Calvin Yang

This project focused on designing a playable level using Amnesia: The Dark Descent’s HPL2 level editor. The goal here was to understand how professional horror environments are made by building a level that guides player movement, pacing, and tension through environmental design. Using the HPL2 tools, I assembled assets, lighting, and sound cues to create a space for encouraging exploration while directing the player to key objectives. I also created and imported a small custom 3D balloon using Maya to better understand the process of integrating external assets into an existing pipeline.

One of my main challenges was learning how to work within the engine’s constraints while keeping a consistent atmosphere. Because horror design relies heavily on pacing and environmental storytelling, small adjustments to lighting, scale, and object placement had a big impact on how the space felt to explore. Importing my balloon also required troubleshooting asset setup and ensuring that it was behaving how I wanted to in game. This helped me understand a lot about the process of modeling, to in-engine, to in-game.

Through this project, I gained an appreciation for how level design, lighting, and asset placement work together to shape experience, especially in a horror setting. I learned how to use environmental cues to guide the player and how to maintain visual consistency within an already established art style.