Hogwarts Legacy - Overland - “Coastal Region”
Coastal Cavern: sub-region map
Poidsear Coast: sub-region map
Marunweem Lake: sub-region map
Overview
While on Hogwarts Legacy, I was responsible for and owned a large portion of the coastal region through level design. The maps above show the areas I designed. Working with a few artists, we did a pass on putting the base blocks for core landmarks and POIs, overall scale, and layout. From here, I planned the main paths, then the secondary, and aligned where specific contents would go. This was done by working in cell groups on a grid, taking a few cells at a time to get a better perspective through design and art.
I had a lot of fun designing the vast amount of content. I learnt a lot from making a grounded sense of a fantasy setting through gameplay, connecting exciting and fun elements, and telling stories about the work.
Contents designed:
Coastal Cavern layout, enemy setup and design, loot placement
Poidsear Coast layout, main and side roads/paths design, river layout and setup design, landmark and POI design
Marunweem Lake layout, Landmark and POI design
All World events
All Merlin Trials
All Ancient Magic Hotspots
All Enemy camps - spider, goblin, dark wizard, troll, apart from the wizard castle camp in Poidsear Coast
All Beast dens layout and scripted setup.
All loot placement
All Foliage placement
Moment-to-moment gameplay and pacing throughout all three areas
Hogwarts Legacy - Overland - "Falbarton Castle courtyard."
Overview
Players gain access to this locked area after completing “The High Keep” Story mission. I was responlible for designing the area from start to finish working closing with an level artist and had some assistence through concept art.
I wanted a reason for players to go back to this area as you get a glimpse of the courtyard during the story mission.
I build the area with that in mind by injecting extra narrative pickups, an infamous foe with the last gang of Rookwood group left to keep an eye on things and a silver-tier magical beast.
See below for more detailed information.
Gameplay video
Here is a full playthrough of the area.
The video contains all level scripting and level design I was responsible for.
Running time: 2 Minutes, 11 seconds
Detailed Info and process
Level Design & Building
Adjust level geometry to improve player movement flow.
Ledge traversal collision setup.
White boxing whole level, using basic primitive in unreal
Level placement of loot bags, needing accio in various areas in the level, testing players’ exploration skills.
Puzzle areas designed with the puzzle crate, creating various routes for the player to reach certain areas with varied spells.
Scripting
Utilise redirection techniques that guide the player to the proper direction through the level.
Setup enemy spawns via triggers and spline tech, behavour states and stations(contextual animations), patrol setup and design.
Setup magical creatures, with a special tier to make unique capture reward for players.
Process
This area was a fun place to design for, as it was a place where I wanted to showcase exciting puzzles and traversal moments that all performed together—having a space for engaging scenarios for combat areas and finding loot through player exploration whilst utilising this with varied magic use cases to reach some unique loot, capture a unique magical creature and infamous foe.
I allow players to take a few options from the start, so having leading lines is very important here.
As players approach, they are greeted by the sight of poachers already in the courtyard, with others appearing mysteriously via smoke splines. This visual cue not only suggests options for approaching these sections but also immerses players in the game world, making their decisions feel more impactful.
One way I did this was to stick a camera within Unreal during creation and build the space through that lens.
This helped me during the building phase, showing what players can see through various opportunities, whilst setting composition shots throughout the area. This idealy helps player getting a better sense of direction and a better read in the area as a whole Whether it was to tackle enemies head-on or enable a stealth approach towards the right and left of the courtyard, leading in different sections, allowing a varied approach. Having crawl-through spaces aids this approach as it leads players through the interior section, keeping them hidden.
Introducing various types of breakables, both at ground level and high above, gives varied gameplay, such as the breakable fence. These were set up as send targets against enemies, which were assets that, if a player used a force spell, would shoot them into these sections.
Hogwarts Legacy - Coastal region - “Merlin Trial”
Overview
This Merlin trial is featured within Marunweem Lake and uses the jump stone design. The basic idea for this type of setup is the player must jump from one stone to another in an ordered sequence; on success, they are rewarded with an extra inventory slot.
The primary design setting here was that I wanted to base it around a fishing dock by assembling the stones in a particular way that was contextual but engaging enough for players to navigate through. Something new that sets this one apart is adding a ramped stone, where players must time their slide, then jump and stay on the corresponding stone afterwards.
I was responsible for designing the main layout; I placed the art and set dressing loot placement along the main and side paths.
See below for more detailed information.
Gameplay video
Here is a full playthrough of the level.
The video contains all level scripting and level design I was responsible for.
Running time: Merlin Trial 3 in the video time stamp
Detailed info
Level Design & Building
Adjust level geometry to improve player movement flow.
Created documentation for an overall level overview detailing - 2d map with detailed walkthrough flow, puzzle designs,, research goals.
White boxing puzzle area, using unreal 3d primitives.
Ledge traversal collision setup.
Terrain sculpting for smooth player navigation, clean collision snags.
Level placement of loot bags/chests.
Used art assets to dress area for contexual placement and theming.
Scripting
Set up main puzzle logic via Blueprints
Wild life setup and implementation around the area, fishes in water.
Hogwarts Legacy - Coastal region - “Ancient Magic Hotspot Ruin”
Overview
This ancient magic hotspot ruin is located within Marunweem Lake, and I was responsible for designing the main layout, overall design, and technical setup. The player needs to find three magical traces of ancient magic. Upon successful discovery, they will either gain additional inventory slots or help progress towards their goal.
The central theme for this ruin involves a combination of force and repairing spells. The area is structured of a two-floor layout, as I aimed to introduce some verticality that requires exploration to find the traces.
With the flow and layout, I took some inspiration from Assassin's Creed, with its logic traversal puzzles when trying to find each magic trace and using various jumping distancing and timed traversal areas.
Gameplay video
Here is a full playthrough of the Ancient magic ruin
The video contains all level scripting and level design I was responsible for.
Running time: 5 Minutes, 27 seconds
Detailed info
Level Design & Building
Adjust level geometry to improve player movement flow.
Created documentation for an overall level overview detailing - 2d map with detailed walkthrough flow, puzzle designs, research goals.
White boxing puzzle area, using unreal 3d primitives.
Ledge traversal collision setup.
Terrain sculpting for smooth player navigation, clean collision snags.
Level placement of loot bags/chests.
Used art assets to dress area for contexual placement and theming.
Scripting
Set up main puzzle logic via Blueprints, depulso to work with force spells for doors and spinners, moving platforms, breakable floors.
Wild life setup and implementation around the area.
Hogwarts Legacy - Coastal region - “Troll camp”
Overview
This Troll camp is located near Marunweem Lake, and I was responsible for designing the main layout, overall design, and technical setup. The goal was to create a camp that consisted of a Troll; I wanted this one to be set inside a forest and capture the sense that it had been there for some time. I gave players various entrances/exits to give a varied approach when taking down the troll.
Players can approach this camp via a crawl-through, once traversing through a roundabout-style forest opening, giving the sense of enticing when using caution, going under the fallen log. To the left, players can also slide down the bank side above, providing an opportunity to scout the troll's movements before approaching. I included some fun traversal sliding down a significant slope because that's always fun.
However, there is a slight risk in doing this due to the potential risk of other enemies inside the forest, including spiders, lost goblins/poacher wizards. The rear approach gives another view of the approach but is blocked via a slightly highly raised terrain hill. I did this to give players some anticipation varying sightlines, so you don't always know where the troll is at all times, requiring extra movement, flipping the design around by adding a log on the ground.
See below for more detailed information.
Gameplay video
Here is a full playthrough of the level.
The video contains all level scripting and level design I was responsible for.
Running time: 4 Minutes, 59 seconds
Detailed info
Level Design & Building
Adjust level geometry to improve player movement flow.
Created documentation for an overall level overview detailing - 2d map with detailed walkthrough flow, puzzle designs, enemy encounter designs, research goals and reference images.
Pacing and designing story moments, “dead bodies of goblins with troll club”, “crawl under space”, “slide area into forest”
White boxing whole level, using 3d primitives in unreal
Ledge traversal collision setup.
Enemy placement/positioning setup.
Combat
Refine and balance combat encounter area.
Place cover, cover nodes, AI paths, triggers, splines etc.
Ensure proper encounter pacing to match the player's difficulty at this stage in the game.
Scripting
All enemies encounter setups and spawning behaviours.
Destruction physics/simulations.
Hogwarts Legacy - Coastal region - “Goblin camp”
Overview
This goblin mine camp is located on the edge of Marunweem Lake. I was responsible for designing the main layout, overall design, and technical setup.
The key objective was to create a goblin-friendly camp that also served as a strategic base for an armoured troll. The design, with its multiple routes and strategic cover areas, was crafted to promote a stealthy approach, considering the presence of the sniper archetype in the game.
This was a fun area to design due to the unique location of the mine, which acted as a landmark and enticed players towards the area due to its scale and industrial look/feel. I also scripted the armoured troll to come out of the mine when you were close enough, giving a surprise moment and enhancing the combat experience.
Gameplay video
Here is a full playthrough of a Goblin Camp, based in the coastal region.
The video contains all level scripting and level design I was responsible for.
Running time: 3 Minutes, 52 seconds
Detailed info
Level Design & Building
Adjust level geometry to improve player movement flow.
Created documentation for an overall level overview detailing - 2d map with detailed walkthrough flow, puzzle designs, enemy encounter designs, research goals and reference images.
Pacing and designing story moments, “Armoured Troll”, “Goblin snipers”, “stealth approach”
White boxing whole level, using 3d primitives in unreal
Ledge traversal collision setup.
Enemy placement/positioning setup.
Combat
Refine and balance combat encounter area.
Place cover, cover nodes, AI paths, triggers, splines, patrols, station contextual animations.
Ensure proper encounter pacing to match the player's difficulty at this stage in the game.
Scripting
All enemies encounter setups and spawning behaviours.
Camera loot at landmark location moments.
Destruction physics/simulations.