Mafia: Definitive Edition
Associate level designer
Main Mission: Election Campaign
Election Campaign is Election Campaign is a non-linear, prison-based mission emphasizing exploration, atmosphere, and narrative immersion.
I designed this mission from pre-production through final implementation owning spatial flow, encounter pacing, narrative scripting, and environmental storytelling. The level guides players through a disorienting, oppressive space using sound design, NPC presence, and visual storytelling to build unease and suspense.
Design responsibilities and process:
Level design:
Drew inspiration from the original game and the prison mission's atmosphere.
Conducted research on prison spaces and architectural layouts to support architectural authenticity.
Identified key prison zones to support narrative beats and exploration flow.
Created 2D maps and developed corresponding 3D layouts
Defined new mission flow and established the golden path following original game main objectives material.
Built whitebox adhering to game metrics.
Ensured white-box designs supported intended navigation flow, as discussed with the director.
Determined main locations for combat encounters and scripted NPC events to bring life to spaces.
Highlighted level design elements such as escape route.
Designed lever-based progression gates to subtly guide player movement and enhance spatial memory.
Placed side quests and collectibles to enhance exploration.
Example: Environment level design
Each room in the prison was designed with a distinct theme, carefully chosen based on environmental research and the intended player experience.
The layout intentionally alternates between claustrophobic corridors and open yards to control pacing and building tension through spatial compression, timed reveals and moments of surprise.
Mission design:
Developed mission progression and objectives relfecting the new flow.
Proposed and created narrative and side content gameplay.
Designed and created NPCs, complete with backstories, personalities, and dialogues to amplify the bizarreness of the prison.
Created world interactions in collaboration with the world designer to bring specific scenarios to life increasing the prison’s possible exploration oddities.
Proposed and developed off-screen audio atmosphere in collaboration with the audio designer in order to create a unique creepy atmosphere creating tension.
Identified scripted sequences and defined level design modifiers to refine the experience of the mission exploration adding element of suprise.
Scripted mission gameplay, including progression, NPC behaviors, combat scenarios, and fail conditions.
Recorded gospel singing, collaborating with the sound designer, to incorporate into the mission, enhancing the narrative of a specific NPC.
Implemented mission easter egg with different conditions.
Polished combat encounter scripting and balanced combat intensity following the mission narrative to increase difficulty of encounters.
Example: Levers and layered progression
Players manipulate levers to unlock main progression as well as side content: cell doors, hidden dialogue, and collectibles. This encourages exploration and reveals layered narrative threads without breaking immersion, reinforcing the theme of a gated prison.
The prison has two states: before the police invasion and after. The state change modifies NPC presence and potential access to side content.
Key lesson:
Balancing non-linear exploration with narrative pacing required thoughtful layout design and creative techniques to help players absorb and retain spatial knowledge. During early testing, I observed a struggle to identify the critical path without sufficient visual or narrative cues. In response, I guided players using symbolic elements, reinforced directionality through a narrative NPC, and placed landmark props and enemy audio triggers to subtly draw attention and support orientation all without breaking immersion. Additionally, the lever-based gating system was implemented to encourage memory-based navigation and reinforce spatial learning.
Visual showcase:
Screens and video
The saint and the sinner:
I created the initial layout of the church interior and contributed to early rooftop traversal design, focusing on spatial pacing and combat navigation..
Bon Appetite:
I helped expand the Bon Appetit mission by extending its playable space, designing the back area of the restaurant, and scripting the first encounter phase that takes place there.