Fortune Squad - Halo Infinite Interstitial World Design

Originally conceived as a platforming level before the grappleshot was confirmed as a permanent ability, Fortune Squad centers around a distress signal indicating a group of marines is in danger, prompting the player to mount a rescue. Leveraging Halo Infinite’s unique hex pillar terrain, I designed a level that emphasizes verticality and traversal—using broken pillars to form pits, landslides, and caverns that challenge the player’s movement and decision-making. The varied topography allows players to approach the marines in multiple ways depending on their entry point, preferred playstyle, and whether they choose to head straight to the objective or explore first. Exploratory players can uncover a narrative thread through environmental storytelling, following marines who escaped an ambush and retreated into hiding. As supplies dwindled over several days, they were eventually discovered by the Banished. A desperate escape ensued, with many sacrificing themselves to save others. The survivors are ultimately cornered near the summit, facing overwhelming odds—until Master Chief arrives just in time to save them.
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MY ROLE: As a World Designer, my role focused primarily on level and combat design within the open-world structure. Direction for each Point of Interest (POI)—including narrative and combat themes—was provided from above, and it was the responsibility of the Lead Level Designer and myself to determine the most effective location for that POI on the world map. This required careful consideration of narrative flow, player golden pathing, and ensuring the POI placement supported the intended gameplay experience. My process began with a pitch document, followed by a detailed blockout using block meshes, terrain sculpting tools, and initial mission and combat scripting. Once the POI was in a playable state, it was submitted for review by the Lead Designer. From that point forward, my role evolved into a more production-focused capacity—advocating for the zone across departments and ensuring the original design intent was preserved through to final shipping. In addition to high-level design responsibilities, I also contributed to set dressing, terrain polish, and advanced encounter and mission scripting as needed to support the overall gameplay experience.
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GAME DESCRIPTION: Halo Infinite is the sixth major installment in the Halo franchise—a sci-fi first-person shooter that traditionally followed a linear, story-driven format. With Infinite, the series made a significant shift to an open-world structure, supported by a heavily modified game engine built to accommodate the new scale and design goals. This transition required extensive research and iteration to strike a balance between the franchise’s classic cinematic gameplay and the newfound freedom of open-world exploration—merging deliberate design intent with the most open-ended player experience the series has offered to date.