Jacob Minkoff | Game Designer

level design

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Chapters 14 and 15 - “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’” and “Sink or Swim”

• The cruise ship was one of the flagship sequences for Uncharted 3. It was extremely technically demanding as it sees Nathan Drake explore a huge, rolling cruise ship that eventually capsizes.
• Responsibilities: Designed original blockmesh. Performed all scripting tasks.

Chapter 21 - “Atlantis of the Sands”

• In my role as Lead Designer on U3, I bounced around from level to level frequently — doing a lot of initial layout and concept development. Near the end, we needed some extra hands on The Atlantis of the Sands, so I took this one to completion. In this level, Nathan Drake discovers the ancient City of Brass.
• Responsibilities: Completed existing blockmesh. Performed all scripting tasks.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Chapters 11 and 12 - “Keep Moving” and “A Train to Catch”

• These levels find the player escaping from a warzone in a Kathmandu-like city in Nepal.  One of the most notable sequences in this section of gameplay (shown below) requires the player to carry a wounded ally through a series of tight alleyways, dense with scripted encounters.
• Responsibilities: Designed original blockmesh. Performed approximately 65% of scripting tasks.

Chapters 13 and 14 – “Locomotion” and “Tunnel Vision”

• Here, the player must navigate to the front of a train to rescue an ally as the train passes through jungle, a tunnel, and up into the Himalayas.  The section below shows a mid-boss of sorts as a helicopter attacks the player.
• Responsibilities: Designed original blockmesh. Performed all scripting tasks.

Chapter 21 – “Convoy”

• In Chapter 21, the player must get to their ally’s truck. To do so, they platform along a convoy driving up steep mountain roads.  This was an especially challenging level to develop since it went into production only a few months before our ship date and was orders of magnitude more complex than the Train.  More than 15,000 lines of script had to be written for this 3-minute sequence.
• Responsibilities: Designed original blockmesh. Performed all scripting tasks.