Level Up.pdf

232 LEVEL 9 Everything I Learned about Level Design, I Learned from Level 9
Isometric maps work best when representing games using a 2.5 - D camera.
If you need to show depth or a part of the level that is obscured by
geometry on your map, you can show the missing information using a
cutaway or X- ray view. Or you can create a flap that can be lifted by the
viewer to see what lies underneath. Make as many layers as you need to
convey your idea for your level. Some of my levels have had so many
panels, they started to look like an advent calendar!
Other information to include on your level design maps:
• Enemy spawn locations and detection/aggro radius.
• “ Bread crumb ” collectibles (like coins or Pac - Man dots) that lead the
player through the level.
• Secret entrances/breakable walls or other concealed locations.
• Obstacles and barriers like walls, trees, tombstones, and so on.
• Be sure to clearly mark specific terrain like cursed earth, swampy water,
slippery ice, and hot lava.
Illusional Narrative
Illusional narrative is a storytelling trick I first observed when riding the
Peter Pan ’ s Flight attraction at Disneyland. Having flown over London and to
Never- Land, we have reached the part where Peter Pan and Captain Hook
are engaged in a pitched sword duel on the deck of the pirate ship. The
Darling children have been captured by the pirate crew and watch the
battle.
The guest ’ s ship flies around a corner (cleverly disguised as the sail of the
pirate ship) and now. Peter Pan is victorious, the Darlings are freed, and
Captain Hook is keeping himself from being eaten by the crocodile.
Illusional narrative is the video game equivalent of what happens in the gutter
of comic book panels or between edits in a movie: the player fills in story
when given two or more images or environments. With the proper transition
and presentation, you could convince a player that a train has crashed, a
world has become overrun by aliens, or a character has crossed a room
without animating a single element. The cost to production is significant.
Real - time animations take time to produce and have to be ripped up and
redone if the designer decides to change something in the level.
Just make sure that the elements are viewed in the order of your story, and
use gating mechanisms such as bottlenecks, camera views, checkpoints,
turning elements on and off, or even plain ol ’ doors to keep the player from
“ turning back the page. ”