KYLE HANSELMAN
Video Game Level Designer
IMPOSTORS
SUPERMALL FINAL IMAGES
Supermall was a large map designed for 12-15 players and up to 3 Impostors. It features many rooms, secondary paths, an even distribution of minigames, and hidden tunnels to create good flow while allowing enough privacy for Impostors to kill; this made a balanced experience where any match could go either way.
For the first several months on Impostors, I was the only person working on the environment; this was a gift and a curse. I could stretch my skills and have ownership of my work, but as a junior artist, I struggled with creating a new pipeline and environments with no direction or concepts to work from. Ultimately, all assets above, discounting the graphic design, are my work. I created the modular kit, materials, props, and decals seen in the environment and set dressed all spaces. I also performed extensive optimization, lighting, and post-process passes to arrive at a final appearance.
Another studio joined the project after about 10 months, and I received much-appreciated feedback and direction from their art director, which lent itself to a bright, colorful, and consistent environment, as seen above. Their artists produced the graphic design seen in the posters and menus.
TRAILER
Impostors is a social deduction game in an 80's themed mall. Players explore the mall, play video games, and attempt to discover the Impostor, who is trying to kill the other players.
Disclaimer: My work was unrelated to this game's blockchain, cryptocurrencies, or NFTs.
MINIMALL FINAL IMAGES
The second level built for Impostors was Minimall, designed for 5-11 people. This map came about when we realized that Supermall was not fun to play with less than 10 people, but we knew if we shrank it down, it would be too cramped for the 15-player lobbies we set out to create.
Minimall is meant to be just that - Supermall, but mini. It has the same rooms, minigames, and art, just at a significantly smaller scale. Minimall was a smash hit with playtesters, most enjoying the tense, close-quarters gameplay and appreciating the carefully balanced locations of minigames, tunnels, and obstacles.
MINIMALL SKETCHES
Minimall underwent the same sketch and client review process as Supermall. Luckily, with lessons learned from Supermall, Minimall was much easier to design, and the wall blocking volumes were accounted for in the design before the blockout was made.
MINIGAME FINAL IMAGES
For innocents, the game loop of Impostors is mostly to navigate the map, avoid dangerous situations, and complete minigames. While I did not design or script the minigames, I did create the art for them. Mostly, these were assets pulled from the primary environment, which were upscaled so they held up visually at a larger scale.
ASSET LIBRARY
As mentioned above, I was the only artist working on Impostors for several months. Naturally, this lent to me creating quite the catalog of assets, as seen above.
I had two primary focuses while creating this artwork. 1) Performance: We initially wanted Impostors to run on low-end hardware, so I set a hard polygon and texel density cap for myself. 2) Art style: The client wanted a cartoony, 80s-inspired bright, and funky look.