AI Website SoftwareHigh on Life 2's announcement trailer.
High on Life 2, the sequel to the original High on Life, is a comedy FPS in which you and your team of talking guns uncover an intergalactic conspiracy which threatens the fate of humanity.
Released in February 2026, it is the sequel to High on Life which was the biggest Xbox Game Pass release of 2022, the biggest 3rd-party launch in Game Pass history, and the biggest single-player game launch on Game Pass in its history. (Xbox Wire)
I worked on the project as a Content Designer, working on the design and implementation of key traversal system mechanics like skateboarding, and its implementation and integration across levels and gameplay scenarios such as puzzles and combat encounters.
An overview of the skateboard mechanic and its significance to the game.
I was the designer responsible for the project's entire traversal system, working alongside other designers, engineers, and artists to update existing traversal mechanics, develop the new skateboard mechanic, and ensure implementation and compatibility across all levels.
Early on, my work involved creating traversal 'gym' levels to test the mechanics through playtesting, as well as showcase different kinds of traversal challenges and scenarios for designers implementing them in their levels. Later on, I worked on the tuning, iteration, and balancing of the mechanics based on playtest data, as well as overseeing their implementation across all levels.
The skateboard mechanic took a lot of iteration and testing, but ultimately became a vital part of the entire game, with the game's levels, combat and gameplay scenarios all being designed around it in some capacity.
Video showcasing skateboard races across levels. Integrating skateboarding in levels was a design challenge made easier thanks to tight metrics and smart tool design.
To facilitate the implementation of traversal challenges according to the new metrics, I also worked on the design and iteration of a traversal visualizer tool for designers to use when creating level blockouts and gameplay scenarios. Taking input directly from designers, I designed a tool that could visualize different traversal input combinations, and show where the Player would end up in space at the end of executing them.
Visualizing traversal moves in-editor allowed designers to create traversal scenarios with specific, precise metrics and movements in mind. It helped speed up level grayboxing, metrics testing, and traversal implementation during the main portion of our level development. In conjunction with the traversal 'gym' levels, my efforts helped designers to create proven traversal challenge 'archetypes', and have a base of content to expand and experiment from, for the streamlined development of traversal gameplay content.
Video showcasing the Con-Con level, starting with a combat encounter in an arena designed for skateboard-gunplay combat. (Starting at 2:20)
As a pioneering designer of the new traversal system, my extensive knowledge of the mechanics and systems meant that I also became the primary designer responsible for overseeing traversal integration across several of the game's levels, to ensure that they were meeting the new traversal requirements, as well as our quality and fun objectives.
Those responsibilities included playtesting levels and conducting traversal markup and feedback, further developing traversal 'gym' levels to serve as functional examples of traversal content, and even working on the design of new modular geometry pieces to best serve grayboxing for skateboarding.
Beyond overseeing traversal implementation across levels, I was also hands-on in implementing traversal content. The level I spent the most time working on was the main Hub level, Circuit Arcadia. Alongside other level designers, I worked on its early graybox iterations and combat/scenario design before handing it off for final design and polish.
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