LEVEL DESIGN
LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga - Level Designer/Level Director - 2018-2022
My role during the development of this game was that of a Level Designer, creating levels assigned to me by the game director. Each level assigned had a specific brief to stick to about the setting and characters involved. It was my responsibility to create the level design documentation based on this brief in greater detail, walkthrough each event, request each asset required for development and develop basic level blockouts within the engine (NTT).
Once the plans are agreed upon with all parties and team members involved, as Level Director, I will oversee the development of those assigned levels and ensure that the level fits the intended design and is fun to play, testing and providing feedback at crucial development milestones set out by the production team.
It’s a continuous effort and a challenge to oversee all of the levels each level designer/director is responsible for but so rewarding to see the creative vision come to life thanks to the development team.
Here I will breakdown all of the levels I designed for the game and highlight my thought process going into the creation of each of them and what inspiration I took into designing them. Enjoy!
EPISODE 4 LEVEL 2 - “HUNK OF JUNK”
This level takes place within Docking Bay 94 of the Mos Eisley spaceport, housing the famous Millennium Falcon awaiting take off…if only Chewbacca had prepped for launch a lot sooner!
Instead of just a simple brawl with the stormtroopers I felt it would be really cool to take advantage of the new tech and showcase the giant LEGO model of the Millennium Falcon and put it at the forefront of what the level’s progression is aiming for and building it with actual LEGO bricks.
The aim of the level is provide protection for Chewbacca from the invading stormtroopers while also providing assistance in preparing the ships crucial LEGO parts before being able to take off.
This gives the player multiple types of gameplay in quick succession. Puzzles to help Chewbacca and fast paced action to battle with the Stormtroopers along with varied character options in how you want to fight them, whether using blasters or Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber.
EPISODE 4 LEVEL 4 - “THIS IS SOME RESCUE”
“Get back to the ship!” Han Solo yells as he and Chewbacca pursue the frightened Stormtroopers leading into the start of this level.
The goal of this level remains just as simple, get to the Millennium Falcon and escape the Death Star. Splitting up into two parties, the player needs to fend off the Stormtroopers and find a clear path back to the hangar now that Obi-Wan has taken care of the tractor beams.
As with all ship interiors in the game, this is completely built out of LEGO bricks thanks to the incredible work from the models team. This provided a different method of constructing the level blockout compared to others by implementing the routes using these constructed corridor pieces together and laying out the method of escape via use of the keycards stolen from the Imperial Officers.
The fun of splitting the two parties, is the character classes of those parties being different to each other to provide varied gameplay throughout the progression. Scoundrel Characters (Han Solo & Chewbacca) finding opportunities within the environments to shoot down and Heroes (Leia & Luke Skywalker) who can obtain disguises to acquire the abilities necessary to progress, all while battling Stormtroopers and eventually reenacting the iconic scenes from the movie. I also included a fun Easter Egg to discover in Free Play for a cool level challenge.
EPISODE 5 LEVEL 3 - “NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS”
One of the first flight levels I designed, engaging in a space battle with Imperial TIE fighters and Star Destroyers before evading them into the asteroid field to escape.
“They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?”
This space battle is all about the action and the scenario of being surrounded by the intimidating force of the Imperial Army. Allowing the player to fly the Millennium Falcon and take on TIE fighters for themselves, to make it fun and engaging was the main focus of the direction of the level, followed by the chase throughout the asteroid field to reenact the sequence of events from the film to be an authentic experience compared to the movie.
EPISODE 5 LEVEL 5 - “REVELATIONS”
"The Force is with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet."
I had the privilege of being tasked with designing the level that plays out the events of one of the most iconic scenes in Star Wars and cinema history. It’ll never be lost on me how important it was for me to do the scene justice yet allow room to add my own spin to it with the characters involved and of course the nature of what makes a LEGO game fun.
This was a lot of fun to create the layout for the battle sections and the exploration to allow the player to really feel part of the finale of this much beloved episode. Of course finding crying Ugnaughts, Stormtroopers working out and Lando Calrissian’s hidden cape collection just added some levity to the tense nature of confronting Darth Vader throughout the battle.
EPISODE 6 LEVEL 1 - “A PLAN TO SAVE HAN”
“We gonna blow our cover, or find a more subtle route?”
The very first level I was assigned to design for this project and the above quote sums up a lot of the how the level plays out. It’s up to the player on how they want to approach finding Han within Jabba’s Palace. Either maintain the guise of being a “Bounty Hunter” and claiming the prize for Chewbacca by escorting him to Jabba, or defeat everybody that stands in your way to get to Han. Creating the obstacles necessary to achieve the level challenge of reaching Han without alerting anybody was a lot of fun to put together and creating alternative pathways as the level splits into two parts.
