About me
Hi, I’m Michael a technical level designer with roughly 7 years of Unreal Engine experience. I build spaces around player flow, encounter logic, and readable geometry, then validate them through playtesting and data. Currently based in Romania, available on-site in Bucharest or remote worldwide.
My work process
I start with sketches and flow diagrams before touching engine. Then I blockout early, and validate layout and decisions through feedback, metrics and playtest documentation tracking. I document throughout level briefs, metrics sheets and scale references. Implementation is done in UE5 using Blueprints using additional triggers, event sequences or level ingredients and in-engine mesh editing tools where needed to portray the intent and design.
Experience and background
Most recently I was lead level designer at Verdant Games, a fast growing & talented indie studio. I have hands-on experience across multiple genres: open world exploration, horror and atmosphere-driven design, action and encounter-focused layouts, and puzzle systems. Each genre demands different things from a space – pacing, tension, legibility, constraint and I’ve had to think in and work with all of them.
SKILLS SET
Level Design skill set
Research and develop levels
Sketching and concepting with various tools to communicate ideas
In-depth Gym investigations aimed at finding the fun
Optimizing Level performance states through level streaming or world partition pipelines
Rapid prototyping and iterations
Gameplay balancing through RLD methodology (if needed)
Player onboarding
Level design breakdowns and documentations
QA for levels through playtesting & documentation
Target audience adaptability
3D modeling and in-engine rapid 3D modeling
Level set dressing, composition and lighting
Game design skill set
Concept, research and prototyping
Competitor and market analysis
Visual Scripting (UE BPs)
Professional design documentation (confluence)
Scrum methodology
Agile Development
Organizing & hosting community playtesting sessions and events
Pitching to investors and at events
Soft Skills
Collaboration
Problem-solving
Adaptability
Communication
Empathy
Professional work ethics & mindset
Community management
SOFTWARE SKILLS
ESSENTIALS
I’ll be happy to chat with you on LinkedIn.
Alternatively, you can contact me on discord.
Discord ID: verdantman