Ellie Tsamouli
Level│World Designer
ECHOES OF RUNES
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Status: Prototype
Overview
Echoes of Runes is a solo-developed stealth level prototype designed to explore infiltration gameplay focused on player choice, tension, and agency. Players take on the role of a fire bender tasked with stealing a sacred flame from a guarded temple and escaping through a desert village.
Tasks & Responsibilities
Concept & Pre - Production
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Architectural research and mood boards to define the village aesthetic and tone
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Level goals defined from both gameplay and narrative perspectives
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Paper design of level layouts and stealth scenarios (sketches, 2D map)
Systems & Development
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Design of NPC behaviors, patrol logic, and stealth interactions
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Creation of a basic modular kit to support rapid iteration and testing
Level production
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Initial greybox blockout establishing spatial layout and stealth routes
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Initial greybox blockout establishing spatial layout and stealth routes
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Iteration passes solving readability, sightlines, and encounter flow
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Optimization pass including navigation mesh, lighting, and collision checks
Design Process & Challenges
The main design challenge, in this prototype, was supporting player freedom while still providing clear direction and readable stealth opportunities. Because the level allowed multiple infiltration routes, it was important to guide players without forcing a single path. I approached this by shaping traversal routes through the village and temple areas, using enemy patrol placement and spatial framing to naturally lead players toward key objectives.
To help players make informed decisions, I designed the environment with strong sightlines and observation points. Windows, off-grid building angles, and elevated vantage positions were used to reveal enemy patrols and movement patterns before players committed to entering a space. This allowed players to plan their approach, encouraging stealth tactics and risk-reward decision making.
During production, I prototyped core mechanics and tools including AI patrol systems, stealth blending zones, crouching, and traversal interactions to support the intended gameplay loop. With those systems in place, I blocked out the village and temple spaces and iterated on layouts, enemy placement, and sightlines to balance challenge, readability, and player agency.
Genre: Adventure, Exploration
Development Time: 3 Weeks
Title: World/Level Designer
Development Process
Reflection
This project is significant to me as it was the first open-world blockout I designed. Creating a stealth level with a single objective and simple mechanics meant I couldn’t rely on complexity to carry the experience—the space itself had to do the work.
That pushed me to be more intentional about layout, pacing, sightlines, and how player choice emerges through level design. The biggest takeaway was learning to trust and consistently apply core level design principles, which helped clarify my decisions and strengthen my reasoning throughout the process.
With the experience I have now, I would revisit the level to introduce more elevation changes, greater variation in building heights, and additional interior spaces to further support traversal, add variation, and enrich environmental storytelling and player choice.