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Dylan Bohlender

Game Design Portfolio

Battlegoose!

Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Minigame

Whenever I design experiences, I always aim for elegance through simplicity. Battlegoose was great fun to design, as it leveraged several new aspects of Halo 5's Forge tool and sandbox – time-scripted motion of objects, the "unlimited grenade" vehicle, and the underlying Strongholds game mode for scoring. I find it fun to be creative within constraints, so making the game score properly while retaining a simple and approachable player experience was a tricky challenge. "Elimination" style team games are often unfun for the eliminated, so I worked hard to come up with a way for the already-eliminated to participate, making a much more well-rounded game mode in the process.

Slushed

Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Map

I love to use "twists" in my designs, and Slushed is the perfect example. This map utilizes a plane of water that runs through the center to really change combat in a dynamic and unique way. Vertical visibility is a staple of first-person shooters, so obscuring lines of sight using the water's surface creates entirely different gameplay. Suddenly the "get to the high ground" strategy isn't as dominant, and players can use the underwater routes to effectively flank and surprise enemies.

Nowhere

Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Map

Nowhere is an updated take on a classic Halo map style, and it embraces its roots as a descendant of maps like Lockout, Ascension, and Guardian. The connectivity between the various areas of interest was actually inspired by the famous seven bridges of Königsberg - which, given the mathematical properties of the graph in question, was a cheap but effective way to promote flow around the level and discourage cycling. I really enjoy this map because I used math to force player behavior!