Wong Sui Yang.
CONTENT DIRECTORY
Topics that can be found as I go through my processes talking about different principles used.
You can navigate quickly to specific sections by clicking on the icons below.
Thoughts
Guidance
MY LEVEL PROCESSES
Things you should know about my design and thoughts that go through my head when it comes to creating a level from scratch all the way down to the way I do my documentation.
MY LEVEL PROCESSES
Things you should know about my design and thoughts that go through my head when it comes to creating a level from scratch all the way down to the way I do my documentation.
AMBITIOUS
Overscope then re-scope
"I want it to be EPIC!"
During the ideation stage of my levels, I do not let myself get restricted by the scope of the level. I believe that without the worry of whether I am over-scoping for the level, I can come up with more interesting ideas or epic moments that the player can experience when playing at the level.
This might not be a way approved by many, but I find myself being more creative through this method. I can go all out and afterward through playtesting, I will be able to identify what works or doesn't work within the level.
Through this, I will begin to down scope the level by removing things that I originally thought would work well but did not as well as emphasizing the more important areas of the map where I observe players have the most interaction.
THOUGHT
PROCESSESS
An introduction to the different characteristics that generally affect the way I think when it comes to my process of designing a level.
METICULOUS
Ironing out the details
"What is the main theme that the level is going to be about?"
When trying to design levels for a game, particularly when it involves designing a game from scratch. One of the first steps in my process of level design would be to iron out all the details. This is done by analyzing the main mechanics that would be used in the game. After the analysis, the results would then determine the main core of the level.
When trying to design levels for a game, particularly when it involves designing a game from scratch. One of the first steps in my process of level design would be to iron out all the details. This is done by analyzing the main mechanics that would be used in the game. After the analysis, the results would then determine the main core of the level.
When trying to design levels for a game, particularly when it involves designing a game from scratch. One of the first steps in my process of level design would be to iron out all the details. This is done by analyzing the main mechanics that would be used in the game. After the analysis, the results would then determine the main core of the level.
When trying to design levels for a game, particularly when it involves designing a game from scratch. One of the first steps in my process of level design would be to iron out all the details. This is done by analyzing the main mechanics that would be used in the game. After the analysis, the results would then determine the main core of the level.
For me, the main core of a level is one of the most important aspects that need to be figured out before I can start any form of level design as I need a theme to centralize and tie all the ideas together.
This would give me a rough idea of:
- How long the level is going to be?
- What areas would be needed in the level?
- What can be in the level to give a unique game experience to the players?
- What will be present in the level's environment?
- What is the spatial setting of the level?
- What are the types of obstacles present at the level?
- What are the metrics of the game?
EXPERIENTIAL
How would the player feel
"What do I want the player to feel?"
With all the details ironed out, the next step in my process was to determine what I want the player to feel within the level. Of course, this has to tie in with the main player fantasy that the game wants players to be in. However, with level design, it can help spice up the fantasy even further.
Defining what I want the player to feel, will help me further in refining the rough ideas generated from the first step in the design process by bringing in additional restrictions.
This is one of my favorite ways when designing a level especially if the level is for a new game. Designing a level with player fantasy in mind will allow me to form a narrative for the level and to have the player play through the narrative created by me provides me with great satisfaction.
Get a demonstration of how I made use of the aspects of meticulous, experiential, & ambition to create a game project from scratch called Bogos Binted.
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NARRATIVE
Story progression
"A story for the level. A level for the story..."
Depending on the type of level that I need to design, I would use a narrative approach towards the design especially when the game is heavily story-based.
In this process, I would similarly make a meticulous analysis of the story, mechanics, and metrics of the game. Through the story, I would set out the environment in the level that will be built.
I would also identify what will be needed in the level to progress the story smoothly based on the game designer’s and the narrative designer’s requirements. Then based on how the story unfolds, I would place objectives within the levels to trigger different events as well as encounters that the player would go through.
VISUAL
From concept to level
"Visual aid helps to solidify ideas..."
As I am a very visual person, I would often use this method to conceptualize certain parts of my levels before I put anything on the grid. Doing a small concept thumbnail helps me greatly as I can sketch out how I wanted the scene or level to look through the player’s eyes.
It also helps me visualize the depth of the environment, and how each placement of objects in the scene can help to guide the players' eyes toward where I want them to go.
Such a simple sketch will give me an idea if these guides are enough or do I need to add more. I would sometimes re-draw this after placing a new object on the top-down gird version of the level to check if the placement was correct and if it will improve the readability of the scene.
Join me as I go in-depth into the development of [Madness In The Mountain of Arkham] using the different thought processes that I mentioned here.
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SKILL CENTRIC
Testing the player
"What are your actions per minute?"
Skill-centric was also one of the many ways I design my level. I would use this method, particularly for building levels on an existing game. Before I start on the design, I will look into the game and analyze the mechanics available within it. Through this, I can determine the skills required to use the mechanics present in the game.
After identifying these skills needed, I would choose one of these skills and build an entire level surrounding it.
Knowing the frustration of a skill-centric level, I will try to balance the difficulty with checkpoints as well as the distance between each platform. As much as it is fun seeing players rage during playtesting, I try to steer away from such experience as I believe it would affect the constructive feedback as it would turn the focus to the rage-inducing part of the level.
FAMILIARITY
Feeling of home
"Oh! I know this one! I know this one!"
Familiarity is one of my favorite methods when it comes to designing levels. This method comes extremely handy when it involves a progression of multiple levels. This allows me to control the level progression difficulty without the need to worry too much about the player's understanding of what they need to do to get past the level.
However, when using the familiarity method frequently, things can get linear very easily. I will try to add in some variation between these levels to spice it up. With this method, I can also set the rhythm of the level with ease. This can also be easily combined with other process methods E.g the skill-centric method to get interesting combinations.
A detailed walkthrough on how I used a combination of the different aspects of my process to bring to life a Metroidvania style level within Mega-maker.
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Colors
One of my favorite methods that I use when it comes to player guidance within a level.
Intentionally placing warm and cool colors strategically in the surroundings would not only be used to give mood but also allow players to immediately recognize where to go next.
Leading Lines
This is another method that I would always gravitate towards when it comes to player guidance.
I would often build a level around the mindfulness of how I could place the lights around later on that could highlight areas on where the player should go or places of importance.
Lights
This is another method that I would always gravitate towards when it comes to player guidance.
I would often build a level around the mindfulness of how I could place the lights around later on that could highlight areas on where the player should go or places of importance.
Layering
I would use layering when I want to get players progressing through the level to gain some awareness of the relationships between different rooms or areas within the location.
Dominating Feature
Something that I would often do after setting the narrative that would happen within the level or game would be to create the dominating feature within the level. Sometimes I would combine this with the layering method.