Frits de Laat

Level designer

Created blockout levels to test out gameplay ideas and the validity of the AI and gameplay systems

Had level design ownership over chapter 7 and chapter 9
I went through a full level design cycle for some sections; from paper design, to playable blockout, to beta and final polish
During this time I worked together with leads and directors for feedback, producers for time management and collaborated with the level artists and programmers.

I stitched together all the separate sections of chapter 7 into its main level with the level streaming tool in unreal
I was responsible for keeping the chapter fully playable throughout development, fixing navigation issues, gameplay bugs, and anything else that prevents a full playthrough of the chapter
We had regular playtests to test both functionality and gameplay of the chapter, where I was responsible for feedback gathering and implementation of said feedback
Fixing and maintaining the chapter required working together with all departments of the studio to report and sometimes help implement missing or broken features, such as audio, animation, newly created systems and general gameplay flow

I worked together with an environment artist to define the section and work out the purpose of the space. As most of chapter 7 takes place in an already existing space from the Kahn DLC in Metro 2033, we had to really think about how we would approach this section, as this part of the map was the last undefined part that was not in the original game
This part of the chapter was very heavy on narrative, so gameplay was there to support and break up narrative flow to enhance the pacing. For this I added crouch spaces, interactables and loot around the area, as well as a small puzzle near the end to keep the player engaged in between sessions of dialogue

Similar to chapter 7, I was responsible for stitching together all the separate sections of the chapter into its main level with the level streaming tool in unreal
I was responsible for keeping the chapter fully playable throughout development, fixing navigation issues, gameplay bugs, and anything else that prevents a full playthrough of the chapter
We had regular playtests to test both functionality and gameplay of the chapter, where I was responsible for feedback gathering and implementation of said feedback
Fixing and maintaining the chapter required working together with all departments of the studio to report and sometimes help implement missing or broken features, such as audio, animation, newly created systems and general gameplay flow