As one of my game design teachers once said, level design is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to games. A game may be composed of many interesting mechanics, but if it does not utilize them in an interesting manner the whole experience is ruined.
Shigeru Miyamoto, of Nintendo fame, postulates that a game should be enjoyable simply with the character in an empty room. That way the game starts off fun and only improves. But, it is actually the level design that brings a game to its truest form. Without a level created to support the content in the game, all it will ever be is an empty and the enjoyment will only be limited to that. That is the true essence of level design, to provide situations that the player will be able to utilize the provided mechanics. If a character is agile and fast, the levels that they inhabit should give ample locations to jump and run around. If not, the mechanics that the game is built upon are wasted, and the truest form of the gameplay is never realized.
Now, there is something to be said about providing situations that take the player out of their element. This direction provides contrast to the rest of the game by taking away a precious ability in the characters arsenal. If the character is agile, then stuffing them in a cramped corridor limits their possibilities and forces them to think differently. These departures must be used in moderation, as it is meant to provide momentary disorder that the player must find their way around so that they may get back into their natural habitat. Half Life 2 is an example of a game that takes a detour to provide a different kind of experience. In Ravenholm the player must fight off a near endless barrage of encroaching enemies. This is unlike the slower and more deliberate actions that are more common throughout the game. The player is no longer fighting to proceed, they are fighting to survive. Personally, I liked Ravenholm the least out of all the levels, but I did enjoy the other levels more after going through that experience.
You can tell when a game is faltering in its level design when you find yourself lost or confused what to do next. This may not seem like the fault of the level, but it is indeed the task of the level to guide the player, be it unconscious or not. When the player is becoming lost, not only is the game not achieving its potential but it is hurting the overall experience. Good games will guide the player, as if by invisible strings, leading them to their destination making it appear as it was the players own doing.
Games like Grand Theft Auto are more liberal in their interpretation of level design. There is still the guiding force, which is actually tangible as a blip on your radar, but the surrounding areas are meant to be possible choices on your path to the goal. The areas provide for mostly unobstructed routes to a destination that may be approached from any direction and still allow for passage.
Next on the UnBRELLA
Wrong decisions versus missed opportunities.
Shigeru Miyamoto, of Nintendo fame, postulates that a game should be enjoyable simply with the character in an empty room. That way the game starts off fun and only improves. But, it is actually the level design that brings a game to its truest form. Without a level created to support the content in the game, all it will ever be is an empty and the enjoyment will only be limited to that. That is the true essence of level design, to provide situations that the player will be able to utilize the provided mechanics. If a character is agile and fast, the levels that they inhabit should give ample locations to jump and run around. If not, the mechanics that the game is built upon are wasted, and the truest form of the gameplay is never realized.
Now, there is something to be said about providing situations that take the player out of their element. This direction provides contrast to the rest of the game by taking away a precious ability in the characters arsenal. If the character is agile, then stuffing them in a cramped corridor limits their possibilities and forces them to think differently. These departures must be used in moderation, as it is meant to provide momentary disorder that the player must find their way around so that they may get back into their natural habitat. Half Life 2 is an example of a game that takes a detour to provide a different kind of experience. In Ravenholm the player must fight off a near endless barrage of encroaching enemies. This is unlike the slower and more deliberate actions that are more common throughout the game. The player is no longer fighting to proceed, they are fighting to survive. Personally, I liked Ravenholm the least out of all the levels, but I did enjoy the other levels more after going through that experience.
You can tell when a game is faltering in its level design when you find yourself lost or confused what to do next. This may not seem like the fault of the level, but it is indeed the task of the level to guide the player, be it unconscious or not. When the player is becoming lost, not only is the game not achieving its potential but it is hurting the overall experience. Good games will guide the player, as if by invisible strings, leading them to their destination making it appear as it was the players own doing.
Games like Grand Theft Auto are more liberal in their interpretation of level design. There is still the guiding force, which is actually tangible as a blip on your radar, but the surrounding areas are meant to be possible choices on your path to the goal. The areas provide for mostly unobstructed routes to a destination that may be approached from any direction and still allow for passage.
Next on the UnBRELLA
Wrong decisions versus missed opportunities.