There are a lot of indie developers on Habrahabr, some of them have to deal with level design to one degree or another. Over the past few months, experts have been working on nearly fifty different game levels and would like to share my experience. This article contains effective Tips and Tricks that you can use to enhance the overall quality of your game. The first part of the article is aimed more at working with the visual component of the game, while the second part, available by reference, contains more fundamental things, such as prototyping, determining the size of the hero and environment, playtesting and analytics. Visiting https://cakeboost.com will help him perfectly.
Level design and narrative
A few lyrics before we move on to purely practical material. Creating levels is closely related to the narrative. In other words, almost everything you do tells a story. If a ray of light breaks into a dark dungeon through cracks in stones, you are hinting at the presence of peace outside the cave. If a massive statue of the Lovecraftian god stands under the dome of the gloomy hall, you create an oppressive atmosphere, raise questions about what kind of creature is imprinted in stone? Who worships him and why?
Even being in the techie mode and performing purely technical tasks, the level designer should strive for his goal the best way to tell the player a story and immerse him in the game world. Someone may say that this is not important for PvP levels, but remember the classic “Warsong Gulch” map from “World of Warcraft”, where the whole battle revolves around the Orcs and Elves confrontation over resources and territory. Nevertheless, even when working with something completely mundane, such as setting up colliders, you make sure that the user gets exactly the game experience that you want to create for him.
Visual diversity
A good level maintains the interest of the player, periodically changing the sensations of the surrounding space. We have a number of tools, including:
Visual row: If at the beginning you had a dry dead dungeon, and at the end underground rivers, waterfalls and bioluminescent plants, then the player will be carried away by visual novelty and change of atmosphere.
Confined space: Typical reception from “Lara Croft”: you hardly squeeze through a crack in a rock; when you get out, you look up and find yourself at the base of the temple, from whose colossal dimensions it takes your breath away.
The form: Any space is subject to certain forms. Details and color are secondary. In the image below, only one silhouette can tell you what is on the horizon.
How to use forms in level design?
An excellent example can be found in the Dreadnaught spaceship in “Destiny”, where the diagonal elements of the architecture create a very peculiar feeling from the interior to the subtle discomfort that is barely visible in the subconscious.
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