Nicholas John
Level designer in Vancouver. I build worlds players want to explore, from first whitebox to final lighting.
Designing spaces with a reason to move.
I'm a level designer working in UEFN, Unreal and Unity. In my own projects I take a level the whole way: blockout, combat encounters, set dressing and lighting.
Level Designer, Visceral Technology
Built and iterated Fortnite levels in UEFN, and wrote the level design documents behind them: concepts, objectives and gameplay.
Right now I'm building a roguelike in UEFN with Verse.
CoreUndead
Action Adventure / Shooter · Game Design, Level Design, Combat Design, Set Dressing, Lighting
My first complete game in UEFN, taken from the first design document to a published, playable island. All gameplay built with Fortnite's creative devices.
- The glowing Core is visible from every part of the map, always pulling players toward the goal
- Unique "special trees" act as landmarks so players never lose their bearings
CoreUndead, beat by beat
The layout is linear, with secret areas that open up when the player destroys barriers. Each point of interest rewards exploring with loot or story moments, and each one ends in a boss fight.
A five-week solo project in UEFN. After the first alpha I sent it out for playtesting and collected notes on platforming feel, narrative and combat. Read the full breakdown
Projects
Open in the gallery
Cursebreaker: Bringer of Death Team project
Action RPG / Hack and Slash · Level Design, Set Dressing, Lighting
A souls-like action-RPG level built with my team at KPU, plus a custom outline post-process shader.
Spark: Skypiea Island
Platformer · Level Design · Unreal Engine 4
A floating-island level with wind tunnels, Blueprint puzzles and hidden boss fights that reward exploration.
Spark: DragonWing
Platformer · Level Design · Lighting · Unreal Engine 4
A snowy night-time village that turns a small map into a long, rewarding route by building upward.
Retrovirus Team project
2D Puzzle Platformer · Level & Puzzle Design · Unity
Play a virus fighting its way to the cell's nucleus. Built in two weeks for the Rapid Prototyping course at the Centre for Entertainment Arts.
Breakdowns
Open in the galleryHow each level was planned and built: references, metrics gyms, layouts, intensity charts and combat pacing.
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CoreUndead
Game & Level Design · UEFNDec 2024From the first design doc to a published island: metrics gym, combat spaces, hidden areas, intensity chart and combat pacing.
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Spark: DragonWing
Level Design · Unreal Engine 4Feb 2024Turning a small map into a long level by building upward: 2D layout, level flow and an island-by-island intensity chart.
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Cursebreaker: Lock and Load
Top-down Shooter · Unreal Engine 5Feb 2024A Hades-inspired shooter split into corridor, arena and boss levels, with layout, intensity and combat pacing charts.
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Cursebreaker: Bringer of Death
Action RPG · Team project · UE5Feb 2024A 10-week team project: references, metrics, combat and platforming spaces, set dressing, and narrative and combat pacing.
Let's build something
players remember.
Open to full-time, contract and freelance work.