Project Tempest: Striker in the Valley
Mission Design | Level Design | Encounters
Mission Overview
I designed and oversaw all aspects of Striker in the Valley, a core mission built around a repeatable, RNG-driven structure that keeps each playthrough fresh and unpredictable.
Players track an apex predator Striker across shifting arenas, with randomized enemy spawns and encounter locations that ensure every hunt feels distinct. This dynamic setup supports the game’s loot-and-grind loop while maintaining strong replayability and narrative cohesion across runs.
Key Contributions
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Level & Mission Design: Designed layouts, encounters, and mission scripting in Unreal Engine 5 using Blueprints for encounter logic and event sequencing
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Collaborative Development: Worked with fellow level designers to support multiple core missions within a single shared environment
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Cross-Discipline Coordination: Partnered with art, narrative, and systems design teams to align gameplay intent, visual direction, and storytelling
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Blockout Art Creation: Built 3D blockout kits in Maya based on visual development concepts to support rapid iteration before final art implementation
VR Co-Op Shooter | Core Mission Walkthrough
Mission Walkthrough
Phase 1
Players drop into the valley as a 3-player Ranger squad tasked with locating and neutralizing the apex predator known as the Striker. This opening phase establishes tone and pacing - quiet, tense, and methodical. The environment is wide and open, encouraging players to fan out, read the terrain, and search for signs of disturbance.
Environmental clues serve as breadcrumbs that guide observant players to the creature’s perch. The sense of suspense is deliberate: it’s about who’s hunting who. Once discovered, the Striker reveals itself with a sudden ambush, kicking off the first combat engagement and setting the stage for the creature’s aggressive, unpredictable behavior.
Phase 2
After sustaining enough damage, the Striker retreats to a new area of the valley, triggering a shift in gameplay rhythm. Players must regroup, track its escape path, and prepare for the next confrontation in a different sub-biome - often denser, more vertical, or less forgiving.
This phase intensifies the encounter loop: the search is shorter, the combat spaces are tighter, and enemy spawns become more frequent and coordinated. It tests team communication, situational awareness, and use of traversal tools as players adapt to the evolving terrain and heightened aggression of the Striker.
Phase 3
The final phase delivers a climactic showdown in a confined, high-tension arena - an area filled with hazards and fewer safe zones for cover. By this point, the Striker has learned from prior encounters, attacking more ferociously and using its camouflage to reposition mid-fight. Players must use everything they’ve learned across the previous phases to survive and defeat it.
When the creature finally falls, the tone shifts from adrenaline to relief. The squad calls in their dropship and exfiltrates, completing a full emotional arc from tension and discovery to survival and triumph.
Pacing & Tension
Mission Mechanics
Perches and Tells
The Striker uses camouflage to blend with its surroundings, attempting to ambush players. Observant players can spot subtle environmental tells to locate the creature:
Tree Perch
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Stripped bark on the trunk
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Snapped branches and twigs
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Litterfall at the base with VFX
Rock Perch
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Claw marks on the rock
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Pebbles at the base with SFX
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Footprint in dust at the base with VFX
Tracking and Pursuit
After combat, the Striker flees to recover, shifting gameplay into a tracking phase. Players switch into a seeking mode inspired by real-world bushcraft and the fantasy of being Rangers. I developed a system where plants and trees leave environmental tells based on creature movement:
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The size of fallen leaves and litter corresponds to the creature’s size
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The trail length indicates the direction of movement
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This system reinforces cooperative play and situational awareness
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It extends beyond this mission to other ranger activities, like locating lost livestock or NPCs, strengthening the ranger fantasy
Concept & Vis-Dev
I worked with vis-dev on the look and feel of the creature player would be hunting. For cost effective, we landed on an enemy that would be a mid-level enemy, ranked up to elite status for the purposes of this mission. I wanted the creature to feel panther-like so it drives home the feeling of hunting - and being hunted in the wild. The location was a level shell/box/footprint structure (help me with wording) that RNG environmental elements would procedurally populated based on the mission type. The level needed to feel wild and alien, but in sight of man-made structures since it is a frontier. the concept art captured this beautifully.
