// Overview
Shovel Out is a stylized action FPS set in a noir, darkly comedic afterlife. You play Sleazy - the only living resident of the Cotard Hotel - on a mission to save his beloved Sindy from the mysterious Boss.
The Cotard Hotel afterlife is character-driven: a skeleton hotel staff, a zombie middle class, sleepwalking TV fans, ghosts and undead dogs. Combat blends shovel melee with a revolver, elemental ammo types, a dash and time-slow.
26 levels across a Prologue and 3 Chapters, with a dynamic noir soundtrack reacting to combat intensity. The Prologue (4 levels) is complete, Chapter 1 in production, full release planned for July 2026.
// My work
// Case study
Level Design System
26 levels in a modular hotel. Encounter placement, prefabs, playtest iteration.
// Level Art
The Stage
A key prologue location - where you get the shovel. Full pipeline from blockout to final art.
// Character Art
The Boss
The main antagonist - full pipeline: concept → sculpt → retopo → texturing → rig.
// Asset Pack
Props
A collection of props filling the Cotard Hotel - furniture, decorations, interactive objects.
// Concept Art
Concepts
Concept art of characters, environments and key art - Procreate and Photoshop.
// Tech Stack
Unreal Engine 5.5Blueprints
LumenMaya
BlenderSubstance Painter
PhotoshopProcreateGit