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UNTIL EYE LEAVE

PUZZLE ACTION-ADVENTURE

ABOUT

ABOUT

Until Eye Leave is a puzzle action-adventure game developed during my time at the academy, as part of a vertical slice project. Each team was asked to pitch two original game ideas and the instructors selected one to be developed over the following months. Until Eye Leave was the selected concept — a game set in a distorted city inside the mind of a dying cat.

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The player controls Zoe, who takes on a human form within her subconscious; she must interact with strange and curious creatures to solve puzzles and confront her deepest fears to find peace.

ROLE

  • Level Designer

PROJECT BREAKDOWN

  • Made with Unreal Engine 5 

  • Developed in 6 months

  • Created for Midcore players

  • Optimized for PC 

TRAILER

DEVELOPMENT

Thanks to the extended timeline, my team and I could focus more on pre-production and team organization. I joined the Level Design department to work within a clear structure defined by our leads and producers. 

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We started designing never-seen-before creatures, which quickly became the core of the game's world and the base for its environmental puzzle-solving. ​We wanted each creature to be unique, with its own behavior, so they could interact with the player in different ways and serve multiple purposes. Here are some of the game's most iconic creatures:​​​

One of the first pillars we established was the use of eyes as a symbolic and functional element – weak points on enemies and interactive buttons in the environment. We wanted to establish a visual language and reflect the game's core theme of death: ever-present and threatening, yet essential for Zoe’s progression. 

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Throughout the project, we had to meet all production milestones, delivering a dedicated build and a project presentation, outlining the current progress and future intentions. These were submitted to an outside panel of industry experts who reviewed our work and gave us structured feedback.

 

In parallel, we also took part in cross-team playtesting with the other development team. These internal sessions allowed us to test the game’s systems regularly and make improvements mostly to gameplay, level design, and the creatures’ behaviours.

 

Thanks to good planning and clear communication between departments, we were able to reach the final release smoothly and without needing to crunch. The team shared a clear and strong vision of what we wanted to create from the very beginning, more than ever before. ​​​​​​​

MY ROLE

Since the vertical slice represents the first chapter and the introduction to the game, the final version of my level aimed to teach players how to interact with three key creatures: Rat-O-Matic, Shockrow, and Sparkling.

 

For this project, I was responsible for:

  • Designing puzzles that were engaging and made full use of the creatures’ potential;

  • Integrating the puzzles into a bigger level making everything feel conneted and natural;

  • Building the level in-engine and polishing after playtests and dressing passes;

 

The first thing I did was work on different pacing combinations, looking for one that I liked and that suited my level. I was initially tasked with designing five different levels with unique puzzles using any creatures already designed. 

 

I sketched out a few possible ideas and recreated them in Unreal Engine 5, carefully analyzing gameplay metrics and following the basic pacing structure I had developed. As the gameplay team delivered new creatures, I adapted my puzzles to incorporate all of them.

Being a level design team of three, during Pre-Alpha, we noticed the levels were too long and there were too many, so we restructured them to create a more focused experience. Each designer was tasked with delivering one large level to introduce different creatures and their behaviors.

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A few weeks into the project, I had a better understanding of the game and made a list of all available creatures and interactable objects, exploring possible interactions.

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My level focused on introducing the latest creatures designed but I also wanted to include familiar ones to avoid overwhelming the player. The time I spent designing the first five levels was very valuable, as it let me experiment with interesting dynamics and a variety of puzzles that I later reused in my final level.

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I worked closely with the gameplay designers for ideas and creatures behaviours, and one of my puzzle ideas—two gates controlled by a single switch working in reverse—was well received and adopted across all levels.

 

Building the final level in Unreal Engine was followed by a long polishing phase, focused on implementing feedback, fixing bugs, and identifying any possible ways the player could break the experience.

