The Sandbox Game - Steeven GALEAU

— PROJECT NAME

The Sandbox

— SUPPORT

PC, Mac

The Sandbox is an online social gaming platform. It has a strong UGC component, players being able to create various type of gameplay within their own short level, ranging from hardcore platforming, narrative horror to party-game puzzles.

Level Art & Level Design

Tools :

- Game Maker (in-house Engine)

- Miro, Figma

- Jira

Tasks :

- Level Art of IP-based level.

- Concept Prototyping for new feature & gameplays.

- Proof-testing experimental gameplay mechanics to assess feasability and technical limits before Content-oriented LD could reuse them.

- Turning said experiments into full fledged levels.

Difficulties :

- Integrating IP demands and Live-Ops requirements into the Level's flow.

- Finding solutions to overcome technical limitations.

— ROLE

Level Designer

Level Artist

— DATE

March 2024 – Today (current)

Titan Fight

This level features a giant enemy encounter inspired by large-scale boss fights such as Shadow of the Colossus, where players must climb and interact with the boss as part of the fight.

Due to The Sandbox’s MMO-like structure, quests are handled individually while the level progression is shared between players. This required designing mechanics that remain clear and functional even when multiple players experience the encounter at different stages.

Gameplay Readability

The Sandbox's engine is providing flexible but basic gameplay tools, enabling creators to build various type of level.

However, the coexistence of official & UGC content created major readability issues : each level could introduce completely different gameplay (racing, shooting, quizzes..) with each their own rules, visual cues etc.. The result is an overall experience difficult to understand for new and casual players.

Flow & Structure

The fight is structured as a progressive gameplay tutorial, gradually introducing the boss mechanics before requiring full execution during the encounter.

Environmental storytelling reinforces this escalation: the level begins in a quiet museum, gradually revealing a strange laboratory filled with portals and robots, before culminating in a reality-breaking confrontation with a giant attacking robot.

Design breakdown below focusing on the flow to ensure player understanding. Overall map visuals at the end of the page.

State 1 – A comprehensive gameplay loop

Starting the design from the boss mechanics : Introducing mechanics step by step, one after the other, and combining them progressively.

Step 2 – Turning into Multiplayer

Adapting the flow and puzzles to be multiplayer friendly.
Adding gates & events, slowing down the faster players with limited frustration.

Step 3 – Live OPS requirement – Prototype/PoC turning into live level

Meeting a specific amount of quests.

=> Use these new quest to fluff narration & lore, give more context, push exploration & replayability.

Cross-Team consulting – Improving the tools

Tools :

- Game Maker (in-house Engine) & UE5

- Miro, Figma

Tasks :

- Testing the game engine's new features and providing GD/LD feedbacks.

- Communicating with Developers so that it is both "UGC Player" friendly (accessibility…) and a proper tool for our designers.

- Designing Gym Tool levels for other teams : Testing & Balancing maps for GDs, VFX "showroom" for QA & LDs…

Difficulties :

- Working in a very segmented team with little communication.

- Finding a middle ground between player accessibility, IP / Live-Ops requirement and Level Design needs.

- Working on an engine both aimed at very casual users (UGC) and advanced users (Industry people).

Cross-Team Support

Within The Sandbox, I acted as an Art Level Designer, collaborating with multiple squads (Content, Art, Marketing, Design..) to improve the engine usability, content quality & production workflows.

Unlike Content-oriented LDs, my role was to bridge the gap between said teams by providing :

- Game & Level Design insights.

- Technical knowledge of the engine.

- Practical documentation & tools (testing levels, visual concepts..)

Gameplay Readability

The Sandbox's engine is providing flexible but basic gameplay tools, enabling creators to build various type of level.

To address this, I contributed to establishing visual and level design guidelines aimed at standardizing gameplay communication, including: