Level Design

By: Maya Siden / March 04, 2018 /
Program: Game Design
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Level Design – A Design Decision

So! The biggest puzzle pieces were set. We knew the goals and “feel” of the game, we knew how the player character was supposed to act and move, we knew the rough outline of the challenges we wanted the player to face and we knew how long we wanted the game to be. With these aspects in mind it was time to design the levels.

Starting off, I mentally separated the game into three faces. The Tutorial – A very short part, meant only to teach the player the base mechanics in a safe environment. The Adventure – The very meat of the game, where the player learns how to use their new powers. The Boss – The biggest challenge. The grand finale where all that the player has learned up until now would be put to the test.

In this post I will only describe The Adventure part, seeing as that was the big problem. It was supposed to be the longest part and -while being entertaining- its sole purpose was to teach the player the different moves, obstacles, and how to best combine these. I ended up creating 13 “waves” of enemies, all with a different purpose behind them. To either teach the player something or prepare them for what was to come. Some examples from the list looks like this:

  • Wave 1: Introduce one Enemy 1
    • (first contact with enemies, keeping it simple)
  • Wave 3: First real trial with about six E1’s
    • (shows a glimpse of what is to come)
  • Wave 4: Introduces one Enemy 2 with two E1’s in the back
    • (to indicate that it’s no big deal)
  • Wave 5: Same enemies as in the last one but lined up
    • (to inspire the player to use their Secondary fire)
  • Wave 9: A wall of E1’s and an Enemy 3 behind them
    • (as the last test for the warm up)
  • Wave 10: Just one E2
    • (to let the player catch their breath and process all that happened while still engaging in the game)

(I could make pictures for ya’ll so you could more easily understand what I’m talkin’ about, but that sounds like a lot of work and I’m not being paid for this. Please imagine pictures if you will).

What’s important is that with this, all the players abilities are challenges tested. A lot of possible waves were created that never made it into the game, seeing how it was important to me to only keeping the parts I found most necessary for either pacing or tutorial reasons (so nothing would feel like filler or just a waste of time).

Lesson to be learned out of all of this? Having a reason behind you design, no matter how small, brings the design to life and makes it so much more fun when it works!

Lots of Love ❤
// Maya

About Maya Siden

2017 Game Design
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