Laura DeCarli's Portfolio
Level Design
One of the aspects that I enjoy the most about game design is level design. From conceptualizing them, to creating layout maps to visualize them, creating them in-engine and refining them so that the gameplay has good pacing, and the players understands what to do and how to navigate the gameworld.
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With regards to videogames, I've created the level design of a 1vs1 tag game, Pumpking! (2022), of a 3D platformer called Bulb's Escape (2023), and for the two players couch co-op game I'm working on for my thesis project. I've also designed levels for prototypes of a puzzle game, Icy Lake (2023), and the battlemaps of the turn-based strategy game prototype Froggy Mayhem (2024).
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In my spare time, I also play TTRPGs quite often as a game master and I like to take my time with creating key maps for my players to investigate and/or have combat in. When I create those maps, I think both about how the players can use the environment for combat and role-play, and about what the environment design can tell them about the gameworld and the NPCs that inhabit those spaces.
Current Project
Working Title: Co-op Thesis Game
About our thesis project:
We are writing our Master's thesis on game design processes and methodologies, and to test out our process we decided to create a 3D two-players couch co-op game.
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The player characters are two very specialized wizards: one can use magic to pull objects towards them while the other can push them away. They need to work together and coordinate their magic to solve puzzles and opening paths within a castle.
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We have completed the prototyping phase and are now in the process of completing the hand-in version for our thesis, but have plans to further polish and expand the game after our studies.
What did I do for this project as level designer?
As level designer for this project:
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I've researched what types of challenges are usually used in cooperative video games similar to ours, and evaluated which ones were most compatible with our player characters' abilities and with our design values for the project.
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I have created a design template in the form of questions that need to be answered to make sure that both me and Mikkel, our other level designer, would focus on designing challenges that would encourage and enable collaborative play between the two players.
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I've designed level sections where the players needed to move and manipulate objects in collaboration, through their Push and Pull abilities, to overcome obstacles and progress through the level. I've discussed with Mikkel about both my designs and his, and consulted our tech lead Hallur when evaluating new features that we could implement.
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I've considered in which order to introduce players to key concepts and way to interact with movable objects, as well as how to keep the level's sections concise, the pacing balanced, and have both player characters be active in each section.
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I've communicated the design to the rest of the team by combining writing, diagrams and sketches.
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I have grayboxed the design in-engine by working both with Unity's editor and the development tools made Hallur.
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I have talked with our environment designer Hanna about what elements of the level needed to be clearly communicated to the player through visual design.
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I have analyzed the results of our external playtests to identify issues with the level design, proposed solutions and evaluated their applicability.
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I've also participated in this project in the roles of gameplay designer, UX designer, UI designer and producer.
Co-op thesis team:
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Producer:
Laura DeCarli
Tech Lead:
​Hallur Kristinn Hallsson
Art Lead:
Game Designers:
Videogames & Digital Prototypes
Prototype: Froggy Mayhem (2024)
Creating battlemaps for a turn-based strategy videogame:
I worked on a prototype for a turn-based strategy videogame with other three students as a project for ITU's Master's in Games (Design Track).​
What did I do for this project as level designer?
My main focus during this project was to learn how to design and implement battlemaps using hexagonal tiles for the combat system designed by MaÅ‚gorzata Maria Mikosz. I've started by researching and analyzing similar games, like Armello (League of Geeks, 2015), the Fire Emblem series (Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo, 1990–) and Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (New World Computing, Loki Software, DotEmu, 1999). Then I drafted various iteration of layout maps, evaluated which one would fit better the direction the combat system design was taking and implemented them with the development tools made by Thomas Ovesen Markussen and Thor Lyster Lind.
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In this same project I've also undertook tasks related to quality assurance, developed the playtesting protocol and conducting external playtests with qualitative interviews along with Małgorzata Maria Mikosz.
Froggamers Team
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Game Programmers
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Game Designers
Bulb's Escape (2023)
About Bulb's Escape:
Bulb’s Escape is a 3D platformer where the player plays the role of a mischievous lab-made electric creature named Bulb: they'll steal the gravity boots and use them to reach the surveillance cameras, destroy them and escape the lab.
The project has been developed by a team of students, WATT?!! Playhouse Production, as part of the Making Games course from the MSc in Games of the IT University of Copenhagen.