EPISODE 6 LEVEL 4 - “THE CHEWBACCA DEFENCE”
The second level that I ever got to design, possibly the largest in size and scope and of course the level title will always be the funniest reference to me! This was certainly a challenge to get the most out of this event given the choice of characters in Chewbacca and Wicket the Ewok.
The theme of freedom is always in play, so giving the player an actual choice on which route to take allows for discovery and replayability as each provide a very different experience yet resulting in the outcome of boarding an AT-ST to help Han, Leia and co. at the shield generator.
This was also a key location within this trilogy to introduce the Scavenger mechanic as the level progresses, so it was ensuring that each route accommodates this via the small scavenger workbenches, and the events from both perspectives, was crucial for the player to understand the mechanic while playing out the scenario of the event. Of course wrapping things up by taking control of an AT-ST to cause chaos and destruction at the climax of the level made it all the more satisfying end to the sequence.
EPISODE 6 LEVEL 5 - “FULFILL YOUR DESTINY”
“I am a Jedi, like my Father before me!”
The finale of the original trilogy like you’ve never experienced before. In co-op, allowing players to fight each other as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader before teaming up to defeat the emperor. I just wanted to keep this as authentic as possible in terms of the how it plays out in the film, yet allowing the humour to play its part throughout, especially the emperor with the foam hands and popcorn during the opening fight!
Free Play gave me and the team some opportunities to go all out with some Easter Eggs with the added options on how to attack the emperor but also the other areas of the level that haven’t previously had much in them until now.
EPISODE 7 LEVEL 1 - “FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS”
“You need a pilot?” “I need a pilot”
The first story level in the sequel trilogy is, for me, one of my favourite levels that I designed. Given the situation of finding a way to reach the hangar to escape the First Order, provided a great opportunity to give the player a variety of options in how to progress, allowing for complete exploration and discovery for the players to play how they want to.
Multiple routes to try, various methods of entry into the hangar, whether that’s obtaining a keycard or discovering the use of Hero Disguises (especially if this is your first trilogy to play through) or exploring other opportunities, this level is a great example of the core pillar of freedom we created for the players to have fun in. Keen eyed players may see the influences from I took from various games in terms of some of the route layouts and even the naming of a level challenge. I had a great time putting this design together.
EPISODE 7 LEVEL 4 - “STARKILLER QUEEN”
“Useless, all of you! Must I do everything myself.”
Possibly the most unique boss encounter in the game. The events of the film depict Phasma being swiftly captured by Finn, Han Solo and Chewbacca, so to make this interesting and still maintain the flow of the story was to allow players to choose exactly how to take her down before forcing her to shut down the shields to the Starkiller Base.
Firstly battling the stormtroopers to force Phasma out of hiding to then make use of the power core and discover its connection to some of the systems around the base. This brings in the element of choice I wanted players to have in discovering which traps to create to capture Phasma.
The size and shape of the base was based on the source material and maps from the film so I tried to keep this as authentic as possible, from the walkways above, to the corridors and shield control room, the Art team did a great job in matching the look from the film yet also incorporating the LEGO needed to facilitate the gameplay design.
EPISODE 7 LEVEL 5 - “DESTROYING STARKILLER”
“That lightsaber... It belongs to me.” “Come and get it!”
The final encounter of Episode 7, kicking things off with the Resistance beginning their attack on Starkiller Base, leading into the trench run to finally cause the fatal blow to the base. As the base is destroyed we then join Rey and Finn as they are confronted by Kylo Ren.
It was important for me once again to maintain authenticity in terms of the events depicted in the film, having Finn start off with the Lightsaber against Kylo Ren and actually have the moment of Rey using the force for the first time to take the Lightsaber for herself as the battle continues across the crumbling Starkiller Base.
A fitting finale to the episode with plenty of action, across the skies and on the ground. A lot of fun to work on.
EPISODE 8 LEVEL 3 - “NO SNOKE WITHOUT FIRE”
“I know what I have to do.”
To add some humour and levity to the already tense build up to the most visually striking scenes from this episode, was fun to design and plan out. Starting off with some general exploration of The Supremacy and the escorting of Rey, to allow the conversations between her and Kylo Ren play out with the additional references to poke fun at the film a little bit (i.e. shirtless Kylo).
The main event, of course being the confrontation of Snoke and the battle against the Praetorian Guards. It was important for me to make sure that the environment played a part, changing as the fight continues just like in the film as the red curtains turn to ash and be completely gone by the fights end.
