K-Boom! Level Editor

Summary

The K-Boom! Level Editor is the custom in-house tool built for BackToBits Studio to construct, balance, and validate all puzzle levels for the commercial release of K-Boom!.

Designed to bridge designer intuition with strict puzzle mechanics, it empowers designers to paint multi-layered hazard rooms, specify level objectives, test gameplay, and export verified level packages as Json files.

Responsibilities

• Command Pattern Architecture: Implemented a full multi-step Undo/Redo history stack utilizing memory-conscious delta commands, supporting complex batch operations like drag-painting tiles, moving selections, and trigger re-wiring.
• Instant State Snapshotting: Built to save the levels as Json files to be loaded in runtime during the game execution.
• Interactive 3D viewport: Actual 3D representation of the level so designer know before hand how will the level look inside the game while still in the editor.
• Serialization & Versioning: Programmed a bidirectional JSON serialization pipeline with versioned migration routines for seamless backward compatibility across game updates.

Current Status & Reception

• 100% Campaign Coverage: Every single campaign chamber and public demo level in K-Boom! was authored, balanced, and validated using this tool.
• Turnaround Acceleration: Reduced level authoring and playtesting iteration cycles from ~8 minutes per tweak down to under 5 seconds, dramatically increasing designer throughput at BackToBits Studio.
• Production Stability: Maintained zero data corruption or unrecoverable state loss across hundreds of authored puzzle revisions.