HARRISON BOLIN
Seattle/PST

Howdy! My name is Harrison and I’m a game designer with 4 years of professional industry experience. I’ve worked on titles including Forza Motorsport (2023), Forza Horizon 5, and multiple mobile games. 

With my experience in economy, level, systems, and narrative design I can quickly adapt to your team’s design needs. Making incredible games that delight players is my goal, and I am currently open for work!

Email
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Skills:
  • Level Design
  • System Design
  • Economy Design
  • Narrative Design
  • Unreal Engine
  • Unity Engine
  • Godot
  • Lua
  • C++ / C#
  • Playtesting
  • Prototyping
  • Agile
  • Kanban
  • Pico-8
  • Notion
  • Jira
  • HTML/CSS/JS
  • Adobe Apps
  • Affinity Apps
  • Arduino


PvEvP Level Design Showcase - Minecraft Survival Games



Combat Design

PC

Solo Dev

30-45min matchesThis Minecraft PvPvE map was made as a level and combat design project, developed for 16+ players in a custom gamemode where players would fight each other and survive waves of NPC enemies. 

Each week the arena was updated with map changes intended to introduce new strategies and challenge players. Screenshots are from the final version of the arena, but I’ll highlight what changes were made based off of player feedback and playtesting week to week.

Design Goals
  • Combat between players could easily be highlighted for streaming PvP encounters
  • Sightlines for players correlated with the level of risk. Good visibility = high risk
  • Obvious landmarks on the map that gave players easy callouts and helped them orient themselves in the level
  • PvP combat is top priority, rewarding clever players for strategy
  • Matches between 20-40min, a big enough map for players to spread out
  • Combat encounters peak at the beginning, slow down mid-match as players loot and hunt, then escalate to final showdowns
  • LiveOps level changes inspire meta changes and keep gameplay fresh
External Level Features

Player DocumentationAn important part of this project was making sure that players understood the game, so I implemented a Notion based documentation area that included an FAQ, patch notes for weekly updates, a static mini-map, as well as some hints for the more hidden map features.  


Meta Tools
 A variety of meta tools were available for players, the biggest highlight being the live updating map. This was accessible via a web browser and allowed players to view a mini-map of the arena ahead of time, make strategies, and take notes. This was very well recieved by players.

Week 1 - The games begin
The first week of the arena games went as expected. Players focused on PvP, with a lot of direct combat. Games tended to extend due to hide-and-seek. During play sessions I’d take notes for balancing, and quickly noticed I had over-indexed on melee weapons. Survival was also not a challenge due to the amount of food available in the first version of the loot pool. 

Mobs were allowed to spawn at night, and provided cycle to gameplay that allowed some players to rest while others took risks.

We had the bones of a great experience, it was time to refine and tune!



Spawn / Cornucopia AreaThe starting place in the arena, each player is equidistant from each other and the prime loot in the center. This is the players first key combat choice, whether to play is safe and run or dive into the frenzy for a chance at early items.


Encounter Area: Forest Fortress
 The first landmark that was added to the arena, it has a tower that is intentionally visible from the spawn to give players a direction to run after the initial start. It features a high vantage point but obscured sightlines to the forest floor making it a deceivingly safe option to camp in.



1v1  Encounter Area:  Witches HutIntentionally innocuous, this location is remarkable due to its visibility from the spawn area and risk of travelling across the water. Guaranteed loot in exchange for combat vulnerability in the water, a concept I continued to play with through the rest of the project.


Forest Paths, Floor, and Canopy
 The island is navigable in many ways. Designated paths promise possible loot in exchange for possible ambush. The dark forest floor is more stealthy but filled with PvE mobs. And the canopy exchanges quick traversal for visibility to anyone else above it, making it a favorite for early final showdowns.


Week 2 - Plot Thickens
Now that we had some solid play testing done I was able to start resolving some of the gaps in the map design, loot pool, and combat settings. I ended up extending the time players stood at the spawn from 30 seconds to 60, giving them more time to get their bearings and make a plan before the initial start. This is also when I started adding loot to areas that received less traffic in the previous week, to try and spread out players in the first 10-15min of the match.

I also noticed players were flush with ammo but no way to fire it. By increasing bow spawn rates but decreasing ammo rates I aimed to make ranged combat an option for more players while encouraging them to make strategic decisions about where they used it.

Balancing updates: Less melee weapons, more rare food/survival supplies, less arrows but more bows.



1v1  Encounter Area:  Parkour AltarPlaced close to the spawn, this is intended for mid-to-late game players who find themselves back at the start. A skill challenge that requires platforming and extreme visibility to the surroundings can pay off big if a player reaches the great loot at the top. Regularly contained ranged ammo and weapons.


