Max Pears Offers a Look at Level Design in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty

Max Pears, a renowned Level Designer, the host of the Level Design Lobby podcast, and the writer behind not just one but two entire books on all things level art, has participated in #Blocktober 2023 by providing a behind-the-scenes look at Cyberpunk 2077's recently released DLC Phantom Liberty.

For those unaware, #Blocktober is an unofficial annual event dedicated to celebrating the world of level art and the remarkable efforts of Level Artists in shaping the playable and enjoyable environments in video games. Each year, numerous talented creators from both AAA studios and indie teams come together to participate in this event, providing us with a developer's perspective on our favorite games.

Participating in the event, the creator showed how one of the scenes created for the expansion looked in early development, demonstrating it at the blockout stage. According to the author, the demonstrated environment is situated in Dogtown, a massive new location added to Cyberpunk 2077 with the DLC, somewhere "at the very top of the map". Here's how the scene looks in the actual game:

For those unaware, Max Pears is a Senior Level Designer with ten years of experience in the field. Throughout the years, he worked on a multitude of AAA titles, including The Division, Division Underground, Hellblade 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and others. 

Back in 2021, Max joined 80 Level to talk about what it means to be a Level Designer, explain how to become a perfect Level Designer, and discuss the previously mentioned books on level art that he wrote. You can read the full interview here and check out the artist's portfolio over here.

Previously, Level Designer Simon Isacsson Andersen also participated in this year's #Blocktober, showing how Khri's Observatory from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor looked during the blockout stage and providing some insightful commentary regarding the level design techniques that were used to set up the location.

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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