ADA:
Tainted Soil

As the Level Designer on this project, I focused on creating engaging exploration paths, weaving environmental storytelling into each area, and designing strategic combat encounters across diverse and challenging biomes.

ADA: Tainted Soil is an upcoming, single-player 2D top-down action RPG that combines fast-paced combat with rich pixel-art visuals. Set in a dynamic, story-driven world, the game features carefully crafted environments that evolve with the narrative.

STEP 4.

After completing the first playable version of a level, I moved on to testing and evaluating how the implemented solutions affected the overall game flow.

This phase often required iterating on the layout or refining interactions to improve pacing, balance, and player experience. Adjustments were made to ensure the gameplay felt intuitive, engaging, and fun—always with the goal of maximizing player enjoyment and maintaining design intent.

STEP 3.

Since I was working with a limited asset library while designing a wide range of diverse environments, I had to rely heavily on creativity and unconventional solutions. I explored original ways to repurpose and combine available assets in order to capture the unique character of each location and maintain strong visual variety throughout the game world.

By creatively adjusting color palettes and lighting setups, I was able to build a variety of unique-looking scenes using the same base assets—enhancing visual diversity while maintaining consistency across the game world.

The next step was implementing the map into Unity.

I transferred my sketches into the engine and, based on those layouts, began populating the space using assets prepared by the game's lead designer.

Here are further examples of level layout sketches I produced to support world structure and gameplay planning.

STEP 2

Through drawing, I tried to capture the "spirit of the space"—a visual test to quickly evaluate whether a designed area would fulfill its gameplay and narrative function.

Interestingly, during this phase, I often came up with narrative ideas inspired by the layout itself. I regularly shared these suggestions with our narrative designer, allowing us to collaboratively discuss their strengths and, when valuable, integrate them into the main storyline.

Since the game was planned as isometric, I designed all maps on a grid using 90° and 45° angles. I used numerical labels to indicate level height, particularly in areas with elevation changes—such as stairs, rubble, or terrain transitions.

Based on the gameplay time constraints, I estimated the size of individual areas that together formed a larger game world.

Each section was then carefully sketched out, as shown in the attached image.On these maps, I defined the precise dimensions of gameplay spaces and their spatial relationships. I also marked future locations for quests and key narrative events. My goal was always to support gameplay in the most effective way possible.

After familiarizing myself with the planned story progression, key narrative beats related to the protagonist, and supporting worldbuilding elements, I moved on to outlining the gameplay space at a high level—defining spatial relationships between regions and how they fit together as a coherent world.

At the same time, I gathered information on the intended playtime for each gameplay segment and adjusted the preliminary map layouts accordingly to fit the pacing and flow.

Before starting any level work in-engine, I always reviewed the narrative layer prepared by our narrative designer to ensure consistency between the structure of the environment and the unfolding story.