Champions DLC
I was a Design Lead on Halo 4 Champions DLC. I primarily focused on:
Creating one original map and remaking one legacy map.
Taking the maps from concept and proxy all the way through to art/bug complete.
Collaborating with Systems to create the Ricochet game mode and balance it across all Halo 4 maps.
For my first project upon joining the team at Certain Affinity, I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this. I learned so much and had so much fun building content for a franchise that I hold close to my heart.
Vertigo
This was the first original Halo map I got to create and usher all the way through the development process. It’s tough to release the last round of DLC for a competitive shooter, but I think this turned out great with strong Halo 2 vibes and some scripted features that make it unlike any other map in the franchise. Don’t be too hard on my video presentation down below! It was my first time doing something like that and it was in front of a live audience of 1000+ people!
My responsibilities for Vertigo included:
Creating an original blockout
Leverage at least 50% reuse, which we were able to do by taking organic elements like terrain materials and the rocks from other maps already developed for Halo 4
Model, script, and animate a trigger volume that, once shot, deploys an EMP on a specific platform.
Pitfall
I had the option to produce an original map instead of remaking The Pit, but this was one of my favorite maps from Halo 3, and reaching into my inner fanboy, I wanted appeal to the fans and do sort of a remix of one of the most iconic maps in the franchise. I’m also a big nerd for appreciating console generations, and because this DLC was coming out right before the Xbox 1, I thought it would be a great opportunity to show off how far developers across the industry had been able to push the Xbox 360 by looking at The Pit in Halo 3 compared to Pitfall in Halo 4.
My responsibilities for Pitfall included:
Porting the original geo for The Pit into the new engine.
Making sure all skill jumps and features that both hard core and casual players love about the original are accurately represented in the new sandbox.
Revise and refine the original layout with the following features:
Analyzing all features added in from MLG for competitive play and seeing which ones to activate as the new “default” for the map, including special crates near each base which improved map flow.
Adding a drop down in the sword room so it’s no longer a dead end, again improving map flow.
Adding a cutout in the long hallway underneath the sword room with a large pillar for cover where there wasn’t any before, plus a grav-lift to make that path less predictable and lean into the cat and mouse gameplay.
Making sure gaps that could be exploited at sniper spawns were made much more readable so less skilled players could understand if how/why they’re getting shot.