Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow
February 2023 – December 2025
Role: Level Designer
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is a narrative-driven stealth VR experience developed over two years. As Senior Level Designer I owned and co-owned multiple levels across the full development cycle; from the first sketch through blockout, iteration, and shipped content. VR brought specific constraints around sightlines, comfort, and performance that shaped every spatial decision.
Key Responsibilities
- Designed and shipped approximately half of all missions in the game, owning levels from initial concept through blockout, iteration, and final polish
- Implemented all core mission logic across levels
- Sole owner of visual and audio occlusion systems across the entire game, working directly with engineering to implement and maintain them throughout production
- Collaborated with the lead, director, and narrative team on the ideation and planning of every mission in the game
- Supported lighting, flow, and enemy placement planning across all missions alongside the lead designer
- Contributed to quality review across all levels, working with the lead to identify and resolve design issues throughout development
- Co-implemented gameplay VO across all missions in collaboration with the narrative team
- Primary point of contact for all level design systems across the team
Design Principles
Player-led stealth spaces
Open, sandbox-style layouts support multiple approaches instead of forcing a single authored route.
Believable environments
Levels were designed to feel like lived-in spaces with grounded function and atmosphere, rather than obvious game arenas.
Verticality and layered traversal
Routes stack across height and depth to encourage observation, planning, and improvisation within VR comfort limits.
Optionality around the objective
Each core goal is supported by multiple routes and secondary paths, rewarding exploration and different play styles.
