My Role:

Level Designer

My main responsibilities in Match Tile 3D was designing new game assets and game levels, and adapt the game to match more modern Match games.

I briefly worked as a level designer for Match Tile 3D, aiming to modernize early game levels in a series of AB tests with the goal of improving early player retention and keeping up with more modern match games such as Match Factory and Triple Match 3D.

My notable contributions were:

• Redesign and modernize the early levels with the goal to modernize and adapt the game’s level design.

• Design over 100 new game assets in collaboration with 3D artists

• Extensively researched modern successful match titles in order to better understand the success of games like Match Factory.

With Match Factory’s success, I analyzed their game levels to learn what made their levels stand out in the sea of similar match games. I came to a few conclusions that helped me in the process;

• Match Factory utilizes size, color, and shape very deliberately, not only to create a cohesive aesthetic but also for its level design:

  • Size: The size of an object dictates how easy it is to spot and interact with, but it also affects how it is sorted into the pile of objects. Smaller objects tend to fall into cracks and layer underneath larger objects. Making your goal objects smaller is a highly effective way to create difficulty in a level. Utilizing different sizes in a level also makes the level feel more diverse and appealing as opposed to all objects having a uniform shape.

  • Color: When used very deliberately, color can be used to not only trick players into picking the wrong object in the heat of the moment (was I supposed to collect the orange juice box and blue yogurt? Or the blue juice box and orange yogurt?), but also save resources by recoloring existing assets. Using colors with similar saturation and brightness, and limiting the number of colors used in a level is crucial for them to look visually appealing and intentional, but also to cause similar objects to blend in with each other (having two very distinct colors of green on two objects defeats the purpose and creates a noisy aesthetic).

  • Shape: Objects that are box-shaped or round are often easier to notice and tend to have a uniform design or color compared to flat, skinny, or tall objects. Match Factory for instance has tricky objects such as the table tennis paddle, which is small, flat, and has a different color on each side. This makes it not only hard to reach but players may be tricked into thinking they are two different objects. Some objects such as forks, spoons, and knives can also look very similar in shape, especially on one end of the object, making players more likely to make mistakes and pick a spoon when they thought it was a fork.

  • Quantity: The number of a single type of object can play a role in difficulty as well. Collecting 21 small table tennis balls among 80+ other objects is naturally far more challenging than collecting 9 of them along with 30 other objects.

• Game object design often falls into one of a few categories: Foods & comfort foods, toys, electronics & appliances, school and office furniture, hobby or artistic tools. Their objects are familiar, relatable, nostalgic, and desirable. You will often see cake slices, vibrant fruits, toy vehicles, wooden blocks, school supplies, and so on. Combining the rounded and cute aesthetics of the objects with vibrant colors makes each level visually pleasing and playful. Utilizing specific shapes with each other also makes the level physics almost animate the pile of objects. These are all subtle things that work together to create a sense of polish and intent.

With all of this in mind, I collaborated with one of our 3D artists to create over 100 new game objects (recolors and brand new) which we put into brand-new level configurations utilizing the observations above, improving both player retention and even RV impressions slightly.