|
Posted By
|
Message
|
-_darkman_-
Registered
06/12/2002
Points
360
 
|
24th November, 2003 at 09:46:47 -
I design levels the worst way. I sit at the computer and try to come up with someone. Sometimes I might sketch a few things or just play other games to gain inspiration
I'm bad to the bone
|
RapidFlash
Savior of the Universe
Registered
14/05/2002
Points
2712
|
24th November, 2003 at 20:08:29 -
I just come up with them, either making it up on the spot or putting them in a notebook.
http://www.klik-me.com
|
Jimmy Brzezicki
Registered
16/09/2003
Points
1057
|
1st December, 2003 at 06:09:31 -
Why the hell would you copy level designs? Surely all those hours of repetitive coding are redeemed only by the creative rush and artistic freedom inherant in designing your own game, levels included. Since I was eight years old (long before I could actually make games) I've been designing levels. It's easy. All you do is try to think about what the player will experience. Are you going to have a lot of a particular sort of puzzle? Then show them, put one in near the start and don't make it too hard. Start with pencil and paper and think of how it'll play. Has there been a lot of running and jumping so far? Then add something new, like some obstacle evasion (spinning blades or spikes), or objects they can push, or conveyor belts. The idea is for the player to always feel that they're doing something a little different, and they therefore don't get bored. The other thing you want to do is add a little non linearity, since your game isn't only going to be played once, and this can make the game a lot more fun for more experienced players. It can also make the game a lot more fun for less skilled players; failed a hard jump? Insta death? Hell no! Fall down to another route instead. Make this other route a little easier (because that's where the less skilled players will go) but make the rewards a little greater if you succeed on the jump and take that route instead, in order to coax players to try and make the jump. You see? These are all principles I've been applying while making Jonny Storm: Left for dead (coming soon!-shameless plug) and it's really paying off. You could also look at the platform sections in Lost Valley, they're full of simple puzzles and cunning design. Designing levels isn't just a necessary monotony in order to make a playable game, it's in many ways the most enjoyable part.
Why the hell am I on the computer at 1 in the morning? No, don't answer.
|
Ashman
Possibly Insane 
Registered
12/06/2002
Points
3974
|
1st December, 2003 at 06:22:42 -
Level design? OHHH you mean putting heaps of backgrounds and crazy shit around by clicking 100,000,000,000,000 times and hoping it comes out good....
.... made up.
Show me the power child,
I'd like to say,
That I'm down on my knees today,
Gives me the butterflies,
Gives me away,
'Til I'm up on my feet again,
I'm feeling outshined.
"Outshined" - SoundGarden
|
The Chris Street
Administrator
Unspeakably Lazy Admin
Registered
14/05/2002
Points
48488
       
|
1st December, 2003 at 06:36:42 -
hehe, thanks CYS.
I just use my own imagination to create my levels. In the case of both Zone Runner games, I made a fair few sets of levels. I then decided which ones were the ones which I most enjoyed, and took out the others. Obviously in a game in which a level is huge, you probably won't want to do this, as it takes time.
Obstacle placement is another factor which I consider. I always think carefully about where a bad guy or spring or whatever is positioned. For example, in a platform game, theres no point in making a huge jump from one platform to another and then getting killed by a stupidly placed mine/bad guy.
Level design comes from common sense. It needs to be fun, and each individual, depending on what sort of game he or she is making, needs to experiment, much like I did with Zone Runner and Mr Stumps Dentures.
Regarding Mr Stumps Dentures, I had designed quite a few levels for it. There was this Desert Oasis stage, which I spent ages working on, and then I scrapped it, because it was one of the worst levels I had ever made. Mr Stumps initial premise was to have an "infinate" game, where there would be no level name screens or loading, or even level exits. The levels would merge with each other, so, for example, you'd start off in a forest, and there'd be a cave towards the end. Then it would go to the next frame, giving the illusion of a continual game. But again, although it was an original concept, it just didn't seem fun to play, so I gave it a more traditional approach.
Level designs are things which come from the mind. ALWAYS from the mind. You may well have other ideas which you want to borrow from previous games, especially since it's so hard to think of any original concepts these days. You don't have to necessarily plan all your levels out on paper; all my ideas come from my head. I always know EXACTLY how I want my games to work.
My advice: Practice. That's all I can offer to you. Practice thinking of situations in which the player would not want (like pixel perfect jumping) and work around those. Don't place enemies willy-nilly, it will just make the level boring. Don't make levels stupidly simple, like having a straightforward route from left to right, with only a few blocks inbetween. Basically, it doesn't matter if YOU think your game is fun; it matters whether other people will want to play it.
Just look at games which have proven to be extremely popular. Eternal Daughter, the Mario games (and to a lesser extent, the Sonic series (all went well until the GBA games, which are rubbish)). Each of these games had their own way of screaming to the player to return to them after a short period of time.
n/a
|
DeadmanDines
Best Article Writer
Registered
27/04/2006
Points
4758
|
1st December, 2003 at 08:39:28 -
I design my levels myself, although I might sometimes get ideas from features that I've seen in other people's.
Usually (particularly if I have built a level editor), that's done by simply sketching the design.
On that thought, at some point I ought to build a level editor that lets you load an image as a template on the background. I may do that... one day...
191 / 9999 * 7 + 191 * 7
|
Jimmy Brzezicki
Registered
16/09/2003
Points
1057
|
1st December, 2003 at 16:58:29 -
I agree to a lage extent wit yo Circy, but "to a lesser extent the sonic games"? I admit that mario was pretty special but some of the later Mega drive (genesis) sonic games had levels consisting of pour molten genius, which were as fluid and seamless from start to finish as they were varied and dramatic (going into space and fighting the giant flying robotnic robot in an asteroid belt as Super Sonic rocked!). The donkey kong country games were also very good.
Why the hell am I on the computer at 1 in the morning? No, don't answer.
|
|
|
|
Advertisement
Post Reply