Plarity²

Lead Level Designer

My Role

During development I worked as the Lead Level Designer and was responsible for the overall level design direction. I designed most of the 15 levels from concept to final implementation and contributed to the remaining levels. My work focused on puzzle design, gameplay flow, difficulty balancing, and maintaining a consistent progression of mechanics across the game.

Role

Description

Polarity is a 2D platformer built around a core mechanic that allows players to change gravity in four directions. Players must use this mechanic to navigate levels, solve spatial puzzles, and overcome platforming challenges. The project contains 15 levels designed around gradually introducing and expanding the gravity mechanic.

Year

2025

Genre

2D Platformer

Platform

PC

Engine

Godot

Level Design Process

The level design process started with identifying how the gravity mechanic could create interesting spatial puzzles and traversal challenges. Since players can switch gravity in four directions, the levels needed to encourage experimentation while still clearly communicating possible solutions. Early designs focused on simple layouts that allowed players to understand the mechanic and how it affects movement and orientation.

As the game progressed, the complexity of the puzzles increased by combining gravity switches with platforming challenges, obstacles, and timing elements. Each level was designed with a clear gameplay idea in mind, often centered around a specific use of the gravity mechanic. The goal was to ensure that every level introduced a new challenge or variation so that players continued to discover new ways to interact with the mechanic.

A key focus during development was maintaining a smooth gameplay progression. Early levels introduce the core mechanic in a safe environment, allowing players to experiment and learn the system. Later levels build on that knowledge by combining different puzzle elements and requiring more precise execution. This progression helped create a consistent difficulty curve across the 15 levels.

Playtesting and Iteration

Playtesting played an important role in refining the puzzle design and difficulty balance. Early versions of some levels were either too confusing or too easy, which required adjustments to layout, platform placement, and puzzle readability. Iteration helped improve the clarity of the intended solutions and ensured that players could understand how to use the gravity mechanic without excessive frustration.

Through repeated testing and refinement, the levels were adjusted to maintain a balance between puzzle solving and platforming challenge while keeping the mechanic engaging throughout the entire game.

Key Learnings

Working on Polarity provided valuable experience in designing levels around a single core mechanic and expanding that mechanic across multiple levels. The project highlighted the importance of mechanic-driven level design and how careful progression can help players gradually master a new gameplay system. It also reinforced the value of iteration and playtesting when designing puzzles and balancing difficulty across a full set of levels.