Platform:
PC (Steam and Epic)
Engine:
Unreal Engine 5
Duration:
2 years
Team Size:
40+
Role:
Game Designer
Overview
After completing my work on Lawn Mowing Simulator, I joined the development of Ranger's Path: National Park Simulator as a Game Designer. Unlike previous projects where I primarily focused on level design, this project gave me the opportunity to work extensively across gameplay systems, player progression light-combat-adjacent design, and feature development.
As the project evolved, my role expanded to encompass a broad range of design responsibilities, helping to establish the foundations of the player experience and shape how the game's various systems interacted. Throughout development, I focused on several key design goals:
 • Designing NPC and animal behaviour patterns in UE5 to ensure natural and realistic interactions.
 • Create engaging first and third-person gameplay that supports exploration, conservation, and park management activities.
 • Design and iterate on light combat systems, to provide satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay.
 • Develop progression systems that reward player investment while supporting long-term engagement.
 • Create features and mechanics that reinforce the fantasy of becoming a National Park Ranger.
 • Ensure gameplay systems complement the open-world environment and encourage player-driven exploration.
 • Collaborate closely with artists, programmers, producers, and QA to iterate on features from concept through implementation.
 • Balance player freedom with clear objectives to create a rewarding and accessible experience.
My work covered a wide variety of disciplines, including systems design, combat design, feature specification, balancing, documentation, implementation support, and cross-discipline collaboration.
See below for a more detailed breakdown of the features and systems I contributed to throughout development.
NOTE: All screenshots and videos reflect the work of the entire development team, including art, programming, animation, audio, production, QA, and design.
Open-World Pitch Support Map Concept
This map was created during the initial pitch phase of Ranger's Path: National Park Simulator to help communicate the proposed structure and scale of the open world.
The concept divides the park into distinct regions, each with planned activity counts for research, conservation, and camping content. These values were used to estimate content scope, player progression, and gameplay density across the park.
While the final game evolved beyond this original concept, the map served as an important pre-production tool for aligning the team around the vision for the open-world experience.
Animal Monitoring & Documentation Gameplay
One of my responsibilities on Ranger's Path was designing and iterating on multiple gameplay mechanics and systems. One such are was animal behaviour interactions and AI/NPC design. These systems allowed players to locate, observe, and document animal behaviour throughout the park, supporting both progression and the game's conservation-focused fantasy.
The footage in the video shows an early development build of these mechanics and demonstrates a core gameplay loop used to encourage exploration and wildlife discovery.
Park Repair & Moment-to-Moment Gameplay
To reinforce the role of a National Park Ranger, I helped design a variety of park maintenance activities focused on repairing infrastructure and improving visitor facilities. These tasks provided short-form gameplay objectives that could be encountered naturally while exploring the world.
The footage in the video shows an in-development version of these systems and highlights the moment-to-moment gameplay that contributed to the overall player experience.
Gameplay Trailer
Here is a gameplay trailer to illustrate what the final product looks like compared to the in-dev work I had a hand in designing and developing.
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