Project Saber
Solo Project| UEFN (Unreal Engine Fortnite Editor)| Radically Non-Linear Level Design
In this project, I set out to create a radically non-linear sci-fi level design within an existing environment, making significant layout changes to enable engaging and varied player experiences. This project demonstrates my ability to develop a functional gameplay loop using pre-existing assets, showcasing how I can join a team mid-production and still deliver high-quality level design. It also reflects my understanding of radically non-linear design principles and how they can be applied to enhance player agency and replayability.
This project explores Radically Non-Linear (RNL) level design within a pre-existing space, using UEFN’s prefab TMNT Technodrome as the foundation. My goal was to reimagine an already-built environment and adapt it into a highly flexible gameplay experience that embodies the principles of RNL design.
In my definition,
Radically Non-Linear (RNL) level design is an approach where player movement and progression are highly unpredictable, offering unparalleled freedom to navigate toward the end goal. Unlike linear or traditional non-linear structures, RNL focuses on emergent gameplay, where choices are not limited to predefined routes but evolve dynamically through player-driven decision-making.
​
Project Overview
Design / Personal Goals
Key Takeaways
-
Transform a prefab environment (UEFN’s TMNT Technodrome) into a space that supports radically non-linear gameplay without losing its core identity.
-
Encourage multiple playstyles, allowing players to choose between stealth, aggression, or creative pathfinding based on personal preference.
-
Reconstruct flow and pacing by introducing new access points, verticality, and sightline changes that promote dynamic exploration.
-
Demonstrate adaptability, showcasing the ability to work within existing assets and evolve them into something functionally new and engaging.
-
Learned how to analyze and restructure pre-built layouts to fit radically non-linear principles.
-
Improved understanding of player agency, route clarity, and systemic flexibility in open-ended level design.
-
Reinforced the importance of readability and affordance, ensuring each route clearly communicates risk and reward.
-
Strengthened skills in iteration and environmental problem-solving, essential when joining projects mid-development or working with constraints.
What is Radically Non Linear Level Design?
Reimagining an Existing Space
Rather than building from scratch, something I’ve done countless times before, I challenged myself to transform UEFN’s Technodrome prefab into a gameplay-ready environment. I wanted to push my creativity by working within strict constraints and limitations, forcing design decisions that prioritize adaptation and problem-solving. This process involved analyzing the existing architecture, identifying dead zones, and reshaping the flow to support multiple routes, player freedom, and dynamic encounters. The result demonstrates my ability to adapt pre-existing assets into immersive, player-driven experiences that still align with Radically Non-Linear (RNL) principles.
Comparison
Before
Before
Before
Timelapse
After
After
After
Radically Non-Linear Design in Practice
Level Overview
The level takes place inside a high-tech sci-fi prison, where the player, imprisoned alongside the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, must find a way to escape. From the very beginning, the experience is built around player choice and dynamic freedom, allowing multiple playstyles and outcomes.
The core objective is simple: escape the Technodrome. But how players approach this goal defines their experience.
-
Opening Choice: Right out of the cell, players face two distinct options, break through the main gate for a direct confrontation, or sneak through a damaged wall to bypass guards unnoticed. Both routes lead to the same key objective: stealing an authority keycard to access restricted prison zones.
-
Dynamic Paths: Once the player obtains the card, they can proceed stealthily, disabling cameras and avoiding detection, or go fully aggressive, triggering alarms and fighting their way out.
-
Moral Choice (Optional Task): The TMNT are imprisoned nearby, and helping them is completely optional. Releasing them adds complexity and intensity — they’ll assist in combat if freed, but doing so requires sneaking through security and retrieving their locked weapons.
-
Encounters & Layers: Each lower floor introduces new variations — patrolling enemies, watch guards, and camera systems that dynamically react to player behavior, creating emergent gameplay moments.
-
Final Escape: After clearing or bypassing security, the player steals a hoverboard and escapes the Technodrome in a fast-paced, cinematic end sequence — closing the loop between stealth, combat, and freedom.
This layout was deliberately designed to embody Radically Non-Linear (RNL) principles: the player defines their route, pace, and moral direction. Whether they play as a silent infiltrator or a chaotic escape artist, every decision reshapes the flow and tone of the experience.
Gameplay video
Different playstyles on how this level was approched by different type of players
Stealth Gameplay
In this video player goes fully stealth by squeezing through the crack in the cell. The optional task is also achieved decides to help TMNT
Aggresive Gameplay
Player breaks the cell, gets a gun, and brute forces their way. Does not complete optional task, dances on TMNT
A Hybrid route
Player breaks the cell, gets a gun, and backtracks into the cell to reach the balcony. Tries stealth for a bit and then brute-forces it.
Cave Exit from different focal points
This is the beauty of RNL, creating a space that allows players to choose their own combat style and experiment with different approaches, rather than being confined to a single way of play.
Design Logic & Spatial Intent
Optional Task - Help TMNT
Players can choose to rescue the Turtles, each one offers unique combat support, changing how the escape unfolds
Low Risk - Low Reward
High Risk - High Reward
No Risk - No Reward
This path represents a low-risk, low-reward approach. Players who choose it can sneak past guards undetected and steal the weapons without engaging in direct combat, prioritizing stealth and efficiency over confrontation.
High risk, high reward, a longer, combat-heavy route where tougher guards protect stronger Turtles and better rewards.
On this path, you simply avoid helping the turtles and go to the next floor.
Scripting Gameplay Elements
Creating gameplay elements in UEFN can be a nightmare, but that doesn’t stop me from crafting immersive experiences. Here’s how I set up my gameplay systems.
Stealth takedowns
Creating a stealth takedown in a Battle Royale sandbox might sound impossible, but I managed to make it work, a true showcase of my technical and design competency.
I achieved this by combining mutator zones, a button device, and patrol paths to simulate stealth mechanics. The mutator zone detects proximity, the button triggers the takedown action, and patrol paths control enemy movement, making the encounter feel dynamic and reactive, all within the limitations of UEFN’s sandbox environment.
Creating sequencer animations
I used Sequencer tools to handle animations like breaking gates or opening doors, since scripting those interactions in Verse is an absolute nightmare,, and honestly, I don’t even want to go down that rabbit hole. Sequencer gives me the control I need for timing, camera, and animation sync without the headache of complex scripting.
I USED UEFN VERSE TO CODE
I know it sounds like a beautiful dream, but yeah, I actually did some Verse scripting (UEFN's built-in coding too,l) with the help of the UEFN AI assistant, and after six long hours, I made it work. The patrol path didn’t originally pause at certain points before moving to the next, so I used Verse to execute that behavior and fine-tune the enemy patrol system.
Set Pieces and Environmental Storytelling
Every time a player enters a new space, they should subconsciously understand what kind of place it is and what story it’s telling. Whether it’s through lighting, props, or layout, the environment itself should speak before any dialogue or text does. If I can achieve that, making players feel the story just by exploring, that’s when I know I’ve done my job as a level designer.
Can you figure the story and what each space is meant to be?
Final Thoughts
This project is a dream come true for me, and I'm thrilled to explore a whole new level of style! A huge shoutout to Jakub W for the amazing asset pack that made this possible. While there are definitely areas for improvement, like enhancing the block mesh, refining the pacing, and optimizing prop placement, I'm excited to take all of this feedback on board. I can't wait to create an even more incredible project next time!
+1(425) 340-4264
