Why I Failed at Level Design and Environment Art for Years & How Planning Changed Everything...

Abandoned Projects, Breaking the Cycle

Are you tired of starting game environments and level designs... only to abandon them halfway through?

I get it. For years, I'd get a spark of inspiration, dive into the editor and watch my excitement fizzle as my projects crumbled.

Unfinished environment in UE5. Half-baked game environment modular asset project. A graveyard of ideas I couldn't bring to life.

Sound familiar?

Over a decade, I wasted countless hours - jumping from one project to the next, never finishing a single one. I'd hit a wall, get overwhelmed, and walk away, swearing, “Next time will be different.” Spoiler: it never was.

Until I cracked the code...

After years of failure, frustration and finally breakthrough, I've created something that could've saved me a decade of heartache: The Preproduction Blueprint - an 11-step system to plan, design, and finish your game environments and level designs.

Why You're Stuck and How to Break Free

Let me guess: you've got killer ideas. You open your editor, start building, and for a few hours, it's pure adrenaline.

Then the questions creep in:

• What's the layout?
• How should it play?
• What's the story here?

Without answers, you're guessing. Your map grows messy, complex, unmanageable. You tweak, you pivot, you overload it with new ideas—until it collapses. Frustrated, you scrap it and move on, promising yourself the next one will work.

That was me for years. I'd ditch projects like clockwork: Another unfinished map. Another. And another. I got so fed up, I quit level design entirely - convinced it wasn't for me.

But deep down, I couldn't let it go. I loved crafting worlds too much.

The Moment Everything Changed

In college, while earning my B.F.A. in Computer Animation, I stumbled onto the secret that turned it all around. For my senior thesis, a 2-minute animation - I had to spend an entire semester planning: story, characters, environments, all on paper before touching the software.

It hit me: if I needed a plan for a 2-minute short, why wasn't I planning my levels?

After a soul-shifting trip to Switzerland, I came back and finished a playable UT3 map in just 3 weeks.

Then, another in 11 days. For the first time, I wasn't quitting - I was winning.

The difference? Planning. I'd discovered a process - a blueprint - that gave me clarity, confidence, and control.

Introducing: The Preproduction Blueprint

I've distilled a decade of trial, error and triumph into The Preproduction Blueprint: How to Plan Game Environments and Level Designs - an easy, 11-step guide that hands you the exact system I wish I'd had from day one.

This isn't just theory. It's the tested workflow that took me from a quitter to a finisher - and it's about to do the same for you.

Here's what you'll unlock inside:

• Step 1: Generate endless ideas—and pick the right one to pursue.
• Step 2: Turn the world around you into playable spaces.
• Step 3: Define your setting, theme, and purpose with razor-sharp clarity.
• Step 4: Craft unique features that make your levels stand out.
• Step 5: Master research and collect the 5 must-have reference types.
• Step 6: Build gripping stories—explicit or implicit—that pull players in.
• Step 7: Design gameplay that flows: objectives, obstacles, and set pieces.
• Step 8: Plan layouts for any game type—Deathmatch, single-player, you name it.
• Step 9: Use color and light to create jaw-dropping visuals.
• Step 10: Map out player progression and focal points like a pro.
• Step 11: Get a complete toolkit—lists, templates, and more—to start strong and finish stronger.

Plus, you'll get a blank Preproduction Blueprint template to kickstart your next project today.

Why Planning Is Your Game-Changer

Listen: a great level isn't built on pure inspiration and guesswork. It's built on a rock-solid foundation - a plan. Without it, you're a house with no base, doomed to collapse. With it, you've got a blueprint that turns vague ideas into finished masterpieces.

The Preproduction Blueprint answers the questions that used to paralyze me:

• Is this worth my time?
• How will it look and play?
• What's the core essence?

No more winging it. No more overwhelm. Just a clear path from vision to completion.

Imagine This...

Picture opening your editor, knowing exactly what you're building. No hesitation. No dead ends. You've got a plan that guides every move - layout, story, visuals, gameplay - all locked in. Hours turn into days, and instead of scrapping it, you're polishing a level you're proud to show off.

That's what the Preproduction Blueprint delivers. It's not about finishing everything - it's about finishing what matters.

Don't Wait a Decade Like I Did

I wasted years figuring this out the hard way - abandoning projects, doubting myself, walking away from my passion. You don't have to.

Right now, you're one decision away from transforming your level design game. The Preproduction Blueprint is your shortcut - 11 proven steps to stop quitting and start shipping.

But act fast. Every day you wait is another project left unfinished, another idea lost to the void.