Celeste Custom Campaign
Dawn Break
Full playthrough of level
Try the level through Everest here: https://gamebanana.com/mods/574968
Created in: Lönn Editor
Role: Level Designer
Overview:
Dawn Break is a custom Celeste campaign designed to reflect the core principles that make the original game so impactful: intuitive teaching, rewarding challenges, and exploration.
Project Goals:
Introduce new mechanics in safe environments and gradually increased difficulty to reward player mastery.
Embrace non-linear level design and optional “strawberry rooms” to encourage risk-taking and reward curiosity.
Build boss rooms that test players skill and rewarded them for learning the mechaincs I would introduce.
Collaborate with the Celeste modding community to gather playtesting feedback and iterate on level design.
Use sketchbook mockups to plan 2D layouts before building in the Lönn editor.
What I Learned:
This project reinforced the importance of player-centered design, strong onboarding, and iterative development through feedback. I was also able to hone in my skill on single play story telling through environment.
Early Levels and Player Introductions
One of my major design goals was to create a campaign that offered a challenge to new players while staying fresh and interesting for veteran players. To achieve this, I made sure the early rooms were easy and low-risk, allowing players to get their footing and learn in a low-stakes environment. The first few rooms met these goals, while the later rooms ramped up gradually in difficulty. This allowed players to feel continuously challenged and rewarded.
This is the first introduction to non-linear gameplay. I made sure the section had art and geometry that made it visually distinct to prevent players from getting lost. Here, players can choose to go forward or upward to continue their journey.
This is an example of how I structured my early rooms. I made sure the player only had to focus on one challenge at a time, allowing them to approach each section without feeling overwhelmed.
Boss Room One
I knew early on while designing this campaign that I would need to put players to the test. By creating boss rooms like this one I was able to take the mechanics I tagught early and heave them apply it in a less forgiving enviomrent. Finding the balance between fair and difficult was something I was alwasys keeping an eye on. And by then end I was watching players in real time fail and learn in the ways I was wanting from the campaign.
Strawberry Challenge Rooms
A common level design space in Celeste is the “strawberry room.” These rooms were meant to be an optional challenge for players and were usually more difficult than the surrounding areas. This concept is core to Celeste’s personality, so I wanted to create rooms that reflect the gameplay experience players expect from the game.
I made sure these rooms always looped back to the main path so that players didn’t feel like they had to complete them to progress. I also designed the spaces to make backtracking seamless.
Biome Two and Differences
After completing the first boss room, players transition into the second biome of the campaign. I wanted this moment to feel meaningful. To achieve that, I leaned into visual and auditory contrast — changing the color palette and introducing faster-paced music. These choices were rooted in my core design philosophy: use atmosphere and pacing to reinforce player progression and emotional beats without breaking flow.
The first biome used dark green tones to establish the initial mood. These colors persisted throughout the opening section to reinforce visual consistency.
Second Biome with a new, more red-toned color palette. Here, the player is presented with two clear paths and an optional secret path.
This secret path was made to promote player exploration. By utilizing a fake blocks players were able to feel rewarded for paying attention. This led to a noticeable increase in player exploration during playtesting.
Overall,
creating this campaign taught me how to gradually ramp up difficulty in a way that feels natural during gameplay. I went through multiple rounds of fine-tuning and overhauls to make sure each room matched the pacing and emotional beats I was aiming for.
Working with a passionate community also taught me a lot about how to solicit feedback effectively — including how to ask the right questions to get meaningful, actionable responses.
Finishing this project was a major step forward in my level design journey. Learning how to teach players through gameplay and control the flow of a level was a real challenge, but one I’m proud to have grown through.