1v1  Encounter Area:  Sunken Ship
 To this point the North side of the island was fairly bare and lacked distinguishing landmarks. The sunken ship is a booby trapped area that has guaranteed loot. Players used this as a hiding spot to ambush others, as its easy to hide inside the cabin. I’d later flood the cabin to prevent this and encourage players further out into the open, unless they found a way to breath underwater of course ;)



1v1  Encounter Area:  “Secret” TunnelIn the first week I observed most matches taking place on the western side of the island. In order to gently guide players to use the entire map, I added a quick method to get around the central mountain through a tunnel. With one end visible from spawn with a distinct visual style, a button opens a straight corridor that leads straight to a 2nd set of ruins with the same style. This gives the player a quick way to recognize the tunnel system and utilize it in play. 


More Traversal Options
In an effort to allow players to move through the map while avoiding possible OP players, I added and utilized more of the maps natural tunnels and caves. This not only tied the arena closer to the theme of Minecraft, but also created hiding spots and alternative routes for players approaching the matches differently. 


Week 3 - Monuments and LandmarksNow that players had been playing for several weeks and had established patterns and strategies, it was time to introduce some elements that further pushed them to make hard decisions with risk vs rewards. I noticed players primarily hunting other players to eliminate them, not for resources or loot. To encourage more stealthy players to engage in the action I adjusted loot spawn rates to include 

Balancing updates: More weak melee weapons, high powered melee more rare. 



Multi-Player Encounter: Island BridgeI noticed in the first two weeks of the arenas that players struggled with choke points around the island. Players that preferred fast and light builds didn’t have a way to get to the back side of the island. Thus I added the bridge, while highly exposed, offered the quickest route around the island. This was another favorite final showdown location for players.


1v1 Encounter Area:  The Pit
This was the highest loot area added to the arena. Located on a 2nd smaller island that didn't feature much other loot other than a red herring chest, it forced players to take 90% damage before accessing it. This meant it was highly susceptible to ambushes for those who reached it first, but low traffic and no visibility meant that camping out here was just as risky. A secret one-way exit allowed players to escape and evade pursuers. 


Week 4 - Strategic Choices
Week 4 was the biggest shakeup to the loot pool, introducing tridents that allowed 2-3 players to move incredibly fast in water and flip the script in areas that previously meant exposure and risk. Additionally one-off enchanted items added this week created unique player stories. An ultra powerful shield vs bow with flame capabilities. Players could step into special roles, and led to the final showdowns being epic fights between two juggernauts.

Balancing updates: Diversify survival supplies, add tridents, add enchanted items, add more armor to the pool.




Multi Player Encounter: The LabyrinthProbably my favorite piece of level and combat design on this project. The labyrinth served as both a major landmark for player navigation in the arena, and a focus of tense combat. A maze that could only be entered from the corners with extreme loot in the middle. Significant risk as the glass ceiling meant passing players could track your progress through the maze. Pillars surrounding it helped break sightlines near the spawn.


1v1 Encounter Area:  Ocean Shrine
The final location without a landmark for players to orient themselves was the north-east shore. The ocean shrine is placed further out so its visible from anywhere on the north side. A parkour challenge rewards skilled players by allowing them to traverse quicker and dart back into the trees. 

Observant players would find a hidden chest, with unique loot.


Week 5 - Endgame Shakeup
Finally, as the games were coming to an end and we were getting ready to declare a winner for the season, I wanted to make a few changes to even the playing field. This included some major new landmarks that replaced previous slower locations, shifting the focuses for combat and attention. At this point the loot pool was feeling very fair, with risks being rewarded appropriately but all players feeling like they had a fighting chance. 

Balancing updates: Enchantments toned down a notch to increase TTK, potions added to loot pool to allow players to get really creative with underwater breathing, fire walking, and poison effects.

 


Multi Player Encounter: Tree of AncientsBecoming the biggest and tallest landmark in the arena, the tree boasted a network of caves filled with loot and traps. A skilled player could scale the tree, but the best battles of the season happened at the roots. Running and hiding and ambushing and sneaking and backstabbing. Extremely fun.


Multi Player Encounter:  Copper Temple
To celebrate and highlight a big Minecraft update at the time, we added a special temple that featured all the new materials and mobs. Inside was a lush and thick jungle with axolotls quietly chirping. A loot filled sanctuary for some lucky players and a vine woven trap for others.


Conclusion
At the end we were able to crown a winner from the 26 players we had this season. The evolving map updates were met with delight and player surprise as they were only unveiled during the first match of the week. I really enjoyed being able to get live feedback from the players streaming the arena, making balancing changes quickly and responding to shifting metas. 

Overall, I was very pleased with the balance of response to player feedback and requests that made the game better with the surprise updates and balance changes that shifted metas and strategies. 


Final overview of the arena

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