MILAS NORMAN

What do I bring?

I have always loved telling stories and have experimented with different mediums, but none have ever been as rewarding as with videogames.​

​

The most rewarding thing about Level Design is making spaces, where players experience an epic narrative while feeling agency over their actions. If I can make them go "Wonder if i could do this? Ah it worked!" then I have done my job.

​

Overview

Accumulated skills and competencies:

• Take on a role in a team: from both the time at the academy and time with projects in my spare time. I have a lot of experience with people. I pride myself with being openminded, quick to learn, down to earth and a good listener. Many good ideas are often from collaboration.

• Seeing the bigger picture: being able to see the broader picture, having an overview of the project, and getting everything to fit together in a coherent and fine-scoped videogame is a core skill i pride myself with.  

• Environmental storytelling: Making scenes which implicitly tell stories to make the interactive world feel more believable and real is one of my key skills.

• Researched Level Design: I don't just design what I like, I read research, theory and gain knowledge to fine tune and carefully select gameplay elements to fill the environment, which serves the player and not the developer. 

​

Level Design 

Level design is about designing a space in which emotions are catalyzed. 

​​

In the 3D space all the systems come together, and this is where I like to insert myself. I am passionate about not just Level Design but exploring the field to tell an impactful narratives with all elements which the player remembers.

​

These are some principles I follow whenever I design a level:

1. Intentionality and affordances: teaching the player the rules, and paces the introduction of new ones so they can form plans themselves with autonomy.

2. Interesting variety: Utilizes variety to create sometimes-surprising moments.

3. Implicit storytelling: Not only relying on words but visuals, environment and composition to tell a story.

4. Work flow and process: Efficient balancing of time, resources, and quality. Creating more with less and faster while keeping the quality intact.

5. Emotional responses: Creates “positive” emotions in the player, elicited by the mechanics, spatiality, and narrative techniques.

6. Own way of playing: The game mechanics are at the center. This is what keeps the player engaged.

7. Harmony: A harmonization of all the above, so noone result in compromising other principles where the player experience is not satisfactory.

​

Narrative Design 

I want my work to contribute to an immersive and coherent story. 

My skills in narrative design

1. Branching Dialogue

2. Meaningful and likable characters

3. Meaning behind player choices to add to agency

4. Environmental storytelling

5. Narrative told not just traditionally but through all systems

6. Embedded narrative

7. Believability and suspension-of-disbelief

​

What am I looking for?

• To be challenged in my narrative design and/or level design skills as well as new skills

• Work with other game designers who can challenge me.

• Getting constructive critique to develop my work

• Help tell stories that impact the players

• Be able to make killer levels that are unique and memorable. 

• Peak Level Design opportunities

​​

​​