Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Game Design

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Role Product Designer
Client Ubisoft
Year 2020

Assault Gameplay — Eurvicscire

I led the Assault gameplay — one of the game's signature features — for Eurvicscire. It required coordination across multiple teams, including Quest Designers, Level Artists, and Programmers from around the world.

Magnis Fortress and Eurvicscire Assault Gameplay

Key Contributions:

  • Designed Magnis Fortress and its surrounding areas for the Honor's Hubris quest, balancing military location requirements with unique Assault gameplay mechanics.
  • Created non-traditional gameplay elements such as ladder-lowering sequences and a dynamic defence phase with a dramatic twist: a hidden Pict ambush forcing the player into a high-stakes decision.

This was a complex and rewarding challenge, blending combat, narrative tension, and creative problem-solving while transitioning from on-site to fully remote halfway through due to the pandemic.

Sub-region Ownership — Hadrian's Wall

I co-owned the Eurvicscire region and took ownership of the Hadrian's Wall sub-region, shaping the area's layout, ecosystem, and gameplay features.

Hadrian's Wall and Is There Anybody Out There? Achievement

Key Contributions:

  • Directed Level Designers and coordinated with international stakeholders to align creative goals.
  • Designed a unique mini-game where players earn the Is There Anybody Out There? Achievement by lighting braziers along the Wall — inspired by Pink Floyd's The Wall album and the Illuminating Hadrian's Wall event of March 2010.
  • Ensured environmental storytelling and thoughtful design choices kept the player experience fresh and engaging.

Location Design Highlights

Creating immersive locations is the core of Level Design. I worked on diverse spaces, from complex military zones with multi-state gameplay to simple exploratory areas featuring environmental puzzles.

Stenwege Camp — Largest Pict-flavoured location in Eurvicscire

Key Contributions:

  • Supported dynamic quest states throughout the Eurvicscire storyline.
  • Designed a layered fortification with multiple environmental puzzles and security gaps for keen players to exploit.
  • Collaborated with the ObjectBank team to develop authentic Pict architectural assets, including crannogs and brochs — assets later used by other developers throughout the region.

Petuaria Ruins — Roman Bathhouse-inspired puzzle and investigation

Key Contributions:

  • Created a four-layer gameplay experience: above ground, ground level, underground, and underwater.
  • Integrated narrative elements for the Road to Hamartia quest through environmental storytelling and Halfdan's investigation sequence.

Temple of Brigantia — Sunken Roman Temple by the river

Key Contributions:

  • Designed a water-based puzzle where players navigate dark, submerged tunnels to claim valuable loot at the risk of drowning.
  • Crafted tension by balancing the challenge so players feel a near-drowning sensation without actual harm.

Cnuic Fhada Ruins — Environmental narrative-driven location

Key Contributions:

  • Created a tragic environmental story of a family fleeing a Pict raid, culminating in a puzzle challenge to uncover hidden loot.
  • Leveraged simple but poignant storytelling through notes and environmental cues.

Additional Contributions

  • Conducted weekly reviews with the Level Design team to align creative and technical goals.
  • Assisted in onboarding and mentoring new joiners, fostering a collaborative and supportive environment.

This experience allowed me to grow as a creative problem-solver, storyteller, and cross-disciplinary collaborator, crafting memorable player experiences and contributing to the rich world of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is an action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. Set in 873 AD, the game recounts a fictional story of the Viking invasion of Britain. It is the twelfth major instalment in the Assassin's Creed series.

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