Level Design for Gestalt: Steam and Cinder

I hope everyone is able to stay safe and healthy and had some time to play some fun games!

 
I've been playing Castlevania: Rondo of Blood on my PS4. I never got to play this when it was first released, and I'm enjoying it immensely. The branching level design of Weapon of Choice was inspired by this game--but only from me reading about it! It's great to play the game first hand and uncover all sorts of secrets and hidden paths organically (rather than the way a lot of games do it like 'collect 10 stars  and unlock an extra level').

 
Rondo of Blood is *quite* difficult,  and I've already run in to some bosses I have no idea how to beat, but so far, I've made it to 'Stage 5' without resorting to any walkthroughs, so I'm feeling pretty good.

In development news, after having shipped Pig Eat Ball to all major consoles, I am secretly working on a new Mommy's Best Games action project. But that is super secret and far off!
I can't wait to reveal it, but I have to. See Pig Eat Ball, while I love it to pieces, didn't make a ton of money. Maybe it still will over time! But in the meantime, I need to keep making extra money.

And to that end, I've been fortunate enough to land a contract job with Metamorphosis Games, the team behind the beautiful new pixel art Metroidvania called "Gestalt: Steam and Cinder".
Take a look and consider adding it to your Wishlist!
Steam Page: Gestalt: Steam and Cinder

Gestalt is a Metroidvania game with a 'steam punk' aesthetic and absolutely rockin' art, as you can see. It's got an interesting story and the main character Aletheia has troubled past that slowly revealed over time that upends the entire story and characters within. There's some very inspired areas to visit all strung together by excellent, tight gameplay.

I've been tasked to help design and arrange the overall world structure, but also design and build individual rooms and levels. The team has been carefully dissecting games including Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and Mega Man X series, to name a few, and are meticulously creating new levels and designs to make an all-new Metroidvania for you!

Winding corridors, tricky jumps, loads of secrets tucked here and there, and loads of wild enemies all amazingly detailed in their animations await you. The boss art is incredible, just check out the "MEGA M.E.S.S" boss up above.

For the forseeable future, I'm lending my design skills to the team to help them make an amazing new adventure. It's really fun to work on a project in which I'm not in charge of the art, and I can focus more on just pure level design! I like doing everything on a game of my own, but it's also neat to work on a slightly larger team.

Stay safe and happy gaming!