Three landmarks view

​View of the three big landmarks after the first tutorial section.  ​

In-game Map

In-game map, showing all the available paths. ​​​​​

One of the project’s key moments was connecting the levels designed by different members to create a unified game map and progression flow. The final level paths follow this structure:

  • A linear area that serves as a brief tutorial for the core mechanics and basic controls; 

  • A central plaza, where the player can see the three landmarks at the end of the three available paths; 

  • The right path — the one I designed, which features a strategic use of the environment, branching exploration and more complex and layered puzzles; 

  • A Bossfight area after completing the three paths, marking the end of the vertical slice; 

LEVEL BREAKDOWN

INTRODUCTION

ENTRY AND INITIAL CHECKPOINT

The player enters this path by descending a staircase and arrives at a small crossroad:

  • In the center stands an altar;

  • To the right is a checkpoint;

  • To the left is the first Shockrow, locked behind a gate, and a fallen Sparkling;​

MY ANALYSIS

I intentionally kept the Shockrow locked to give the player time to observe it calmly and read the nearby journal pages without pressure. 

THE FIRST SHOCKROW

Going left, the player learns that Shockrow can shoot electric projectiles that activates Sparklings. Then, it must be brought  to the altar at the center to open the path forward.​

MY ANALYSIS

I decided to separate the creature area and the altar by adding a jump to prevent it from following the player and allowing them to process the mechanics without pressure.

CENTER

CENTRAL PLAZA

The player reaches a large plaza that features two altars in the center and a split into left and right paths. The goal is to bring back two Sparklings to power both altars and reach the eye button in front. ​

MY ANALYSIS

I wanted to create a symmetric layout in the central area that then diverges once the player takes the right or left path, since both sides share the same goal, but the way to reach it is entirely different.

UNDERGROUND SECRETS

Under the central plaza, the player can find a secret path that leads to a heart container, one of the rare collectibles of the game. The path to reach it is occluded and dangerous, and the player needs to move carefully following a series of narrow platforms. 

MY ANALYSIS

I wanted my collectibles to feel like a real reward for observant and exploring players so, I built a path directly under the player's feet that's hard to find. 

LEFT SIDE

The left path leads to a vertical split between upper and lower sections. 

LEFT SIDE – THE PIT

In the lower section, the player descends into a hostile zone guarded by four aggressive creatures. A sequence of "eye buttons" must be pressed in the correct order to activate the platforms to return to the surface. Here, there's a Rat-O-Matic, which needs to hit a streetlight and cause a Sparkling to fall. Inside the pit, players can risk approaching creatures for a reward or skip them and focusing on the puzzle. 

MY ANALYSIS

This more platforming-focused puzzle was one of the last I implemented and required a lot of careful planning, as multiple buttons were linked to multiple platforms. I wanted to make sure the player couldn’t accidentally softlock themselves so I spent a lot of time playtesting and polishing the logic of what I came to call “Lazarus' Pit.”

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Actually, the “pit” idea first emerged during early brainstorming but was put aside. Later, I revived it and transformed it into a fresh, unique puzzle with eye button mechanics unseen elsewhere in the game.

LEFT SIDE – THE DOUBLE BRIDGE

In the upper section, the player reaches a gate that traps a Shockrow. To release it, they must descend into an area populated by two Thornpots and a pressure plate. Activating the plate lowers the building ahead, revealing a button to open the gate. To solve this, one Thornpot must stand on the pressure plate, while the other must be used to help the player jump high enough to reach the sunken building.

MY ANALYSIS

This was one of the first puzzles I designed. The core idea was to make a bridge with the creatures and encourage the player to say “Okay, I used one Thornpot on the pressure plate… what do I do with the other one?”
In this puzzle, the Thornpots serve three purposes:

  • Activate the pressure plate;

  • Act as a platform to reach the gate-opening button;

  • Act as a platform to reach a hidden collectible on the other side of the gap; 

LEFT SIDE – BUILDING SECRETS

After positioning one Thornpot on a pressure plate, the player can reposition the second one differently to create a bridge and jump across it to reach another sunken building. Here lies a secret area containing a Life Shard, another rare collectible.

