Marcus
Lindberg
Level Design
RØSVIK
Emergent Survival Horror with mythical powers
TL;DR
Original Metroidvania Level
A Norwegian-inspired exploration level with ability-gated progression and emergent traversal challenges.
Focused on player-driven discovery, landmark-guided navigation, and environmental storytelling without explicit UI.
Highlights scope management and creating a cohesive experience with limited resources.
Project Type
Group Project
Duration
7 weeks
Role
Lead Level Designer,
Gameplay Design
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Itch.io
Status
Vertical Slice
​Rösvik is a survival horror game with immersive-sim gameplay elements.
Our original goal was to blend “Survival Horror” with the emergent gameplay of “Immersive-sims” and the tension and hardcore mechanics of “Extraction” games.
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You are a surveyor sent by the Norwegian tourism department to investigate a settlement in northern Norway called Røsvik.
The game focuses on scavenging for resources, unlocking mystical powers, and interacting with an atmospheric, dangerous, emergent environment.
As you uncover ancient relics, lost equipment, and gain access to supernatural abilities.
FOUNDATION
Paper Design
During the paper design phase, the core goal for Rosvik was to create an exploration-driven environment where scavenging, spatial awareness, and progression are tightly interconnected. The valley of Røsvik is designed as a hostile and unpredictable space, filled with unstable terrain, mythical creatures, and environmental and sound-based hazards that shape how players move and plan.​
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As players venture deeper into Røsvik, they unlock new areas sealed by the terrain’s instability.
Progression is driven by acquiring magical abilities and crafted tools, allowing players to overcome environmental barriers, access previously unreachable spaces, and unlock shortcuts. This structure draws inspiration from metroidvania design, encouraging backtracking with purpose rather than repetition.
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The player’s primary objective is to recover the missing boat parts needed to escape the valley. Death is treated as a systemic element rather than a failure state: when the player dies, they are resurrected through a pagan ritual circle as a new version of themselves, retaining all previously unlocked abilities and progression at the hideout. While the environment itself remains static, player capabilities evolve, reframing earlier spaces and enabling new solutions, discoveries, and routes.
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This foundation establishes Rosvik as a space where knowledge, abilities, and exploration are the primary drivers of forward momentum.
Final Static Map (no UI markers)​​​​
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Mysterious Norwegian-inspired landscape
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Pace progression through clearly gated power unlocks
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Promote emergent gameplay
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Guidance using vistas and landmark-driven composition
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Enable readable gameplay with minimal UI
Design
Goals
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No checkpoints
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Static world state, meaningful re-use of spaces
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No UI guidance
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Progression exclusively through abilities
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Time management - being Gameplay-/ and Level design lead
Restrictions
Original Gameplay beats
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Getting stuck in Rosvik (Basic Movement + Crouching + Health)
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Start at Cabin (Introduction to simple Crafting)
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Learn Thrum in a simple tutorial puzzle
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Unlock shortcut to Eimir Puzzle
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Get Emir via puzzle traversal
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Encounter enemies, collect scraps/resources
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Enter either Boathouse and Research Facility (puzzle-heavy)
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Solve using multiple approaches
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Escape (e.g. fix the boat)
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End demo / vertical slice
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BLOCKOUT
Following the paper design phase, the project underwent a significant pivot roughly two weeks into development. Alongside my responsibilities in gameplay design, this shift required quick reassessment of scope and priorities, which directly impacted the level layout timeline.
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The initial layout served as a strong foundation and largely informed the final structure of the level. However, due to time and scope constraints, it became clear that the playable space needed to be reduced and streamlined to maintain quality and readability. The core objective remained unchanged: recover the boat parts and escape the valley.
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To bring the project back on track, we made decisive scope cuts:
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The Underground Research HQ was removed
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The second forest area in the upper-left section of the map was cut entirely
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The final blockout was restructured into six clearly defined areas to support pacing, progression, and production clarity:
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Player Hub / Sanctuary
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Ability Zone 1: Thrum (Levitate)
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Ability Zone 2: Eimir (Push)
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Forest
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Swamp
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Boathouse
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I blocked out the entire playable experience from start to finish, focusing on worldbuilding, progression beats, and onboarding.
To ensure consistent quality across the level, work was delegated across the team: I concentrated on the early sections and tutorialization of abilities, while other designers owned the Forest, Swamp, and Boathouse areas, with ongoing guidance and design oversight from me.
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While the original scope proved overly ambitious and the project remained schedule-constrained, these adjustments allowed us to establish a cohesive and shippable level structure grounded in clear design goals and production realities.
ITERATION
Summary
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Due to time constraints and overall workload, iteration was focused and selective rather than extensive. I began by establishing a solid minimum viable playable space, then used the remaining time to refine clarity, landmark guidance, and player readability.
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Iteration primarily centered on directing player attention through environmental composition and spatial design rather than explicit guidance. I used framed vistas, chokepoints, and subtle visual cues to influence camera direction and navigation.
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Examples of these techniques include:
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Flying birds used as motion cues to draw player attention
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Strong environmental compositions to highlight landmarks and points of interest
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Despite limited iteration time, these focused passes significantly improved navigation clarity and reinforced the intended player path without relying on UI elements.
Designed power locations as set-pieces to let players observe their effects before using them.
Also used powers as points of interest to guide player attention and exploration.
Intended design:
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Player is drawn to point of interest
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Sees levitating rocks
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Trigger event when close, gets the power
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Player need to solve two puzzles with the new power, which acts as an tutorial.
Intended design:
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After exploring the area, there is only one way to go - or maybe the player hears the rumbles when near.
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Player needs to use Thrum "levitate" to get to the new area
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To get to this power-rune, the player needs to use timing and the Thrum ability
Result
Closing Notes
Røsvik went through significant scope changes and gameplay pivots, which made development bumpy at times but ultimately strengthened the project. Several planned areas were cut, including a full introductory cave sequence intended to onboard the player.
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By reassessing scope early, we were able to focus on what mattered most and shape a more cohesive, polished experience within our constraints.
Introduction to Røsvik
Thrum Introduction
Eimir Introduction
