Nathalie JankieGAME / LEVEL DESIGNER
Hello! My name is Nathalie and I am currently working as a level designer at Remedy Entertainment. I hold an MSc degree in Applied Cognitive Psychology as well as a BSc in International Game Architecture and Design. Below you can find my portfolio highlighting some of my game development work. |
EXPERIENCE
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Trailer by Remedy Entertainment.
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Control
"From developer Remedy Entertainment, this supernatural 3rd person action-adventure will challenge you to master the combination of supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments while fighting through a deep and unpredictable world."
Excerpt from: https://controlgame.com/ Genre: Third-Person Shooter, Action-Adventure
Engine: Northlight Platforms: PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One |
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Trailer by Elliott Verbiest.
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Arboreal
"Arboreal" is a top-down, open-world farming and adventuring game. Players can choose to tend to their Orchard, explore the World and test their skills in its various hidden dungeons, or cultivate relationships with its NPC inhabitants.
Genre: Action-Adventure, Farm Simulation
Engine: Unreal Engine 4 Team Size: ~35 Duration: September 2017 - July 2018 Platform: PC (Steam) Awards & Recognition: Awarded "Best Game Design" of all Year 3 projects at NHTV Breda (2017-2018). Showcased at INDIGO Utrecht (2018). |
Role(s) and responsibilities:
Level Design
Level Design
- Designed and built an open-world environment in-engine (e.g., landscape, location of enemy encounters, landmarks, treasure, dungeons, multiple forms of progression gating).
- Designed and whiteboxed environmental puzzles in the open-world.
- Designed and whiteboxed the Village and Player Home.
- Created the narrative concept and 4 NPCs.
- Wrote and implemented character dialogue.
- Concepted the Tides mechanic.
- Implemented psychological research findings to make farming gameplay more engaging, and helped integrate it with combat.
- Conducted research into motivation and engagement mechanics fitting our target audience.
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Trailer by Julian Hofman.
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Beer Buddies
Made in Year 1 of BSc International Game Design and Architecture, "Beer Buddies" is a splitscreen co-op puzzle game in which players need to help each other solve puzzles, stay hidden from guards, and ultimately reach the village's pub.
Genre: Local Co-Operative Multiplayer, Puzzle, Stealth
Engine: Unity3D Team Size: 8 Duration: 8 weeks Platform: PC Awards & Recognition: Voted "Best Game Design", "Best Game", "Best Art" and "Best Programming" by Year 1 students at NHTV Breda (2015-2016) |
Role(s) and responsibilities:
Level Design & Puzzle Design
Level Design & Puzzle Design
- Created puzzle and level designs for all four levels.
- Built these designs in-engine using assets made by the art department.
- Used implemented functionality to set-up all gameplay moments (e.g., guard patrol routes, enemy speed, visbility cones).
- Designed AI behavior (e.g., reaction to noticing the player, targeting, searching for and hunting the player).
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Trailer by Tristan Volk.
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The Key Tax
"The Key Tax" is a first-person puzzle-platformer game in which players desperately attempt to file their boss' taxes, navigating through challenges of endless bureaucracy.
Genre: First-Person Puzzle-Platformer
Engine: Unreal Engine 4 Team Size: 16 Duration: 8 weeks Platform: PC Website: http://www.thekeytax.com/ Awards & Recognition: Voted "Best Game Design" by Year 2 students at NHTV Breda (2016-2017) |
Role(s) and responsibilities:
Narrative Design
Narrative Design
- Wrote the overarching narrative and objective focused dialogue (e.g., quest updates, player directions).
- Implemented environmental storytelling (e.g., set dressing, notice boards).
- Concepted key gameplay moments.
- Concepted puzzle-based gameplay.
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Trailer by Göran van Beest.
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I Am the Eye in the Sky
“I Am the Eye in the Sky" is a first-person puzzle-platformer game in which players can absorb colours to transmit different properties to objects. It was developed during Global Game Jam 2018.
Genre: First-Person Puzzle-Platformer
Engine: Unreal Engine 4 Team Size: 4 Duration: 48 hours Platform: PC Website: https://globalgamejam.org/2018/games/gasping-breath Awards & Recognition: Invited to showcase the game at a Gaming Horizons 2020 Conference in Breda, The Netherlands. |
Role(s) and responsibilities:
Level Design & Puzzle Design
Level Design & Puzzle Design
- Created puzzle and level designs for the onboarding phase.
- Built these designs in-engine and implemented functionality.
- Gave the overall level an art pass using custom-made BSPs, materials, and lighting.