The lightsaber combat combined with the character changing allowed the player to play out the scene for themselves from both Kylo and Rey’s perspectives as they are teaming up for the first time. A really cool story moment to create which makes use of the environment for that extra added authenticity I wanted.
EPISODE 8 LEVEL 5 - “GROUND A-SALT”
“The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi.”
The final act of The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker’s final encounter, a ruse to allow the Resistance to escape the First Order through the crystal caves of Crait. To ensure the true continuity of the film within the gameplay, the combat between Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren had to be played out very differently compared to any other boss encounter. Rather than Luke be able to land any attacks, the attacks themselves were used as moves to avoid Kylo Ren discovering the true nature of what was going on as he attempts to swing his lightsaber towards Luke. To add our own humour to this, we made good use of the First Order walkers and their weapons to land their attacks on the ground around Luke, clouding the fact that he was just building things with LEGO to mock Kylo Ren.
Another example of the player making decisions in how and where they would like to explore within the levels to complete their objective, I split the interior environment into two different routes, each with their own options for both story and free play purposes to let the player discover things for themselves. Which Vulptex to follow and which method of progression they’d like to pursue. All the while Rose Tico is being stretchered throughout to the dismay of the Resistance Soldiers who like to make their voices heard throughout. My favourite little added extra in this one is the ability as Rey to pet the Vulptex at the end of the level as a bit of a reward for reaching the end.
EPISODE 9 LEVEL 5 - “BE WITH ME”
“Your journey nears its end.”
The finale of The Skywalker Saga, firstly splitting Rey and the now Ben Solo to take on the Sovereign Guards and the Knights Ren respectively. Then riding Orbaks along the Steadfast to get explosives to the navigation tower to destroy them.
For me this level was all about keeping things fast paced, action-packed fun to cap off the entire saga with everything that makes the game what it is, whether it’s lightsabers or blasters (or a bow!) it’s all about the battles, including a surprise battle at the end of the Steadfast with BB-9E’s own boss fight as BB-BOSS!
Wrapping things up with the defeat of the Emperor with the final assist from Ben to throw his lightsaber to finish the Emperor for good. (Try this in co-op for a surprise additional level sequence as Ben Solo.)
EPISODE 1 LEVEL 1 - “A BIGGER FISH”
“There’s always a bigger fish!”
With how the story plays out in the game, the first story level for Episode 1 is the escape through the planet core of Naboo, onboard the Gungan Submarine. A chase level against the Opee Sea Killer and the Colo Claw Fish.
Like most of the chase levels in the game, fairly straight forward concept, avoid attacks from the enemy and complete the objective, in this case defeat each of the big fish. To maintain the story flow from the film we managed to allow for the events to also take place within the level, such as going dark before discovering the Colo Claw Fish to continue the chase. For me the key selling points of the level is the scale of the fish that are chasing you in LEGO form, and the size of the Sando Aqua Monster!
EPISODE 1 LEVEL 2 - “THE BOONTA EVE CLASSIC”
“Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts.”
One of the coolest moments from The Phantom Menace is the podrace on Boonta Eve and I really wanted to make this race the coolest it could possibly be. Not only to make the level feel like a real race but to also depict the story moments as they happen in the film, so for example the moments where Anakin has to make adjustments to fix his ship or the routes adjusting based on the lap at the time and the security ramp route in the final lap. Not only that but the racers involved and the methods they crash out, leaving Sebulba and Anakin for the final lap. Of course for Co-Op purposes, we include player 2 as Gasgano and give them the opportunity to win the race, with an alternative cutscene should they successfully do so.
You can immediately see where we took inspiration from to make this race a first person perspective experience to bring the player into the moment, seeing every detail, especially the LEGO version of Anakin’s Pod. Kudos to the game team for their dedication into helping make this one a reality with how it feels to be in control of the pod.
EPISODE 1 LEVEL 3 - “BETTER CALL MAUL”
“We’ll handle this.”
To design a level to the tune of Duel of the Fates was an incredibly cool moment for me and very important to represent the scene well with a mix of fun lightsaber battles and exploration around the plasma refinery complex.
Given the style of the environment, it allows for various levels of verticality in the exploration while pursuing Maul to fight him and the various droids that attack you. It breaks up the fight a little yet maintaining its fast pace to make it a cool story sequence. Thanks to the cutscene team, the outro cutscene is easily one of the funniest in the game!
A “did you know..?” moment in this level would be that depending on where Maul is during the first fight sequence, after the first health meter has been depleted, Maul will run in one of two directions for the player to follow, so everyone’s first experience with the level may be different than someone else.
EPISODE 1 LEVEL 5 - “NOW THIS IS PODRACING”
"I'll Try Spinning, That's A Good Trick"
The final story event of The Phantom Menace, Anakin Skywalker in the Naboo Starfighter helping the Naboo army destroy the Trade Federation droid control ship.
For me the main attraction of the entire level is the LEGO Droid Control Ship so to fly around and destroy its defenses and attack the vulture droid enemies is such a cool moment but that is capped off by also flying directly into the interior of the ship and completing the mission for yourself from Anakin’s perspective inside the cockpit of the Naboo starfighter.
Pretty simple premise but very satisfying conclusion to the episode.
EPISODE 2 LEVEL 1 - “A WRESTLE WITH WESELL”
“What took you so long?”
Similar to the other chase scene levels, the objective remains fairly straight for but the premise of this one taking place within the city filled planet of Corsucant, the scope to integrate several different areas within the level was a fun challenge to get right.
Allowing progression of attacking Zam Wessell to dictate when the environments change from one location to the next was just one of the cool features of the tech to allow chase sections to work in the way they did.
EPISODE 2 LEVEL 2 - “THE HUNT FOR JANGO”
“Get him, Dad, get him. Fire!”
As much as I’d have liked to have called this level “Take your son to work-day!” we stuck with “The Hunt for Jango” and I loved planning this one out in how each of the events would take place as the level progresses.
The premise of discovering Jango’s ship location, chasing him down and fighting through the asteroids and traversing within the much larger asteroids was quite a challenge.
Deciding between being fully in control of flight or having on rails sections we went back and forth on how we could get the best out of the level and in the end we felt like the player maintaining full control of the ship for battle and exploration was the best approach to give the player the experience of being one one to take down Jango’s ship by themselves.
It took some hard work from the team but the end result is worth it.
EPISODE 2 LEVEL 5 - “THE BATTLE OF THE JEDI”
“This is just the beginning!”
The final act of The Attack of The Clones, finding Count Dooku and stop him from escaping with the Death Star plans.
Keeping the pillar of freedom, we immediately present the player the player with a few options on how to get the door open into the factory that can lead to the hangar. From there the options on which routes to take are they for the player to discover for themselves depending on how they would like to explore these environments. Enter the dark caves and risk attacks from Geonosians or remain in the light and fight battle droids along the way to cut down a door into the hangar to confront Dooku.
Fighting Dooku as Obi-Wan and Anakin, followed by Yoda stays true to the story continuity and allows a fun mix of choice between which Jedi to fight Dooku as well as seeing the room go dark at points to find Dooku and continue the fight. Once again, keeping a safe pace throughout the level, allowing for room to breathe between each combat scenario and allowing the tense nature of walking through the dark caves I believe was a fun change of pace for the player if they take that route as that’s how the characters in this situation would behave, to proceed with caution and deal with any enemies as they appear.
EPISODE 3 LEVEL 2 - “SO UNCIVILISED”
“Hello There!”
Obi-Wan Kenobi, alongside the clone army led by Commander Cody, find General Grievous on the tenth level of the Pau City base of Utapau. The origin of one of the most famous quotes and meme’s throughout all of Star Wars, I was very happy to be attached to work on this level for the game.
One of the coolest features of Grievous is the moment of him splitting his arms apart to showcase his many lightsabers from his collection. Grievous’ lightsabers were what I wanted the levels focus to be through this battle, to highlight the progression of the boss fight by removing his lightsabers one at a time as the fight takes the player all around the base. Also to showcase Grievous combat abilities, making use of his dangerous spinning lightsaber attacks for the player to avoid. To further sell the battle, we made sure to have the battle between the clone army and the droids be take place within the surrounding areas to immerse the player in the scene.
EPISODE 3 LEVEL 5 - “THE HIGH GROUND”
“If you're not with me, then you're my enemy.”
Finally, one of my absolute favourite scenes from the prequel trilogy, the battle between Master and Apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Anakin Skywalker. To be able to recrate this famous scene for The Skywalker Saga was so exciting for me to work on. I really wanted to be as authentic as possible in recreating the battle, starting from the landing pad, right through the entire base and ending on the lava river for the climax of the fight between the former friends.
It was important that the combat mechanics combined with the impact of the environment of Mustafar to be the star of the show for this final mission of Episode III, allowing the player to experience the battle for themselves in a much more intense way compared to the original LEGO Star Wars experience. I had a lot of fun re-watching the fight to then plan and block this level out. Very happy with the final result.
