Steam News25 March 20263mo ago

Dev Blog 8: Building our Levels

Hey everyone! Today we're pulling back the curtain a little and giving you a peek at how we actually build the world of Dark Queen of Samobor. Spoiler: it's messier than you might think before it gets beautiful.

In this update3

Full notes

Full Dark Queen of Samobor update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

Repeated intro

What changed

0 fixes1 addition5 changes0 removals

Maps
Gameplay
UI and audio

changedFrom grey box to finished worldEvery level in the game starts as a blockout. A rough layout built from simple geometric shapes. No real materials, no finished models, just crude objects slapped together to test whether the space actually feels right to move through and fight in. Does the pacing work? How does the flow of the movement feel? Can you actually see what's going on during combat? These are some of the questions we're answering at this stage, not "does it look pretty."

addedFrom grey box to finished worldOnce we're happy with how it plays, we move into the visual iteration: adding the real models, textures, lighting, atmosphere, and all the little details that make the world feel alive and beautiful.

changedThe invisible magic: TriggersIn our case, we use triggers in all sorts of ways, for example for enemy spawning. When you cross an invisible boundary, enemies appear, but always off-screen so you don’t actually notice it.

changedThe invisible magic: TriggersSteam post imageEnemy spawning off-screen

changedThe invisible magic: TriggersYou can also set off these triggers with your axe. In the example below, there’s a trigger on the button, and activating it makes the doors open (and close).

changedCamera triggers and cinematic momentsHope you enjoyed this peek behind the curtain. This is just a small slice of how things come together, and more dev blogs are on the way, so stay tuned.

Dark Queen of Samobor changes

changedEvery level in the game starts as a blockout. A rough layout built from simple geometric shapes. No real materials, no finished models, just crude objects slapped together to test whether the space actually feels right to move through and fight in. Does the pacing work? How does the flow of the movement feel? Can you actually see what's going on during combat? These are some of the questions we're answering at this stage, not "does it look pretty."

addedOnce we're happy with how it plays, we move into the visual iteration: adding the real models, textures, lighting, atmosphere, and all the little details that make the world feel alive and beautiful.

changedIn our case, we use triggers in all sorts of ways, for example for enemy spawning. When you cross an invisible boundary, enemies appear, but always off-screen so you don’t actually notice it.

changedSteam post imageEnemy spawning off-screen

changedYou can also set off these triggers with your axe. In the example below, there’s a trigger on the button, and activating it makes the doors open (and close).

From grey box to finished world

Every level in the game starts as a blockout. A rough layout built from simple geometric shapes. No real materials, no finished models, just crude objects slapped together to test whether the space actually feels right to move through and fight in. Does the pacing work? How does the flow of the movement feel? Can you actually see what's going on during combat? These are some of the questions we're answering at this stage, not "does it look pretty."

Steam post imageEarly Blockout

Once we're happy with how it plays, we move into the visual iteration: adding the real models, textures, lighting, atmosphere, and all the little details that make the world feel alive and beautiful.

Steam post imageFinal Blockout

The difference is pretty dramatic, and honestly one of our favourite parts of the process.

The invisible magic: Triggers

A lot of what makes a game world feel dynamic and responsive comes down to a trick almost every game uses: invisible trigger zones. You simply walk through an area, and something happens. It's one of those things players rarely notice, and that's exactly the point.

Steam post imageTrigger Zone

In our case, we use triggers in all sorts of ways, for example for enemy spawning. When you cross an invisible boundary, enemies appear, but always off-screen so you don’t actually notice it.

Steam post imageEnemy spawning off-screen

And this is how that looks in-game, from your perspective.

Steam post imageIn-game view

But triggers aren't just for enemies. That massive skull you run through? There's a trigger on the other side of it and the moment you pass through, it snaps shut behind you.

Steam post imageSkull closing on a trigger

You can also set off these triggers with your axe. In the example below, there’s a trigger on the button, and activating it makes the doors open (and close).

Steam post imageOpening and closing doors with a trigger

Camera triggers and cinematic moments

We also use triggers to control our camera. Dark Queen of Samobor uses a fully manually directed camera, and triggers let us switch angles at just the right moment, creating those cinematic scenes that make the world feel bigger and more dramatic than a locked perspective ever could.

Steam post imageMoving camera with a trigger

It's a simple system under the hood, but the devil is in the details, and there are a lot of edge cases to juggle and consider. But getting it right gives us a ton of creative control over how you experience each moment.

That's all for this one!

Hope you enjoyed this peek behind the curtain. This is just a small slice of how things come together, and more dev blogs are on the way, so stay tuned.

And as always, thanks for following along!🖤

Downtown Game Studio team

Source

Steam News / 25 March 2026

Open original post

Changelog.gg summarizes and formats this update. How we read updates.