Spaceship level

GENRE: First-person / VR action adventure
TYPE: Paid freelance level design blockout
CLIENT: AxeGangGames
ENGINE: Unreal Engine 5
FOCUS: Spatial tension, route readability, encounter staging, interior pacing
CONSTRAINTS: Greybox-only layout; no final art, AI, combat logic, UI, audio, or VFX
ROLE: Level Designer

  • Designed a playable sci-fi interior greybox for a first-person / VR-oriented client brief.
  • Built the level around repeated awakening moments, drone pressure, hidden routes, and a final central hall reveal.
  • Focused on readable navigation, spatial tension, pacing, and clear placeholders for future gameplay systems.

Level overview

Design Goals

The goal was to create a compact sci-fi interior blockout that could support tension, disorientation, and narrative progression while remaining readable in greybox form.

 

The main design focus was to translate abstract story beats into clear playable spaces: guiding the player through the ship, staging moments of pressure and vulnerability, and using spatial reveals to support the intended pacing.

Highlight 1: Interpreting the “Sky Corridor”

One of the more abstract beats in the brief was the “sky corridor”: a surreal transition space that had to feel exposed and unnatural, while still working as a readable playable route.

 

I translated that idea into a concrete spatial sequence: a suspended corridor with clear directional framing, controlled sightlines, and simple landmark cues to keep the player oriented. The goal was to preserve the strange, dreamlike feeling of the concept without making navigation feel arbitrary or confusing.

 

This was less about building a literal corridor in the sky, and more about turning an abstract narrative beat into a playable spatial idea.

Highlight 2: Client Revision > Central Hall Reveal

After the first delivery, the client requested that the ending lead into a large central hall instead of an exterior space. I revised the final section to create a stronger vertical reveal and a clearer endpoint for the sequence.

 

This revision improved alignment with the brief and helped the level end on a more dramatic spatial beat.

Outcome

This blockout was delivered as a paid freelance UE5 level design task and approved after a revision pass.

 

The work led to follow-up freelance work with the same client on a larger desert battlefield level.