Rik Boerma - Level / Game Designer
Hello! I am Rik, a Level Designer with 4 years of experience. I have recently graduated Cum Laude from the Game Design & Production program at Breda University of Applied Sciences, where I have worked on mutliple game projects, both solo and in multidisciplinary teams.
In this time, I have published two games on Steam, one of which was also nominated for Best Student Game at the Dutch Game awards. I also have three years of professional experience in QA, two of which at Nintendo of Europe.
MAIN PROJECTS
Genre:
Roguelite Action / Adventure
Role(s):
Level Design Intern
Made with:
Unreal Engine 5
Team size:
~15
Project duration:
32 weeks
Lost in Limbo is a roguelite action adventure game currently in development for Steam, with a focus on exploration and fast-paced hack 'n' slash combat.
Personal Responsibilities:
-
Designed and polished several levels
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Tracked progress of levels through several defined stages with their own conditions of satisfaction
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Concepted, prototyped, polished and wrote documentation for 3 game economy-related features
Currently in development for:
Steam
Genre:
Stealth
Role(s):
Level / Mission Designer
Made with:
Unreal Engine 5
Team size:
37
Project duration:
32 weeks
Sicaria is a stealth game set in Antwerp during the 80 years war. The player has to use their gadgets and plan their movements carefully to get revenge and save the city. Sicaria was a finalist in the Best Student Game Category at the Game Development World Championship 2024 Winter Season.
Personal Responsibilities:
-
Designed the market level of the game from concepting to blockout, to final release
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Coordinated playtesting sessions & iterated on the level based on feedback
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Implemented a workflow using Unreal Engine's world partitioning and data layer systems
Released on:
Steam
Genre:
Open World 3D Platformer
Role(s):
Level Designer
Made with:
Unreal Engine 5
Team size:
21
Project duration:
14 weeks
A 3D platformer set in an open world, using a unique pole-vaulting movement mechanic. Viking Hiking won several awards at the annual BUAS Games Awards and was nominated for Best Student Game at the Dutch Game Awards.
Personal Responsibilities:
-
Built open-ended platforming challenges around the level, focusing on encouraging player experimentation
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Used guidance techniques such as breadcrumbing and landmarks to steer the player aound the level
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Organized playtesting sessions & iterated on the level based on feedback
Released on:
Steam
Genre:
Puzzle / Adventure
Role(s):
Technical Level Designer
Made with:
Unreal Engine 5
Team size:
Solo
Project duration:
8 weeks
A recreation of the core mechanics of Luigi's Mansion 3 for the original made with a modular approach.
Personal Responsibilities:
-
Rebuilt the core mechanics and related level ingredients based on the original game
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Designed a demo level with all the created content
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Wrote research documentation and how-to documents
Genre:
Open World Action / Adventure
Role(s):
Level Designer
Team size:
Solo
Made with:
Unreal Engine 5
A self-study project where I designed a 0.25km² open world to study and showcase open world level design principles. Currently still in progress.
Personal Responsibilities:
-
Concepted the world layout through research, finding references and sketching the map
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Designed a 0.25km² open world with secrets to find, puzzles to solve and combat encounters
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Made custom blockout models using Unreal Engine's modelling mode
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Designed and prototyped enemies and several other gameplay mechanics through visual scripting
Genre:
Puzzle
Role(s):
Level / Puzzle Designer
Made with:
Escape Simulator
Team size:
Solo
A community level for Escape Simulator, where players have to solve puzzles to find clues and solve a murder mystery, made as a personal project.
Personal Responsibilities:
-
Built entire level and designed all puzzles
-
Created custom blockout models in Blender
-
Coordinated playtesting sessions & iterated on the level based on community feedback
Released on:
Steam Workshop
Genre:
First-Person Shooter
Role(s):
Level Designer
Made with:
Trenchbroom
Team size:
Solo
Project duration:
7 weeks
A community level for the original Quake game made using Trenchbroom, where players have to blast their way to the top of the tower.
Personal Responsibilities:
-
Built entire level from research, blockouts, texturing and lighting through to publishing
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Set up all combat encounters & level interactions
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Created a modular kit using Trenchbroom's brush tools
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Coordinated playtesting sessions & iterated on the level based on feedback
Released on:
Quaddicted
AS A QA TESTER AT NINTENDO OF EUROPE
From September 2017 - July 2019, I worked as localization QA Tester at Nintendo of Europe, in Frankfurt, Germany. Here, I checked the Dutch translations of games for any errors (such as grammatical errors or display issues) or other possible improvements, like stylistic consistency. This also included thinking from the player perspective to ensure the text makes sense in any context the player might see it in. It also involved frequent communication with other testers and translation teams from all over Europe and maintaining a flexible working attitude while working on projects that were still undergoing significant changes. Games I worked on include the ones listed below.
