A Glimpse at Level Design in The Last of Us Part II

Principal Environment Artist at Naughty Dog Anthony Vaccaro, who worked on the studio's The Last of Us and Uncharted franchises, has participated in this year's #Blocktober, an unofficial annual event dedicated to level design, by showing how one of the most memorable scenes from The Last of Us Part II looked early in development.

In a recent Twitter post, the artist showed how the main hall of the Seattle Waterfront Aquarium, the one with gigantic flying whales, looked during the blockout phase, comparing the early blockout to the final version as seen in the game. According to Anthony, he was responsible for layout design and 3D art, with Principal Environment Texture Artist Jared Sobotta assisting with textures and materials. You can find the original post here and check out more of Anthony's works over here.

Previously, Respawn's Level Designers Simon Isacsson Andersen and Nicholas Cameron also participated in this year's #Blocktober, showing how Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Khri's Observatory, Dredger Gorge, and Stone Spires looked during the blockout stage:

Max Pears, a renowned Level Designer and the host of the Level Design Lobby podcast, contributed to the event by providing a behind-the-scenes look at Cyberpunk 2077's recently released DLC Phantom Liberty:

If you would like to learn more about level design, we also recommend checking out our 80 Level Digest on the topic, featuring insightful videos, interviews, blogs, and other sources that can help you take a look at what level design is and start crafting the worlds that players would explore and roam in.

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