The Question: How Does One Make a Good Level?
There really isn't a plain answer for a question like this, and that isn't exactly the problem I'm cracking down on right now. Actually, the question is just a bit too broad to summarize into one small blog post. On the other hand though, it's not hard to say, your level design should tie perfectly with your game itself.
Hello everyone! Welcome to Game Design Breakdown! In Game Design Breakdown I, Chad Wolfe, break down the mechanics of games to deduce what makes them good or bad by analyzing them and their usage in games. Today, I'm going to be covering how we can learn from the different level designs of older games and how we can learn from them.
Hello everyone! Welcome to Game Design Breakdown! In Game Design Breakdown I, Chad Wolfe, break down the mechanics of games to deduce what makes them good or bad by analyzing them and their usage in games. Today, I'm going to be covering how we can learn from the different level designs of older games and how we can learn from them.
A Mechanical Mind
Mechanics, in the most basic of terms, are what the player first notices in a game. These are the tools we give the player to engage in our games, our jumping, running, shooting, all that jazz. When making a level in our games, we need to focus our design on our mechanics, therefore, this means we'll be wanting to make most of our mechanics before we even think about level design.
Now, that's not to say that we should focus on making all the game mechanics, tools, weapons, etc. before creating areas of the game. Actually, quite the opposite. It's a good idea to separate the in game areas from in game levels. We could construct the same area with multiple different levels, and it could still be the same area thematically speaking.
To strongly emphasize the meaning behind this we're going to be taking a look at LOZ: Majora's Mask's Pirate Fortress level.
Now, that's not to say that we should focus on making all the game mechanics, tools, weapons, etc. before creating areas of the game. Actually, quite the opposite. It's a good idea to separate the in game areas from in game levels. We could construct the same area with multiple different levels, and it could still be the same area thematically speaking.
To strongly emphasize the meaning behind this we're going to be taking a look at LOZ: Majora's Mask's Pirate Fortress level.
re In the Pirate Fortress Level, you're tasked with sneaking around the map with your trusty hookshot, after getting it from the Pirate leader's room. Only after obtaining the hookshot can you traverse the rest of the map.
Now, imagine if LOZ didn't incorporate the hookshot as a usable tool in the game. They could completely remove all limitations to |
the player's traversal through the level, but that'd completely destroy the game's main mechanic.
Legend of Zelda is a puzzle game, and OOT and Majora's Mask uses items as a way to interact with the levels and their structure. In a way, I like to think of the mechanics of a game a sort of meta that holds all other parts of the game together. |
Mario: Simplicity Was Not So Easy
Platformers have been using the same basic formula for ages. Usually this formula ties down to SMB, and almost every indie platformer follows it, even if they have some slight modifications.
We all know it. Although there were many platformers before SMB, SMB was the first to do it this well, and it became the staple formula for all 2D platformer after it. |
So, how does SMB's level design compare to level design of other games? Well, I've seen many games, but I have yet to see level design so intricately implement the games mechanics and tools.
There's been enough people who've gone over the first level of SMB, so I'm not going to go over it here. If you'd like to know more about that, you should watch Extra Credit's video over it on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH2wGpEZVgE |
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Sonic: Maps for Speed
Mechanics of the Sonic the Hedgehog games are the most incredibly innovative of any of the the platformer genre's mechanics, and that fact still holds true to this day.
Sonic's level design is almost completely catered towards getting the player through the map as quickly as possible, making the entire ride through feel smooth and satisfying. But still, the game requires some real skill as you have to dodge obstacles such as enemies |
Sonic the Hedgehog was a revolutionary game when it was first released. Sonic took mechanics we all knew and loved and spinned them on their head by adding incredible physics that came to be the franchises selling point.
Though the dedication the mechanics drove Sonic to it's potential grave, the fact that the
and carefully keep at edge, because things come at you as fast as you go through the level. All of this combined makes for a strong focus on speed, and drives the game's main mechanics home.
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Mega Man: Adding To The Formula
like Mega Man ZX, where each Biometal you obtain acts has abilities that grant you access to go further through the game at certain parts, while not necessarily making you progress through the game linearly.
Honestly, if it weren't for all the flaws in the level design of ZX over all, I'd say it has some of the best level design in the world, simply |
Returning to what I said before, most platformers use the same basic formula for mechanics. Mega Man, upon it's creation, took that formula and advanced it in a way that would eventually lead to the creation of platformers with varying mechanics.
The thing that makes Mega Man particularly interesting is the fact that each Mega Man title features 8+ different forms that controls the way the player interacts with the world around them. Therefore, the levels are often designed with that idea in mind, this kind of level planning is seen more in later iterations
because of it's mix of mechanics and level construction.
Though, due to other more important level design aesthetics, ZX falls short of being anywhere near that. (Such as teaching mechanics through level design, which essentially doesn't exist in this game) |
In Conclusion
There's a lot we can learn about the level design of these games. Personally, I believe that a most people try to blindly start making levels without thinking about the way the player could utilize the environment in different ways throughout the game. I think it's important (even in semi-linear games) to place obstacles that require the player to unlock certain abilities/tools to get through in order to take shortcuts, find new items, or generally progress. Abilities/tools that pertain the the main mechanics of the game.
Usually level design will seem to lack some quality when it's just a backdrop for the game. A level should be much more than that.
And as previously stated, make a mechanics unique to your game, and make levels unique to that unique mechanic. With that goal in mind you'll be able to capture an audience with a new niche, one that you would be creating yourself. Level design plays a big role in that.
Anyways, until next time!
Usually level design will seem to lack some quality when it's just a backdrop for the game. A level should be much more than that.
And as previously stated, make a mechanics unique to your game, and make levels unique to that unique mechanic. With that goal in mind you'll be able to capture an audience with a new niche, one that you would be creating yourself. Level design plays a big role in that.
Anyways, until next time!