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Level Designer

What does a Level Designer do and what you need to know to become one? 

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What does a Level Designer do?

Level designers are responsible for designing and building the spaces in which games take place. They create environments that guide the player experience through careful use of layout, obstacles, enemy placement, pacing, and visual storytelling. Good level design communicates possibility and challenge to the player intuitively, drawing on principles from architecture, game theory, and narrative. Level design is a role that sits at the intersection of game design and game art — requiring a designer’s understanding of player psychology and a builder’s ability to construct and iterate within a game engine. In Australia, level designers work across genres including action, platformer, RPG, and first-person shooters, as well as in serious games, simulation, and educational products.

What is a typical day as a Level Designer?

A level designer often starts their day in the game engine’s level editor, refining a space based on feedback from the previous day’s playtest. They spend significant time placing geometry, scripting triggers and events, and testing their work repeatedly. They review playtest data or videos, identifying where players are confused, bored, or dying unexpectedly. They communicate with the art team about environmental storytelling needs and with the design team about how their level integrates with the broader game flow. Documentation of design intent is an ongoing task throughout the day.

9:00 AM

Review playtest video recordings from yesterday — watching where players got stuck or disengaged in the jungle biome level

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9:30 AM

Team standup — flag a recurring navigation problem in the central arena and discuss potential geometry solutions

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9:45 AM

Open Unreal Engine and begin rebuilding the central arena entrance: widen the path, add a large rock to create a natural focal point

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12:00 PM

Lunch break

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1:00 PM

Script a new trigger volume in Blueprint so the camera briefly pulls back when the player enters the arena, orienting them to the space

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2:30 PM

Internal playtest of the revised layout with two team members; take notes on remaining navigation confusion

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3:30 PM

Meeting with the environment artist to discuss which additional props can be placed to reinforce the player path without looking too obvious

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4:15 PM

Update the level’s annotated top-down map in Google Slides to reflect today’s changes; share with the lead designer

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5:00 PM

Commit changes to Perforce; update task status in JIRA

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Game Level Design | AIE

What should I be able to do as a Level Designer?

Skills

  • Block out and build playable levels in Unreal Engine or Unity
  • Place and script gameplay triggers, enemies, and events
  • Conduct playtests and iterate based on player behaviour
  • Create annotated top-down layout plans and design documentation
  • Use basic scripting (Blueprint, Lua, or C#) to implement level logic
  • Communicate design intent to environment artists and programmers
  • Analyse playtest footage and data to identify design problems

Knowledge

  • Spatial reasoning and principles of player navigation
  • Game pacing, challenge curves, and player psychology
  • Genre conventions for the type of game being developed
  • Level editor tools in Unreal Engine and Unity
  • Environmental storytelling techniques
  • Basic scripting and how triggers and game events work
  • The difference between block out, art pass, and final polish stages of level production

Typical salaries for Level Designers in Australia

All salaries are approximates based on recently advertised positions in Australia.

$0k

Entry-level (0–3 years)

$0k

Mid-career (4–9 years)

$0k

Senior (10+ years)

I Want To Be A Level Designer

Software used by Level Designers

The software used by Level Designers is highly specialized. The more platforms you are trained in, the more valuable you will be to an employer. Level Designers may need knowledge of a combination of the following software.

Unreal Engine Logo | AIE

Unreal Engine for Unreal Engine
Game development

Unity Engine Logo | AIE

Unity Engine for Game Development

Maya Logo | AIE

Maya for 3D Modelling, rigging, animating, lighting and rendering

ZBrush Logo | AIE

ZBrush for High-detail sculpting and texturing

Adobe Sunstance Painter Logo | AIE

Substance Suite for High detail materials and texturing

Adobe Photoshop Logo | AIE

Adobe Photoshop for Concept art and texture maps

VIsual Studio Logo | AIE

Visual Studio for programming

MonoDevelop Logo | AIE

MonoDevelop for programming

Perforce Logo | AIE

Perforce for project management and version control

GIT Logo | AIE

Git for project management and version control

SourceTree Logo | AIE

Source Tree for project management and version control

Microsoft Office Logo | AIE

Microsoft Office for project management and planning

How to get a job as a Level Designer

  • Build and release levels for existing games using official modding tools (e.g. Counter-Strike, Skyrim, Unreal)
  • Document your levels with annotated maps, design intent notes, and before/after iteration comparisons
  • Play a wide range of games and analyse their level design critically in writing
  • Participate in game jams and design complete levels under time pressure
  • Share your work and process on ArtStation, itch.io, or a personal website

AIE courses for Level Designer

Bachelor of Game Development Major in Game Design

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Game Design & Production

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Games Business Graduate Diploma

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Game Design Foundations

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Game Design For Beginners

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Game Design Foundations VET (SA)

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Do you have what it takes to be a Level Designer?

Read the points below and if these sound like you, Level Design could be a great option!

  • You think about how spaces make people feel. Whether it is a room, a park, or a game environment, you notice how layout and sight lines influence movement and mood.
  • You have played games and found yourself thinking about how the level was designed. You notice where a light draws your eye, or why a corridor creates tension.
  • You enjoy both creating and problem-solving. Level design requires thinking through how a player will navigate your space, not just how it looks.
  • You are interested in player psychology. Why do players go left instead of right? What makes a space feel rewarding to explore?
  • You have used map editors, Minecraft, or similar tools and found yourself deeply absorbed in creating spaces for others to navigate.
  • You enjoy building things and testing them immediately, even before they look polished.
  • You can think simultaneously about individual encounters and the overall arc of an experience.

Level design is one of the most accessible areas of game development to explore before formal study. If you build things in games, sketch maps on paper, or find yourself absorbed in the spatial logic of an environment, that curiosity is your most important credential.

How to become a Level Designer

Find out how to be a Level Designer at an AIE event

AIE runs campus and online events throughout the year and we encourage students to attend. AIE also broadcast regular livestreams with our alumni and industry professionals that provide insight into future career paths.

Open Day

August 16, 2026

Discover the courses designed to get you started in game development, 3D animation and visual…

Starts at 10am

See Event

Roles related to Level Designer in the industry

Level Designer

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Game Designer

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Find out more

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