- Determined the overall art style in collaboration with our environment artist.
Graphic by Elliott Verbiest.
Vrrroombas!
"Vrrroombas!" is a singleplayer racing game using a wheelchair as custom controller. Players find themselves in a post-party office environment as a roomba, and compete in a race against AI challengers.
Genre: Racing
Engine: Unreal Engine 4 Team Size: 9 Duration: 2 weeks Platform: PC Role(s) and responsibilities:
Level Design
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Graphic by Keriem Dijksma.
Bait & Switch
"Bait and Switch" is a singleplayer top-down game in which players need to protect their nest of baby fish from hungry sharks.
Genre: Casual, Action
Engine: Unreal Engine 4 Team Size: 9 Duration: 2 weeks Platform: PC Role(s) and responsibilities:
Game Design
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Trailer by Elliott Verbiest.
Pantaloons Lost
"Pantaloons Lost" is a two-player, competitive twin-stick shooter in which both players engage in a game of cat-and-mouse.
Genre: Local Multiplayer, Competitive Twin-Stick Shooter
Engine: Unreal Engine 4 Team Size: 9 Duration: 2 weeks Platform: PC Role(s) and responsibilities:
Scrum Master
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Skills |
Software and Tools |
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Game Design
Level Design Puzzle Design Narrative Design General Game Design Gamification Cognitive Psychology Engagement and Motivation Behavioral Change Cognitive Ergonomics Human-Computer Interaction Research QA Testing Usability Design and Testing Research and Data Analysis Production Scrum Development Languages Fluent in Dutch and English |
Game Development Engines
Unreal Engine 4 Unity 3D Northlight Source Control Perforce Production Jira Trello HacknPlan Pivotal Communication Slack Discord Skype Productivity Microsoft Office Photoshop SPSS |
About Me
Ever since I was a child, I have been highly curious and have cultivated a broad spectrum of interests. These ranged from Ancient Egypt to the animal kingdom and the cosmos, from traveling to drawing and painting, and from food to music, film and technology.
My passion for gaming sparked when I first set foot in the world of Tomb Raider (1996), which combined so many of my interests into an experience in which I was free to explore and uncover secrets. Books and movies were great, but actually interacting with a medium on such a personal level? That felt like something else entirely. I've been hooked ever since.
Games matured as I did, and while playing Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004) I realized there existed a beautiful marriage between game development and psychology - this was something I needed to get myself familiar with! I went on to complete a BSc in Psychology, and a MSc in Applied Cognitive Psychology. It helped me gain insight into the way the human mind works, and I’ve been driven to utilize this knowledge in the projects I work on as a game designer.
It was during my internship at QLVR Company that I could finally use my knowledge of psychology and implement it into game design. I conducted literature reviews as a foundation for game design decisions, discussed my recommendations directly with developers, wrote a research proposal to test the effects of a serious game on behavioral change, and conducted usability tests to improve their products.
Recently I completed a BSc programme in International Game Architecture and Design at NHTV Breda where I worked on game projects in teams. Over the past couple of years, I enjoyed tackling a wide variety of challenges and have developed my skills in multiple aspects of game development, amongst which game, level, narrative, UI and system design.
I aim to professionally craft the type of experiences that have made such a lasting impression on me, and helped shape me into the person I am today.
My passion for gaming sparked when I first set foot in the world of Tomb Raider (1996), which combined so many of my interests into an experience in which I was free to explore and uncover secrets. Books and movies were great, but actually interacting with a medium on such a personal level? That felt like something else entirely. I've been hooked ever since.
Games matured as I did, and while playing Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004) I realized there existed a beautiful marriage between game development and psychology - this was something I needed to get myself familiar with! I went on to complete a BSc in Psychology, and a MSc in Applied Cognitive Psychology. It helped me gain insight into the way the human mind works, and I’ve been driven to utilize this knowledge in the projects I work on as a game designer.
It was during my internship at QLVR Company that I could finally use my knowledge of psychology and implement it into game design. I conducted literature reviews as a foundation for game design decisions, discussed my recommendations directly with developers, wrote a research proposal to test the effects of a serious game on behavioral change, and conducted usability tests to improve their products.
Recently I completed a BSc programme in International Game Architecture and Design at NHTV Breda where I worked on game projects in teams. Over the past couple of years, I enjoyed tackling a wide variety of challenges and have developed my skills in multiple aspects of game development, amongst which game, level, narrative, UI and system design.
I aim to professionally craft the type of experiences that have made such a lasting impression on me, and helped shape me into the person I am today.
Contact Me
You can contact me via e-mail or LinkedIn.
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