 20 minutes. All in all, this project managed to hit so many great spots for what I want in level design and helped further deepen my knowledge of the editor and the game. |
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HELL’S ISLAND In the Bain Prison Heist, players are tasked with infiltrating a small old abandoned prison on an island that is now under the control of the Kataru, the biggest threat to the PAYDAY team, whom have their main-man Bain locked up. The goal; find Bain, release him and escape unscathed. After my brief introduction to the level and what it was set out to accomplish, I started researching real prisons and looking at others made in various games. The goal of the level was to deliver a narrative that is imperative to the end of the PAYDAY 2 storyline while being full of action. The estimated time for completing the level was 5-10 minutes, where players had to fight their way through the prison to find Bain, release him and follow him through the areas he had visited just seconds before players arrive.
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| POST-MORTEM – HELL’S ISLAND |
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With my first official level made from scratch I got a great insight to the workflow from beginning to end, how to quickly make a layout and transfer it over to a greybox to be tested. I adapted the design to the resources we had available, making good use of a smaller design with a variety of interactions and obstacles for the player while keeping the constant feeling of having to push through the horde of enemies to reach the ultimate goal. A more complete and detailed post-mortem in PDF format will be uploaded in the future with more in-depth information of my process and how I approached the making of Hell’s Island. |
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Genre |
Platforms Android |
| Tools Used Unity |
Production Time 3 Weeks |
| Team Size 5 |
Role Level, Gameplay Design |
Fall Moon is a pusher puzzler game where you control a Dragon, for mobile phones running Android . As the Dragon, your goal is to move the Moon Pearl to the exit of each level, ultimately getting it to the village so the Moon Festival can happen.
Our target audience was mainly women around 25 years old whom commute daily on the subway and has time to kill. The game is designed to be picked up at any time and can be put away without having to worry about any progress.
My main responsibilities when it comes to level design was to plan and make the first world that the player has access to.
With the goal of not having any type of on-screen tutorials, I planned each level to teach the player all they need to know when it comes to the basics.
Fall Moon was nominated in the Swedish Game Awards of 2018 for Best Mobile Execution!
| POST-MORTEM |
| This mobile game project gave me a great chance at learning and doing a different type of level design which is aimed more toward puzzles for a casual audience. I found that planning the amount of levels, what if any mechanics together with how many worlds there would be at the start of the project was crucial and allowed me to set the pace at a better rate. Having a large amount of people play-test our game really gave me valuable feedback which helped me improve the overall experience for old and new players alike. |