South Park: Snow Day!
Role: Senior Game Designer - Level design and mission, tutorial, and VO scripting
Game: South Park Snow Day (1-4 player co-op action brawler with rogue-like elements)
Platform: PC (Steam link), PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch
I was the level designer for South Park Elementary (the tutorial), the social hub where players load in, Starks Pond (The Community Center, The Cleft, The Hill, Stark’s Pond Hub, South Park Train Station, Backcountry Adventures Rope Course, Geology Station, and Waterfall), the Kyle boss fight, the Stan boss fight, The Bus Stop and Backyards, The Church, The Hot Dog House, and The Cartman boss fight. I also designed many non-landmark “ambush” single encounter combat spaces that rolled between travel points in the world – including: A nature trail, a campsite, and railroad crossing. I greyboxed these spaces and built the combat scenarios, including the blueprints driving macro combat state. I developed these tools for other level designers to use in their scenarios. I implemented the scripted VO, as well as the hub tutorials.
I was also the mission scripter for all levels, replicating goal instructions and navigation icons for host and client players. I made the mission managers that roll randomized levels, Henrietta (hidden reward) locations, and loot containers for each mission.
Level Design Process
Each level began with a sketch to layout what golden moments we wanted to support. Verticality variation was considered for sightline optimization, cover from enemy fire, and perches for players who favored longer range weapons like the bow.
For example, the first 2D layout of The Church focused on combat flow points of interest, pacing rest moments at recognizable landmarks from the show (Father Maxi’s Church). The mausoleums in the graveyard were designed like a maze to highlight the sneaky “Assassin” enemy type, which jumps on a player to hijack their movements.
With feedback I iterated this space to support a the Liane Cartman mini-boss encounter where melee enemies swarmed the area from two sides. The maze was lowered so players could see the taller adult enemies and get breathing space from melee fighters. The shed players enter through and a snow bank on the opposite side of the arena remained at their initial height as strongholds players could claim from enemies and use as sniper nests.
I also added a winding wilderness section to break up the geometric graveyard feel, highlight the sniper enemy type, and hide some loot for exploration favoring players.