Absurdly Extravagant Level Design
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I have designed our level for multiple weeks now. Starting with writing down what we were hoping to achieve and in what order we wanted our challenges to appear, I have now made numerous drafts and tweaks to a currently somewhat functional level. As you can conclude from my Picasso-like drawing, the game is divided into four sections. This makes it easier to improve as every section is sort of a level on its own. We differentiated them based on what the player is supposed to feel. Peace, fear, horror and chaos are our main goals. My technique was simple. I drew a design based on our aspirations and asked the other team members for their opinions. Not that they mattered. I was just being nice. Then it was back to the drawing board to try and evolve our thoughts and refine the level. An example of a change we made is that the game was very linier at first since we thought it was the best way to ensure we could tailor the experience. Now however, it is more open to emphasize the exploration aspect of the game. Our way of evolving the level has been proficient and if we did not open our minds for drastic change then the game would suffer as a result. The reason why I am constantly revising is that none of us are experts. It is important to be able to criticize your own work if you want to improve in the future. Even though it may seem outlandish that I would need any improvement whatsoever, being humble is the key to mastering any craft.  |
Imagine if you will, a project manager that is not only a cunning and apt leader, but also a masterful level designer. Seems too good to be true? It is. I am neither. However, since our game designer so rudely disappeared in our moment of need, the team needed someone to visualize the Echoes of the Abyss dream. Someone with years of experience designing board games. Someone that understood what the player wanted. Someone that could make Rukh great again.
