Technical Sheet :
- Type: Level Design
- Creation Date/Duration: november 2024, 2 weeks
- Tools/Skills : Level Design | Photoshop
- Project Summary : Over a two-week period, I studied and applied core level design principles by creating a 2D level. The project focused on pacing, level flow, respecting the game’s USP, and adapting difficulty based on the player’s skill progression.
- Project Goal : Design an alternative version of the first level of Sonic 3, while preserving its identity and gameplay principles.
- Team Members : Solo
As a first year student at ISART Digital, one of my projects was to re-design the first level of Sonic 3.
My level design professor taught us the fundamentals of level design, including pacing and respecting a game’s USP. In the case of Sonic 3, the main USP is speed, so the level had to be designed in a way that remained faithful to this core identity.
We also worked on the balance between difficulty and rewards, including hidden rewards similar to those found in Sonic 3. Another strongly recommended aspect was designing multiple paths within the level: routes for more experienced players and safer paths for less experienced ones. This introduced us to the concept of variable difficulty.
Another key notion was adapting difficulty based on tutorialization and the player’s level of comfort. Since we were designing the first level of the game, it was essential to teach the player the core mechanics before confronting them with real dangers.
The level is divided into different “gameplay situations,” each with its own purpose: tutorial sections, rest areas or visually impressive transitions, skill checks (used to separate players based on their abilities), secret areas, challenging sections (without necessarily allowing the player to die), and “boss” sections — very difficult passages often involving lethal hazards.
This project was extremely enriching and was positively evaluated by my professor : it motivated me to further improve my level design skills in subsequent projects.
https://windokk.dev/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ROOL_Joseph_LD_Sonic-1.jpg ← To download the full resolution image
Copyright :
SEGA, the SEGA logo and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Holdings Co., Ltd. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.
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