Chronostrike
As a Chronostrike Agent, you must defend this priceless data using your ultimate weapon: the power to manipulate time. Along the way, you’ll uncover dark truths buried deep in the labyrinth of human consciousness. Watch as muscle memory takes over, transforming impossible odds into an elegant dance. Don't follow your enemies – lead them straight into your crosshairs.
Chronostrike released on February 14, 2025 to critical acclaim with a 4.9/5 average rating, and won NYX Best Co-Op VR Game for 2025.
My Role
As one of the Game and Level Designers on the project, I effectively collaborate with team members, established a unique vision for each level, blocked out spaces to prove gameplay ideas, and documented my work.
Iterated and refined on existing game mechanics with playtest feedback
Designed new gameplay mechanics that fit with theming and project scope
Designed 30+ 2D “paper map” layouts
Created countless blockouts using Level Design tools
Designed new puzzles using pre-existing mechanics
Refined 75+ levels through rigorous playtesting and iteration
Bugfixing level related bugs to ensure a polished end product and smooth player experience
Level Design
Below are some distinct levels I created with unique challenges I overcame, along with design decisions that allowed them to thrive.
“Swap”
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Facilitate communication between players through cooperation-based puzzle required to finish level
Tutorialize enforced weapon swapping between players
Build on existing Colour-Coding weapon and enemy mechanics
Reinforce why Chronostrike works so well in multiplayer
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Chronostrike stands out by introducing Co-op Multiplayer to the time-dilation genre. Tossing weapons to your friend was an emergent dynamic that allowed the co-op feature to shine. This level aims to highlight the teamwork aspects of Chronostrike.
I designed this level to intuitively tutorialize the requirement of swapping guns between players.
Players are placed across from each other in clear view
Players are placed in either a Red or Blue coloured room, starting with the opposite coloured weapon
Approaching melee enemies pose no immediate threat, allowing sufficient time to trade weapons before they reach
After throwing and catching each others weapons, players turn to face the approaching enemies, creating a strong action moment
2 additional teleporter enemies appear between the players, keeping the attention in their frustrum
Teleporter enemies shoot at the opposite player, creating a strong dynamic of “covering your friends back”
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Blockout was created using Level Design tools and existing geo.
Using our level design tools, I ensured that each player was placed in a distinctly coloured room, opposite to the colour of their starting gun
I added dual posters between the players that display moving arrows at the start of the level to help draw the eye towards the opposite room
The window between players was initially much smaller, but through playtesting I found that requiring an accurate throw reduced the good feelings of pulling off a cool moment. The window was largely widened to remove any error in throwing
Through playtesting, I found that players were missing shots towards enemies more often than not
The main draw of this level is the strength of teamwork, so I increased the starting ammo count to ensure players can focus more on the movement of the level rather than counting bullets
The dynamic of swapping weapons proved to be extremely fun, so I changed the second wave of enemies to the original starting colour, enforcing a second weapon swap between the players
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With the help of the fantastic art team, the final state of the level was achieved. This level proved to be a success in our external playtests, and has quickly become a fan-favourite level in Chronostrike.
Level Artists:
Riyad Chouakhi
Marie Sarra-Bournet
“Tesselate”
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Introduce Terminal mechanic and exploding objects mechanic to player
Allow wide range of playstyles to complete level challenges
Create and draw wide level engagement throughout level with respect to player FOV
Provide a sense of verticality and varied gameplay moments
Create meaningful choices through player agency and choice
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Chronostrike intentionally keeps all active engagements in the player frustrum. To promote fluid movement and fast-paced action moments, enemies were placed in a way that continuously draws the player attention leftwards.
Player begins on a staircase facing upwards, starting with a vertical throwing challenge
The shooting direction of the first enemy, as well as the balcony platform draw the player leftwards
First shooter enemy flings weapon to continue engagement with balcony enemies
Enemies sequentially line the balcony, keeping player attention at eye level
Enemy placed in middle is explosive, rewarding learned player behaviour of shooting explosive enemies for multiple kills
Large centre box hovers above lower level, attached to a Terminal at eye level
Enemies gather beneath the drop point simultaneously
Players eye is drawn further leftwards to engage with the opposite-staircase shooters, completing the full engagement of the level
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Blockout was created using Level Design tools
Crates were added on lower level to partially hide lower half of enemies, raising the eyeline towards the Terminal
I added arrows and signs pointing towards the Terminal, which helps call attention during high-intensity gameplay
Through playtesting, I found it enaging to get as many kills with the explosion as possible
I continued to surround the dropzone with more enemies, calling out attention by adding a scorch mark on the ground
Playtesting revealed that the widened movement of the players frustrum was working, but pulling too far leftwards for a full 180 rotation over the course of the level
I removed 1 of the opposite staircase shooters, ensuring the action doesn’t go further than the centre lower area
This kept gameplay fast, fluid, and filled with movement
The player is never forced to interact with the Terminal to allow for a variety of playstyles
This allows for a strong “eureka” moment that really rewards the player for interacting with the level
This knowledge is immediately built upon in following levels, solidifying Terminal and Explodable-Objects mechanics
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With the help of the fantastic art team, the final state of the level was achieved. This level proved to be a success in our internal playtests due to it’s fluid flow and challenging pacing, and has also quickly become a fan-favourite level in Chronostrike.
Level Artists:
Riyad Chouakhi
Marie Sarra-Bournet
“Orion”
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Quick and intuitive level puzzle required to finish level
Intuitively understand alternate ways of receiving weapons
Solidify player understanding of newly introduced gameplay mechanics
i.e. Shielders, Colour-coding, and Terminals
Sense of level movement to highlight timescale
Create meaningful choices through player agency and choice
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Considering the design intention of Chronostrike to keep action in the frustrum, I opted to place the player in a pinched position - bottle-necked by the surrounding crates.
Weapons are placed along the conveyor belt, which runs across the level
Weapons are ordered to match the flow of the level, ensuring player only receives weapons they need
Player can shoot the Terminal to activate the conveyor belt
To ensure clarity of the link between the Terminal and the conveyor belt, the Terminal is placed directly in the middle of the players FOV
Moving the conveyor belt linearly left to right emphasizes the level flow, guiding the players eye to the next action moment
Placement of crates instinctually directs the player where potential threats may emerge from
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Blockout was created using Level Design tools and existing geo.
Crates were stacked high to block enemy starting positions and
With further playtesting, more crates were added to the level, strengthening its feeling of tight-corners and pinched player position
Colours were added to crates, visually guiding the player to the correct colour-coded enemies to their respective level sides
Through playtesting, the dual turrets proved to be conflicting with player FOV limits and caused frustration
Reducing to a single turret condensed threat from level centre
Relocating the turret to the centre provided clear direction of the threat, and allowed the player to keep threats in their frustrum
I found flow of the level to be initially quite tricky, the cognitive load of managing the conveyor belt required more attention than initially expected
I changed the order and pathing of the furthest-most enemies, specifically to address player guidance ensuring the furthest middle enemy appears before the right-most enemies, effectively flowing the level from left to right with no surprise threats at any point
Level pacing was tightened, ensuring there wasn’t a moment without a new action happening before the player and gameplay stayed fluid and rapid
I found that by keeping ammo counts minimal on weapons from the Conveyor belt, the player was met with strong moments of decision-making, determining which enemy is most valuable to kill
Additional feels based changes were made to the golden path through rigorous playtesting
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With the help of the fantastic art team, the final state of the level was achieved. See attached video for a demostration of the level in-action.
Level Artists:
Riyad Chouakhi
Marie Sarra-Bournet
