Level design and Environment Art

Overview

I led the level design and environment art for Brunswick’s marine simulation efforts. The objective was to craft a realistic and immersive waterfront landscape that could serve multiple purposes—simulation, UI/UX testing, technology showcases, and visual storytelling. Particular focus was placed on spatial planning, natural element integration, and visual clarity to support effective navigation within a performance-constrained simulation environment.

This page features a fly-through cinematic, high-resolution environment renders, and top-down concept art that informed the in-engine implementation process.

Tools and Techniques

1. Unreal Engine 5 – Level design, lighting, real-time rendering, and performance optimization
2. Quixel Megascans – High-quality environment assets
3. Blender – Asset optimization and cleanup
4. Substance Designer – Creation of procedural materials for terrain and surfaces

Challenges

1. Balancing Visual Fidelity with Performance: As part of a real-time simulator, the environment had to look compelling without compromising performance—a constant balancing act throughout development.
2. Designing for Diverse Experience Types: Each zone was tailored to its use case—free-driving areas required expansive detail, while story-driven zones focused on detail along the player’s guided path.
3. Realistic Water Interaction Zones: Creating believable shorelines, piers, and docking areas added complexity to the layout, requiring careful alignment with physics and user flow.
4. Top-Down Concept to 3D Space: Translating the top-view environment plan into an engaging, explorable 3D space involved multiple iterations and ongoing feedback from user testing.

Learnings

1. Gained deeper insight into navigational affordances—how environmental cues influence user movement and decision-making within a simulation.
2. Sharpened skills in modular environment construction, allowing for efficient iteration and consistent design language.
3. Learned to build environments in phases aligned with user feedback—starting with blockouts for prototype testing, refining based on test data during alpha, and adding final visual polish at later stages.