Free tool · Level Design
Dungeon Scrawl for fast level plans
A quick browser-based map tool for thinking about route, space and encounter layout before opening a full game engine.
Free core features. Curricly links to the original website.
Open original tool ↗What it does
Draws grid-based rooms, corridors, walls and markers in a browser, with free local save/load and image export options listed by the provider.
Why a Games educator might care
Useful for getting learners thinking about player flow before they disappear into Unreal and spend an hour choosing wall materials. A rough plan can be made, swapped and challenged in minutes.
Good for
- Rapid top-down layout sketches
- Annotating routes, locks, keys and encounter spaces
- Comparing two versions before building in 3D
- Learners or machines that are not ready for a full engine
Classroom idea
Give pairs the same objective and twelve minutes to draw different routes. Swap maps, trace the likely player path, mark one confusing decision point and revise before any engine work begins.
Level suggestions
Make a start, goal and one blocked route using a simple legend.
Add one optional room and explain how the main route stays readable.
Plan encounter rhythm, sightlines and a return route before greyboxing.
Compare route hypotheses with observed tests and document why the plan changed.
Limitations
It is a tabletop map maker, not a playable level editor, so scale, camera, movement and timing still need testing elsewhere. Core features are free; check the provider's current terms before commercial use or relying on paid cloud features.
Rights note
No reuse licence is claimed. Use the original site and its own terms.
Keep moving
Useful next steps.
Greybox before art
Use simple geometry to test scale, route and timing while changes are still cheap.
Teaching player flow without objective arrows
A practical sequence for showing how composition, contrast, landmarks and space guide attention.
Unreal Level Designer Quick Start
Epic's practical introduction to viewport navigation, levels, actors, basic geometry, lighting and playtesting.