Level design

1. FUNDAMENTALS OF GAME
DESIGN
GAME LEVEL DESIGN
Sayed Ahmed
BSc. Eng. in CSc. & Eng. (BUET)
MSc. in CSc. (U of Manitoba)
http://sayed.justetc.net
http://www.justETC.net
sayed@justetc.netwww.justETC.net
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Presented at the University of Winnipeg
Just E.T.C for Business, Education, and Technology Solutions

2. WHAT IS LEVEL DESIGN
 Process of constructing the experience that will
be offered to the player
 Level designers create the following essential
parts of the player’s experience
 The space in which the game takes place
 The initial conditions of the level
 The set of challenges the player will face within the
level
 The termination conditions of the level
 The interplay between the gameplay and the game’s
story
 The aesthetics and mood of the level 2
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3. KEY DESIGN PRINCIPLES
 Make the early levels of a game tutorial levels
 Vary the pacing of the level
 When the player surmounts a challenge that
consumes his resource, provide more resources
 Avoid conceptual non sequiturs
 Clearly inform the player of his short-term goals
 Be clear about risks, rewards, and the
consequences of decisions
 Reward in a large way, punish in a small way
 The foreground takes precedence over the
background 3
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4. KEY DESIGN PRINCIPLES
 The purpose of an artificial opponent is to put up
a good fight and then lose
 Implement multiple difficulty settings if possible
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5. GENRE-SPECIFIC LEVEL DESIGN
PRINCIPLES
 Action Games
 Vary the pace
 Strategy Games
 Reward planning
 Role-Playing Games
 Offer opportunities for character growth and player
self expression
 Sports-Games
 Verisimilitude is vital
 Vehicle Simulations
 Reward skillful maneuvering 5
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6. GENRE-SPECIFIC LEVEL DESIGN
PRINCIPLES
 Construction and Management Simulations
 Offer an interesting variety of initial conditions and
goals
 Adventure Games
 Construct challenges that harmonize with their
locations and the story
 Artificial Life Games
 Create many interaction opportunities for the
creatures in their environment
 Puzzle Games
 Give the player time to think
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7. LAYOUTS OF THE GAME WORLD
 Open Layouts
 Linear Layouts
 Parallel Layouts
 Ring Layouts
 Network Layouts
 Hub-and-Spoke Layouts
 Combinations of Layouts
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8. EXPANDING ON THE PRINCIPLES OF LEVEL
DESIGN
 Atmosphere
 Lighting
 Color Palette
 Weather and atmospheric effects
 Special visual effects
 Music
 Ambient audio
 Special Audio effects
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9. PROGRESSION AND PACING
 Designing the Progression
 Mechanics
 Experience Duration
 Ancillary Rewards and Environmental Progression
 Practical gameplay rewards
 Difficulty
 Actions available to the player
 Story progression
 Character growth
 Designing the Pacing
 Vary the Pacing
 Overall Pacing
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10. TUTORIAL LEVELS
 Tutorial Levels
 A scripted or partially scripted experience
 Explains
 Game’s user interface
 Key challenges
 Actions to the player
 Use voiceover narration, text superimposed on the
screen, special mentor character to explain things to
the player
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11. THE LEVEL DESIGN PROCESS
 Planning Phase
 Gameplay Planning Phase
 Layout
 Areas devoted to major challenges
 Pacing
 Termination Conditions
 Resource placements
 Player start and end points
 NPC positions and spawn points
 Elevations
 Secret areas
 Special event issues
 Landmarks
 Destruction
 Storytelling
 Save points and checkpoints
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12. THE LEVEL DESIGN PROCESS
 Planning Phase
 ART Planning Phase
 Plan Performance
 Plan Coding
 Prototyping Phase
 Level Review Phase
 Scale
 Pacing
 Placement of objects and triggers
 Performance issues
 Other code issues
 Aesthetics
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13. THE LEVEL DESIGN PROCESS
 Level Refinement and Lock-Down
 Level Design to Art Handoff
 First Art and Rigging Pass
 Art to Level Design Handoff and Review
 Content Integration
 Bug Fixing
 User Testing and Tuning
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14. PITFALLS OF LEVEL DESIGN
 Get the Scope Right
 Avoid Conceptual Non Sequiturs
 Make Atypical Levels Optional
 Don’t show the player Everything at Once
 Never Lose Sight of Your Audience
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15. SUMMARY
 The level designer is responsible for actually
presenting the game experience to the player by
designing
 The space in which the games take place
 Deciding what challenges a player will face
 Creating the atmosphere of the game worlds
 Planning the pacing of events for each level
 Level design is governed by
 Some universal principles
 Some genre specific principles
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16. SUMMARY
 Designing the actual layout of the level is
important
 Enhance the playing experience
 Level design requires interaction among
 The game’s design team
 Artists
 Programmers
 Audio team
 Attention to detail and a methodical approach
 Will help to prevent level design pitfalls
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