Level Up.pdf

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240 LEVEL 9 Everything I Learned about Level Design, I Learned from Level 9 Level 9 ’ s Universal Truths and Clever Ideas: • Even a clich é can be made compelling. • Use the “ Mexican pizza ” technique to make level themes unique. • Level names can help convey mood and info to your player. • Design from the top down: world, level, experience to moment - to - moment gameplay. • You can never have too many skeletons. • Use level maps and posters to give information and build anticipation. • Determine the theme of your levels: escape/survive, explore, educate or moral. • Use the beat chart to point out weaknesses in your game ’ s overall design. • Design your games using a tight set of gameplay systems and mechanics: maximize play through re - use. • The player will always find a way to break your game. • Make the player play the game the way you want it to be played. • Is your level an alley or island? Design to each style ’ s strength. • Map and gray box your levels to plan camera placement, prevent architectural issues and gameplay problems. • Walking is never, ever gameplay.
Level 9’s Universal Truths and Clever Ideas 241 • If it feels too long or too boring, then it is. • Every finger should have a reward at the end, even if it ’ s just a trashcan. • If it looks like the player can go there, then they should. • Use playgrounds and combat arenas to test metrics and systems. • Leave the training level for last (or not). • The entire game should train the player.
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Copyright Information Please note t
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This edition first published 2010
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments Some
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viii Contents Level 2 Ideas 23 Idea
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x Contents Level 8 Sign Language—
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xii Contents Level 15 Some Notes on
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About the Author After discovering
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xvi Press Start! You obviously don
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xviii Press Start! video games shou
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xx Press Start! to me. Why would yo
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T LeveI 1 Welcome, N00bs! This chap
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So, let ’ s ask this basic questi
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A Brief History of Video Games Earl
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A Brief History of Video Games A co
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Game Genres Game Genres Over the ye
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Game Genres 11 Puzzle: puzzle games
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Who Makes this Stuff? One programme
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Who Makes this Stuff? many, many sk
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Who Makes this Stuff? 17 problems (
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Writer Have You Thought about Publi
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Have You Thought about Publishing?
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T LeveI 2 Ideas Let ’ s talk abou
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Ideas: Where to Get Them and Where
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28 LEVEL 2 Ideas • Space Panic’
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30 LEVEL 2 Ideas them credit for. O
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32 LEVEL 2 Ideas 3. Something to wr
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34 LEVEL 2 Ideas Breaking Writer
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36 LEVEL 2 Ideas others are clear l
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38 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story 2. Our
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40 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story 6. An
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42 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story they s
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44 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story The Tr
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46 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story What d
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48 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Howeve
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50 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story game.
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52 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Death
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54 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Comedi
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56 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story great
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58 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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The Game Design Document (and the A
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The Beat Chart The Beat Chart 77 Th
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Above All, Don’t Be a Schmuck 79
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Level 4’s Universal Truths and Cl
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T LeveI 5 The Three Cs, Part 1 —
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Personality: Do We Really Need Anot
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Personality: Do We Really Need Anot
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Let’s Get Personal 89 an internat
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Let’s Get Personal While video ga
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Finally, We Talk about Gameplay 93
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Why Walk When You Can Run? 95 The t
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Why Walk When You Can Run? 97 with
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The Art of Doing Nothing 99 When yo
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Might as Well Jump 101 1. The playe
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Might as Well Jump 103 The target t
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What Goes Up, Must Fall Down 105 Jo
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What Goes Up, Must Fall Down 107
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Be Kind to Our Four-Legged Friends
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We Are Not Alone 111 player, who is
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We Are Not Alone 113 While companio
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We Are Not Alone 115 Scout Engineer
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Who Are the People in Your Neighbor
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122 LEVEL 6 The Three Cs, Part 2—
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T Levei 7 The Three Cs, Part 3 —
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The Three Cs, Part 3—Controls 157
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Dance, Monkey, Dance 159 • While
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Dance, Monkey, Dance 161 • Clasp
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Dance, Monkey, Dance 163 Maximo ’
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Character or Camera Relative? 165 W
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Shake, Rattle and Roll 167 characte