The current beta version is the one that we have handed in for our exam: the player can play around the lab and enact Bulb's grand escape plan.
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The player ump with Bulb's base jump or with the Gravity Boots' Gears.
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The player can recharge the Gravity Boots by interacting with the Lamps.
- The player can Pickup and Push Interactable Objects.
- The player can destroy the Surveillance Cameras by interacting with them.
What did I do for this project as level designer?
I've worked on the game's level design with Thim, with him creating the initial tutorial area and me working on the rest of the game. The player character is a small creature, light-bulb sized, so every-day environments for them are turned into platforming challenges.
My objective with the first area was to give a simple platforming section where they could test out the mechanics that the tutorial had introduced them to, and then reward them with the Gravity Boots that would unlock the second area for them. I created a 2D layout map of the libraries and then implemented it in a 3D format in Unity: working on both phases of level design allowed me to identify how to best approach the design process of the more complex second half of the laboratory.
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My level design process for the second area of the lab has been the following:
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I've experimented with the Jump's and Gravity Boots' settings, testing out different distances between obstacles of various heights and with platforming puzzles with the intractable objects.
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Based on the notes I took of these experiments, I drafted examples of maps, each with a top-down view and a height view that showed how the cameras, intractable and lamps could be placed.
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I then selected one version, implemented it in-engine and made adjustments after each test.
WATT?!! Playhouse Production:
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Producer:
Thim Daniel Hansen
Game Design Lead:
Laura DeCarli
User Experience Lead:
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Technical Lead:
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Game Programmers:
Brainstorming drafts for Bulb's Escape's lab's second area's level design:
Prototype: Icy Lake (2023)
Creating a prototype and learning to use PuzzleScript:
I've created this prototype for the course Making Games as part of ITU's Master's in Games (Design Track).
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The objective of the assignment was to learn how to use PuzzleScript by either creating a game from scratch, modifying another game or creating a low-fi version of another game. I decided to try to re-create a classic cracked-ice mechanic present in old puzzle games like the one in Sootopolis Gym (Pokémon Emerald Version, Game Freak, 2004) and studied the script of Notsnake, another PuzzleScript game.
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The level design process for this project has been quite simple:
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I made sketches of the levels in Excel, creating the solution first and then the obstacles.
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As the player progresses through the levels they have more acorns to collect, and they have to think about the order in which they want to collect them in order to solve the puzzle.
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To add flavor I also added NPCs that the player can talk to.
About Icy Lake:
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The player has to collect all the acorns and bring them to the player character’s tree. Some puzzles have more than one solution.
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The player character leaves behind a tail of cracked ice, if they step on the cracked ice they fall into the water.
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The prototype presents three levels for the player to complete.
Future developments?
I don't plan on turning this into a full game, but I might get back to it from time to time if I come up with new levels.
Pumpking! (2022)
About Pumpking!:
Pumpking! is little 2-players Halloween-themed game made for the One Minute Game Jam #8. The two players chase each other around a cornfield in rounds of 30s: in the first round they can choose if they want to start out playing the role of the escapee or of the chaser, while in the second the roles will be swapped. The players can also choose between two playable characters: Pumpkin and Scarecrow, each with their signature ability. The Pumpkin can sprint, while the Scarecrow can push away or pull towards themselves the other player.
What did I do for this project as level designer?
As level designer I created a lot of drafts for the game's layout map. Since the players would be chasing each other, I needed to give them enough space to move around, so that they wouldn't need to stop moving, but also give them obstacles to be mind of and use while running. The placements of obstacles, traps and power-ups needed to be balanced so to not give unfair advantages to neither the chaser nor the chased, while still giving them the opportunity to use these elements against the other player.
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After creating different layout maps I analyzed them in terms of pros and cons and choose three to prototype in-engine. I then playtested them and choose the one that provided the better experience for the players.
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In this same project, I've also guided the team through the game's ideation and I've fine-tuned the player characters' abilities, the power-ups and the traps.
Pumpking!'s Team:
Game Programmers:
Cristian Ghiorzi, Nicolò Bertoli
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Game Designer:
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3D Artist & Animator:
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Music Composer:
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Sound Designer: