Souls Like Design - Project Dragon's Grave
- Guilherme Martins
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Role: Level Designer / World Builder
Tools: Unreal Engine 5, Maya
Summary
- Overview: This project is a fully playable Souls-like level designed to emphasize exploration, combat pacing, and environmental storytelling. The area blends interconnected pathways, high-risk encounters, and moments of safety, encouraging players to learn the space, manage tension, and make deliberate strategic decisions. The level is set within a dark fantasy world, where narrative context is conveyed through layout, architecture, and atmosphere rather than explicit exposition.
- Briefing: Establish a strong risk vs. reward loop through encounter placement. Balance combat intensity and safe zones to control pacing and tension. Encourage exploration through shortcuts, verticality, and hidden paths. Deliver story and context using environmental storytelling and spatial design
- Design Ownership: Designed the level from initial blockout to final layout. Planned combat encounters, safe zones, and enemy placement. Created interconnected routes, shortcuts, and exploration rewards. Built terrain, architecture, and composition to support readability and mood. Iterated on layout and encounters based on playtesting and player flow
The Level Breakdown
Briefing
Design a fully playable Souls-like level centered on exploration mastery, combat tension, and environmental storytelling.
The level was built to:
establish a strong risk vs reward loop through encounter placement
balance high-intensity combat with safe recovery spaces
encourage spatial learning through shortcuts and vertical navigation
communicate narrative through architecture, atmosphere, and layout
support deliberate, strategic player movement rather than reactive combat
The core pillar was player tension management.
Every space needed to ask the player: advance, retreat, or explore.
Flow structure
The level is built around interconnected loops.
primary progression route establishes forward direction
side paths reward exploration and provide resources
vertical layers create visibility between spaces
shortcuts reconnect previously dangerous areas
safe pockets regulate pacing and emotional recovery
This structure encourages players to internalize the space rather than simply pass through it.
Player Flow
Entry:
Players enter a hostile environment with limited information.
Initial encounters teach spacing, awareness, and caution.
Early exploration:
Multiple paths appear but not all are safe.
Players begin learning the structure through observation.
Risk phase:
High-risk encounters guard progression routes and rewards.
Shortcuts become visible but not immediately accessible.
Spatial mastery:
Players unlock traversal routes that reconnect areas.
The level transforms from unknown territory into a learned system.
Pre-boss tension:
Safe zones become rarer.
Enemy placement tightens decision windows.
Confrontation readiness
Players reach the boss area after demonstrating:
spatial knowledge
pacing discipline
resource management
Encounter logic
Encounters are designed as spatial puzzles.
enemies placed to control distance and movement
terrain and elevation define combat strategy
high-risk encounters guard rewards and progression routes
safe zones placed after major spikes to restore pacing
encounter density increases as spatial familiarity increases
The player learns that positioning and awareness matter more than aggression.
Environmental storytelling
Narrative is delivered through the environment rather than dialogue.
architecture communicates a fallen world
environmental decay signals previous conflict
layout suggests historical use of space
visual transitions reflect movement deeper into danger
The world is understood through traversal, not exposition.
Design Shortcomings
Playtesting revealed several structural issues:
early layouts allowed players to bypass tension too easily
safe zones were too frequent, reducing emotional pressure
shortcuts appeared without strong spatial anticipation
verticality sometimes caused navigation confusion
encounter difficulty spikes felt inconsistent
The level initially played more like a sequence of fights than a cohesive journey.
Iterative Process
Iteration focused on reinforcing tension and spatial learning:
repositioned safe zones to support emotional pacing
gated shortcuts behind exploration and risk
refined vertical routes to improve readability
adjusted encounter density to build gradual escalation
added environmental cues guiding player orientation
strengthened landmark placement for navigation memory
Changes were driven by player movement patterns and pacing breakdowns observed during playtests.
Delivered Experience
The final level delivers a cohesive Souls-like experience built on learning, tension, and mastery.
Players:
move cautiously rather than reactively
learn the structure of the world through repetition
develop confidence through shortcut discovery
experience pacing shaped by recovery and pressure cycles
understand narrative context through spatial exploration
The level demonstrates:
combat pacing design
spatial learning and shortcut integration
environmental storytelling through architecture
risk vs reward encounter construction
player behavior shaping through layout
iteration based on playtesting insights
The environment functions not only as a setting, but as a system that teaches, pressures, and rewards the player.
Level Flow • Combat Pacing • Exploration • Environmental Storytelling • Player Agency
