Level Designer | World-Builder
CITY OF HEROES
ROLE
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World Designer
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Mission Design
TOOLS
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Cryptic Engine
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Microsoft Excel
PLATFORM
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Microsoft Windows
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Mac OS X
ROLE DESCRIPTION
At Paragon Studios, World Designers were responsible for designing and populating zones, enemies, NPCs, their dialogue, public events, and contributing to level layout. I was part of a strike team overseeing the creation of new "Issues" (as in comic book releases, not bugs, though we dealt with plenty of those). While one strike team focused on preproduction for an Issue, the other strike team was polishing the previous one. Each strike team consisted of a Lead Designer, Content Designer, World Designer, Environment Artist, Programmer, QA Tester, and Producer.
ZONE DESIGN
Night Ward | World Design, Encounters
For the "Where Shadows Lie" Issue, I was responsible for the design and population of Night Ward, a new public zone. I designed & placed enemy encounters across the zone, created & assigned persistent NPCs (including quest givers and vendors), wrote dialogue & descriptions for badges, and created zone events.
Brickstown | World Design, Encounters
As part of the "Where Shadows Lie" issue, I was tasked with the redesign of the existing public zone, Brickstown. I overhauled enemy encounters to better support the updated narrative and deepen player engagement. To strengthen the zone’s storytelling, I made creative use of environmental elements by placing thematic props, adding ambient animations, and scripting interactive sequences. Additional responsibilities included placing persistent NPCs like vendors and quest givers, writing badge descriptions & dialogue, and redesigning zone events like "Prison Break" (see below).
ZONE EVENTS
Prison Break | Design, Encounters
"Prison Break" is a Brickstown zone event I designed for City of Heroes Issue 24 using LUA script. I wanted to create a zone event that highlighted Brickstown's signature landmark, Zigursky Penitentiary, also known as "The Zig." The Zig is where Paragon City's superpowered criminals are locked away... until now.
The event unfolds across 3 stages:
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Standoff at the Barricade
A tense confrontation brews between a police barricade and a mob of escapees. Both sides remain idle until a player enters the trigger volume, setting the conflict into motion. -
Freakshow Ambush
After the initial wave of prisoners is subdued, the Freakshow gang attacks from the rear, smashing police vehicles and overwhelming any remaining officers. -
Super-Criminal Breakout
In the climactic final stage, the prison’s most dangerous superpowered inmates break free, leading to a high-stakes showdown against the player.