MY ANALYSIS

I wanted to give each creature a dual function — to make them as versatile and meaningful as possible within the puzzles.  Initially, this area was an open space with timed platform challenges but after several iterations, I was inspired by the trasforming architecture of Grimmauld Place – Sirius Black’s house in the Harry Potter films. I adapted the concept vertically for better in-game readability, aiming to create a dynamic and mystical effect, with buildings shifting around the player.

LEFT SIDE – ALTAR NUMBER ONE

In the final stretch, the player must lure the Shockrow into chasing them and use it to activate the fallen Sparkling. Once the Sparkling is brought to the plaza, it can power one of the two central altars — unlocking one of the platforms needed to progress further.

RIGHT SIDE

The right path has more of a chain progression compared to the left one. 

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RIGHT SIDE – THE RAT-O-MATIC

From the central road, heading right, the player encounters a locked area with a Shockrow inside. By exploring further they reach a breakable wall positioned in front of a hanging Sparkling, with a nearby Rat-O-Matic. Here, the player must lure the creature so it attacks the streetlight – causing the Sparkling to fall – and breaking the wall, opening the way to a new area.

RIGHT SIDE – THE HANGING THORNPOT

After accessing the new area, the camera shifts to reveal a Thronpot resting on a gate placed on a vertical road. The player must press an eye-button to make the Thronpot drop, but when it falls, it lands directly on a pressure plate that closes the player's main way.​ To reach the creature, the player needs to use a side platform, remove it from the pressure plate to reopen the way, and then lead it on a second plate to unlock a path to the Shockrow zone.

MY ANALYSIS

This section saw many iterations as I worked to create a meaningful puzzle focused on careful observation rather than complexity. The player must notice how eye-buttons and pressure plates work and influence gates and platform around. To guide the player, I placed a fallen lamp post on the moving platform whose light subtly highlights the correct path.

RIGHT SIDE – THE STATUE

To open the gate, the player must kill the Shockrow near its statue. The creature will respawn and needs to be guided close to the previously fallen Sparkling to activate it. Once this is done, the player must take the Sparkling and bring it to the second altar, unlocking the second section of the platform.

FINAL AREA

THE BRIDGE

Once the two platforms are activated by the altars, all that remains is to jump and press the eye button that will open a passage between the buildings, materializing a bridge in front of the player. The bridge leads the player to the big three landmark and to an upgrade for the final boss fight.

MY ANALYSIS

I wanted my level to be visually striking, with camera movements and creature positioning that felt almost cinematic. This is why I chose to reward the player with a stunning view when the bridge forms in front of Zoe, to offer the player a different kind of prize.

WHAT I LEARNED

Until Eye Leave was the longest and most ambitious project developed during my two years at the academy.

 

Working on this level was a highly educational experience because:

  • It allowed me to apply and deepen my skills in level design, from initial sketching and pacing to building and polishing complex puzzles, using Unreal Engine 5 for the first time;

  • I collaborated closely with gameplay designers to implement creatures and their designed puzzles;

  • I learned how crucial it is to iterate. Over six months, I had to revise many ideas, and all that time was essential for practicing and achieving an excellent final product;

  • I learned how to work effectively within a well-structured team, where the producers assigned daily tasks that needed to be met on time;

  • I learned to diversify the areas and puzzles within my level to avoid repetitive moments and create a diverse and refreshing pacing;

  • I learned how to balance puzzle difficulty, the crucial importance of playtesting and the value of listening to feedback;

 

Until Eye leave has been by far the most demanding – but at the same time rewarding – project i’ve ever had to work on. This videogame represents the last six months of my life, and I’m proud of what I accomplished and how much I’ve grown during this time.

WALKTHROUGH

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