Good day travellers!
As promised, here is a bit about the fine art of level design. Now, I know that level design means different things to different people. Maybe this will be useful, maybe not, but it's just some thoughts I've had on the subject recently.
Back in the early days of video games, level design consisted of the same board repeated over and over again with some altered speed; and maybe a new piece of fruit. Games like Space Invaders and Pac-Man didn't have too many changes when one progressed from level to level. It was all a matter of survive this round and then more of the same. Of course, back in the arcade days it wasn't a matter of having a story with an ending, it was repeat until dead; playing for top score. There is still an appeal to that, and the mobile games I have been working on reflect that sort of game play.
The next sort of levels are the obstacle driven platformers and side-scrollers; Super Mario Bros., Megaman, Ghosts´n´Goblins, and the like. These games offered a different sort of level design. Each stage offered new challenges in the obstacles that the player had to overcome. There was also an opportunity for a story to be told. At the end of each board, you got a piece of the story (and in some cases a new weapon from that level's boss). Story plays even more into more recent games, but more about that in a bit. The main thing about platformers are the obstacles. Where to jump, where it's safe to fall, and even when to time that jump. (There's a good deal of jumping in platformers... almost as if that game type was named for the platforms on which you jump... strange.)
These levels can also be created procedurally. In one of my classes we coded a randomly generated platformer map. All the pieces were listed into a spawner and at random intervals the platforms were spawned. The random element adds to the challenge of the level, but then you miss the opportunity to do the level blindfolded because you've memorized every jump.
In the more story based games, level design is also used to tell that story. BioShock, for example, tells the story of the fall of Rapture. Each level adds a new piece to that story; in both the characters you encounter and the voxophones you collect. There are still obstacles to overcome (locked doors, hordes of splicers, big daddies, etc.), but story also has to be paced within the level. When the player get access to new skills and powers affects the story as well as the mechanics.
One level that I created a couple times through my course of study was the Dock (see under Level Designs to the left). I first created it in Unreal using Kismet, and then again in Unity, programming with C#. It was a journey to get to a space elevator and get it back to functional state. (A rival corporation had staged a hostile takeover of the facility to keep it out of operation.) The pieces of the story that I had were tested in the options the player had to get past certain obstacles. Is it better to sneak past the sentry drones or all out attack them? What was the best way into the facility? Can they locate the hidden access panel? How does the player prep the climber for operation? How do they fire up the reactor?
The first thing I did was layout the map. Then I stepped through it piece by piece to determine where the obstacles should be logically for the story as well as keeping it challenging and interesting. (As a fan of Maniac Mansion, I also believe it important to allow the players to figure things out for themselves rather than to hold there hand through the whole process. They need to explore...) I then set about testing the mechanics for each part to make sure the level was playable. It could be the most exciting and beautiful level in the world, but if it can't be played through, who's gonna see it? After that I have notes on how I would like to update the scenery, models, and textures to make it more of a lived in real place.
Level design to me is a conversation between the game designer and the player. As a designer, I'm trying to convey the path of the story or imply through design what course the player should go toward. I start the conversation with, "where do you think this might lead?" If I've done that correctly, the player can respond with, "let's go see, because I want to know."
I hope that was an interesting insight into my thinking. I may go over some more designs in the future. Let me know if that's something you want more of. There is a like and comment thing at the bottom of the post. Let me know here or on my Facebook.
Another thing I did they past weekend was visit the Orlando Toy and Comic Convention (I have to thank that chap at the local comic shop again for giving me the tickets). It was a small con, but it was a bit of fun to see some of the toys from my childhood.
Strangely, I didn't purchase anything at the con. Nor did I procure anything other that food and drink from the attached Florida Mall (and they had a Think Geek store). I've proud of my self control these days in not buying a bunch of stuff I don't need and filling my rooms with even more crap.
I've been looking into trying the KonMari method for decluttering my life. It's something I know I need to do, but doing it right requires actually putting some time into it... That's actually another topic I'd like to cover at some point, time and our perceptions of it.
In weekly game news, Family Game Night occurred again. We first attempted a game of Castle Risk, but after I wiped out my mother's castle in the first attack we soon gave up. (I'm counting it as a win though.) Afterward we switched to a couple rounds of 31 (a card game) and Yahtzee. I didn't win anything else that night, but at least my strategic dice rolling skills are still sharp.
Also I got to play some more of Star Wars the Old Republic with a friend of mine. We've now finished Nar Shaddaa, so next up is some asteroid in space I think. I looked up where we are in the story and I think we're still in Chapter One... So much game yet to complete...
A bit a of ramble this week. I'll try to keep it more succinct next time around. Until then, be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!