PROJECT OVERVIEW
Goals and Timeline for the whole project
Online Multiplayer
Communication
Cooperation
Funny / Goofy
SUBOPTIMAL is a low-poly, 4-player online co-op game where players work together to pilot a janky submarine through a dark underwater cave system. Each player manages a different part of submarine, making communication and coordination essential for survival.
My responsibility is mainly on Level design of our submarine, Subopitmal, which includes gameplay logic, Level iterations, and working on the art dressing part of Submarine. In addition, as the art direct, I works on art related stuffs, such as UI, and dealing with the issues of materials and post-process.
My Objectives
LEVEL DESIGN
Minimum but Functional
Clear Circulation Path and Readable Layout
Fast, Intuitive movement
ART DIRECT
Unified Style
Environment Narrative
Happy Atmosphere of Submarine Interior
UI DESIGN
Clear Information
Radar Style
Blend 2D and 3D for Stylized Art Direct
Project Timeline
Design Process
Workflow and Breakdown of the Level
References and Inspiration:
My goal was to design a submarine interior that felt functional, readable, and grounded, while still supporting our goofy game tone.
To achieve this, I drew from:
Real-world submarine layouts and compartment functions
The spatial logic in Subnautica and We Need to Go Deeper → These games inspired a compact, linear arrangement that keeps players close together and constantly interacting
Level Design Workflow:
From our early discussions, it became clear that player movement and actions inside the submarine would be one of the core pillars of the game. The interior layout had to fully support this—fast reactions, clear navigation, and meaningful player roles.
My workflow focused on shaping the interior around this pillar:
Defined the Gameplay Loop
Used flow maps in Miro to track how the interior gameplay loop evolved across design meetings.Mapped Key Player Actions
Identified what players do inside the sub, which rooms these actions relate to, and how quickly players need to react.Iterated the Layout
Level Iterations
Workflow and Breakdown of the Level
The submarine layout changed multiple times as our gameplay loop became clearer.
As our main goals, I decided layout intentionally restrict full visibility so players can’t “camp” at one station, and they can only get limited information from different rooms. Therefore, Early versions included four separate functional rooms. but they clustered together.
Later on, as we refined the in-sub tasks and pacing, the layout needed to become simpler, clearer, and easier to navigate.
Initially, I experimented with more stylized and varied room spaces, but this conflicted with our goal of fast movement and readable routes. I simplified the geometry, tightened room connections, and reorganized compartments to support the updated gameplay flow.
Core Challenge and solution
The Biggest Challenge for me is the totally different way for level design.
My responisibility is designing the level and dressing of the submarine. However, as we finally decided to make it as a Blueprint pawn in game, which means that: 1. the level cannot be test exactly before the tech and programmers finished the movement of the sub. 2. it will takes much more time to move levels into blueprint when comparied with the normaly put level in the maps.
For the solutions, and that also explains why I forcused more on Gameplay loop at begining and make several space syntax diagrams. Using some relative knowledge will iterated and check if the spaces and connections works well in a theoretical way.
Art Works
Goals and Timeline for the whole project
Because our team didn’t have a dedicated game artist, I took responsibility for the art direct on the submarine interior and the whole game. This came with several challenges:
We had limited interior assets, and most materials in the pack were too detailed and gritty for our bright, goofy tone.
Real submarines—and most references from other games—are dark, industrial, and heavy, which made it difficult to visualize a “happy, friendly” submarine.
Time constraints meant I had to balance art tasks with level design responsibilities.
To address this, I started by gathering submarine references and mapping out their structure using color-coded diagrams.
I then used Unreal’s modeling tools to build simplified shapes that matched our tone. Throughout the project, I also learned and adjusted materials, post-process settings, and basic UI elements to maintain a consistent, playful aesthetic.
UI and Post Process
Goals and Timeline for the whole project
For UI, my goal was to support our core design pillars—limited information, communication, and teamwork.
I first prototyped the control-station interfaces in Figma, then brought them into Unreal using 2D SceneCapture cameras to feed live views to each console. In this process, I learnt how to make the scene into radar style by using post process, which more fits to the submarine background.
I also built a 3D treasure map to improve readability and created functional UI elements like a vertical depth compass and warning indicators to give players clearer, real-time feedback without breaking the submarine’s constrained visibility. try to change some thing and see
Toolkit
Software and Knowledge used for solutions
Cooperation
Task Update
Ideation and Diagrams
UI prototype
Space syntax
Reflection
My Thinking for the whole project
SUBOPTIMAL taught me that a successful level is not always defined by spatial variety. In a cooperative multiplayer submarine, clear layouts and readable connections are more valuable than diverse spaces, as they directly support communication, coordination, and fast decision-making. Designing the submarine as a moving, Blueprint-driven level further strengthened my ability to balance clarity, function, and visual consistency under technical and asset constraints.
Back To Top