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Level design template

Use this template when proposing or documenting a puzzle space. It is intentionally short so designers can duplicate it into a new note and fill it out quickly.

Summary

  • Level name:
  • Owner:
  • Status: pitch / blockout / playable / review / locked
  • Primary lesson:
  • Required runes:
  • Estimated playtime:

Goal

What must the player accomplish? State the goal in player-facing terms, not implementation terms.

Core mechanic

The main sentence or rune relationship the puzzle teaches or tests.

Examples:

  • Activate a Verb and a Noun (either order) so the command orb changes every matching object it reaches.
  • Repair a broken object before Open can act on it.
  • Rotate an object so it becomes both a door and a traversal tool.

Auxiliary mechanics

Optional supports: player movement, world-rune discovery, interactable objects, camera zones, Mind Drawing, or environmental reactions.

Deceptive element

What is the tempting wrong answer or incomplete answer? Good deception should teach a distinction, not punish the player arbitrarily.

Walkthrough beats

  1. Arrival and observation.
  2. First world-rune activation or drawn-rune match.
  3. First attempted sentence.
  4. Environment response.
  5. Twist or second application.
  6. Completion state and reward.

Success criteria

  • The player can understand what changed.
  • The intended solution uses rune logic, not manual object handling.
  • The puzzle introduces at most one major new concept.
  • The puzzle remains readable with minimal UI text.

Handoff checklist

  • Required runes listed.
  • Required Blueprint actors / authored objects listed.
  • Camera zones or showcase beats listed.
  • Failure feedback described.
  • Open questions captured before engineering implementation.

After design sign-off — engineering next steps

When the checklist above is complete, hand off to implementation in this order:

  1. Making runes — rune data, world runes, drawn patterns, and rune-responsive objects in the level.
  2. Adding a rune — step-by-step recipe for new noun/verb data assets.
  3. Debug toggles — in-editor test keys for verifying behavior.
  4. Verify in PIE — open Content/2ndPlayable/LV_2ndPlayable or your personal playground, Play In Editor (PIE), and confirm the puzzle loop works before requesting review.

New to the Unreal editor? Read Unreal Editor 101 first.

Change history

  • 2026-09-17 — Gabriel Li — Core-mechanic examples use Verb + Noun commands; engineering handoff links Making runes and the default playable map.

  • 2026-09-05 — Gabriel Li — Updated to the shipped hybrid Content structure (PR #19): PreProShowcase sandbox under Content/Rephrased/Levels/Prepro/, Art/Gameplay/Levels layout, Imports isolation, Content/Developers/<Discipline>/<Name>/ scratch space.

  • 2026-05-23 — Gabriel Li — Handoff verify step uses Rune Showcase path; PIE spelled out.

  • 2026-05-08 — Gabriel Li — Added baseline change history section for weekly wiki maintenance.