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172 LEVEL 8 Sign Language—HUD and
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Icon Has Cheezburger? 181 The first
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Don’t Get QTE 183 • Red cross:
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HUDs, and Where to Stick ‘Em 185
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There Are Other Screens Than the HU
Page 213 and 214: The Pause that Refreshes 189 • Th
Page 215 and 216: The Pause that Refreshes 191 screen
Page 217 and 218: The Pause that Refreshes 193 • Fi
Page 219 and 220: A Final Word on Fonts 195 out of th
Page 221 and 222: T LeveI 9 Everything I Learned Abou
Page 223 and 224: Everything I Learned about Level De
Page 225 and 226: The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Theme
Page 231 and 232: The Name Game 207 While designing M
Page 239 and 240: Relic Raider beat chart The Beat Ch
Page 241: The Gary Gygax Memorial Mapping Sec
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Page 267 and 268: T Levei 10 The Elements of Combat E
Page 269 and 270: 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 245
Page 271 and 272: 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 247 C
Page 273 and 274: 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 249 L
Page 275 and 276: 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 251 Y
Page 277 and 278: 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 253 W
Page 279 and 280: On Moving On Moving 255 If you take
Page 281 and 282: On Moving 257 Many games allow the
Page 283 and 284: On Guarding 259 to decide whether a
Page 285 and 286: State of the Art Bang Bang 261 does
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Page 289 and 290: The Best Gun for You 265 Here are a
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Page 293 and 294: Run and Gun 269 to a main gun and a
Page 295 and 296: Not Just Shooting 271 Rail shooter
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Page 299 and 300: Dammit Jones, Where Doesn’t It Hu
Page 301 and 302: Death: What is It Good For? 277 the
Page 303 and 304: Level 10’s Universal Truths and C
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Page 307 and 308: They All Want You Dead 283 All of t
Page 309 and 310: A shooter is an enemy that fires a
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They All Want You Dead 291 Medium s
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They All Want You Dead 293 Let ’
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Bring on the Bad Guys 295 You are w
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Bring on the Bad Guys 297 like a ma
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Bring on the Bad Guys 299 They ’
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Bring on the Bad Guys 301 ricochet.
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Bring on the Bad Guys 303 Leech: th
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I Love Designing Enemies 305 A is f
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I Love Designing Enemies 307 I hate
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I Love Designing Enemies 309 M is f
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I Love Designing Enemies 311 Spaces
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I Love Designing Enemies 313 Behold
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I Hate You to Pieces 315 gets a goo
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Non-Enemy Enemies 317 comes dialogu
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Who’s the Boss? 319 At first glan
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Size Matters 321 father in order to
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Size Matters 323 safe for them to a
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Size Matters 325 When the player gi
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Why Not to Create the World’s Gre
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Level 11’s Universal Truths and C
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The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics 333
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Holy Death Trap! 335 Cranks are lik
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Holy Death Trap! 337 I was designin
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Time to Die Time to Die 339 we are
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The Music of Mechanics 341 Gaming w
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The Music of Mechanics 343 characte
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A Nice Little Calm Spot 345 The whi
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Riddle Me This 347 While Mr. Kim ha
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Riddle Me This 349 another player s
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A Short Word on Minigames and Micro
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T LeveI 13 Now You ’ re Playing w
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Now You’re Playing with Power 357
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Now You’re Playing with Power 359
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“Love Thy Player” 361 Most powe
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“Love Thy Player” 363 the playe
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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382 LEVEL 14 Multiplayer—the More
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T LeveI 15 1 Some Notes on Music Wh
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Some Notes on Music 395 the rights
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Some Notes on Music 397 game? A tra
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Some Notes on Music 399 • Warning
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Sounds Like a Game to Me 401 • We
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Sounds Like a Game to Me 403 Be car
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408 LEVEL 16 Cutscenes, or No One
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418 LEVEL 17 And Now the Hard Part
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430 Continue?
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432 Bonus Level 1 The One-Sheet Sam
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436 Bonus Level 2 The Ten-Page Desi
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446 Bonus Level 3 Game Design Docum
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• Abandoned city • Air/clouds
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• Ship/boat deck/interior • Sky
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T Bonus Levei 7 Enemy Design Templa
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T Bonus Levei 8 Boss Design Templat
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Slide 1: Cover Page T Bonus Levei 9
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Slide 4: Game Story Slide 4: Game S
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Slide 6: Gameplay Summary Slide 6:
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Slide 7: Gameplay details Slide 7:
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Slide 9: Production Specs Slide 9:
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482 Achievement Unlocked: Exactly L
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484 Index boss battles, 319-329 bos
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486 Index Fat Princess, 422 F.E.A.R
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488 Index Little Red Riding Hood, 4
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490 Index resistances/vulnerabiliti
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492 Index walking, 25, 34, 94-97, 2
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