HAWKEN - Principal Level Designer

Facility was my first completely original map on team Hawken. Prior to my arrival, Hawken levels were less concerned with pathing and design and lacked focus. With Facility, I was able to set a new direction for Hawken levels by simplifying path clarity and focusing on an arena-type layout that proved very successful.

When I started at Adhesive, I took over Front Line from Design Director David Nguyen. I helped carry Frontline across the line by designing unfinished areas like the map's center and redesigning a few other sections to make it more cohesive.

Bunker was a one-day experiment designed to create a small, open, yet tightly-knit map. The goal was to address Hawken's extreme line of sight issues while keeping players engaged in close-quarters combat. This was achieved by incorporating elevation changes with several small mounds surrounding a sloped structure.

Wreckage is a symmetrical level featuring a blend of tight interiors and open battlegrounds, combining low ceilings with high verticality. This mixture accommodates various play styles within Hawken. The winding paths and overlapping layers enable players to evade and flank effectively, maintaining Hawken's fast-paced and lethal gameplay.

Apart from creating new levels, one of my primary responsibilities during Hawken's development was designing a completely new tutorial. This tutorial featured a fully voiced, KISMET-powered AI companion that guided players through each system. Additionally, I scripted the sparring combat AI and an interactive target range. I also designed all the HUD prompts for dynamic points of interest, keybinding prompts, and success checkboxes for each section.