The complexity of level design
Andrew Raabe
Deep Silver Volition, USA
: J Comput Eng Inf Technol
Abstract
The topic that I would like to discuss is that of meaningful design, be it overall level flow or such simple things as Set Design. The goal of most games is immersion, to get the player to feel like they are a part of this world. When the player encounters such things as level imbalance or inconsistent level flow it breaks from this immersion and takes away from the gameplay. So your goal as a designer should not be to just create a level, or to create a scene but to create a balanced level in which the player can enjoy a comfortable level of play that is both challenging and enjoyable. So how do we go about this? What would we as designers, artists and programmers have to do to create one of these masterful levels? I have divided these pieces of art. into three parts from a design perspective which will be discussed in this talk; they are as follows - Flow, Set Design, and Engagement. A level needs to lead the player to where they are intended to be, but give the player the sense that they are discovering this path on their own, that they have found something even if it was intended as the main path. This is what is called Level Flow. Every game has it in different amounts and the best games have it in large portions. But how does one setup level flow? How do you achieve this synergy between player and development team?
Biography
