Nat makes levels
Hey, I’m nat.
I’m a level designer, indie game developer and recovering journalist based in Vancouver, BC. I was the sole level designer on Inkle’s 3x IGF nominated hiking epic A Highland Song in 2023, and recently finished work with Bithell Games on TRON: Catalyst. I’ve also worked on more experimental projects like Can Androids Pray with Strange Scaffold and Priscilla Snow; contributed to an essay compilation on Bloodborne, written for sites like PC Gamer, Rock Paper Shotgun and Waypoint; and even had a hand in developing games like Minecraft and Alien: Isolation in a career going back to 2014.
Throughout every turn my career has taken, I have never lost my love for the way game spaces tell stories. Level design creates narrative, and I firmly believe the two are inseparable; whether that’s the drama of a gruelling climb up a Scottish peak or the nail-biting confrontation of a risky rocket launcher spawn. From my professional work to personal side projects, I seek to explore and push the boundaries of what level design can mean as a creative field.
Read more about me and my work here.
Professional Work
critical Work
a selection of written works from a five-year career in games media.
BLOOD ECHOES: A Bloodborne Anthology
Contributed a chapter on the unlikely twin cities of Edinburgh and Yharnam to Tune and Fairweather’s Bloodborne essay compilation.
That Belongs in a (Digital) Museum
Rock Paper Shotgun | A chat with the developers curating digital exhibitions in virtual space.
FRIGHT-TEEN-NINETY-NINE
Wireframe | Talking retro-3D horror with Arbitrary Metric’s Doc Burford, Jessica Harvey, and Haunted PS1 pioneer Breogan Hackett.
Forget Ash: The real star of Apex Legends’ next season is a Scottish mother with a grudge
PC Gamer | Examining how a battle royale tells deeply personal stories through the lens of a time-lost astronaut.
How ‘Splatoon 2’ Lets Us Make Connections, Not Just Matches
Waypoint | Exploring how Splatoon’s fresh vibes facilitate a community that turns online arenas into hangout spots.
How the hero shooter took over competitive FPS design
PC Gamer | Overwatch redefined the competitive shooter scene into a space defined by colourful casts of gunslinging heroes.
Remembering Source, and the beautiful tension of an engine caught between eras
PC Gamer | A celebration of Valve’s foundational game engine.
Nat Clayton, level designer 