As someone who is just starting with LD the best thing about this vid was seeing that it is normal not to have all the answers at the beginning and the importance of iterating
I'm going through this again and still kind of confused on the difference between sequence and gameplay beats. Wouldn't the gameplay beats be part of the sequence of events?
@@gryzlaw Yeah in hindsight I wish I named that differently, or explained it better. In my head the "gameplay beats" were more just general ideas, or things that I knew I wanted to include, like "remember to have some non-linearity", or "stealthy bit?". Somewhere to jot down general ideas and thoughts, that was separate to the Sequence section, that is more specific and moment to moment. Hope this helps!
@@stevelee_gamedev it does help thanks and makes sense too. For example in the platformer I'm developing I have to include hidden collectibles, environmental storytelling, in some cases UI prompts for new moves etc. They are not actual part of the sequence or gameplay elements, but they are things I have to remember to include regardless. I'm currently trying this technique (albeit on paper instead of text editor) and I have to say I'm seeing encouraging results!
This series is probably the best single piece of level design advice I've found. To the point while also showing *every* stage of making a level from blank page to a complete level. Your process is specific and concrete without being limiting, boiling a difficult and nebulous idea of "level design" down into "what exactly do I want from this level, and how exactly will I do that inside my engine". More of this, please!
@@OmegaF77 Even Jason Jones called that level a sin against the medium. Fixing Colony Ship For Sale Cheap wouldn't be hard, but if you fixed it, it wouldn't be Colony Ship For Sale Cheap anymore lol
I really appreciate you doing this. I often find the documentation the hardest part to organize and feel the final product varies wildly from my original concept
This is gold, I've always found myself recollecting ideas, situations and objects for creating a game, but it never ocurred to me thinking about sequencing and doing all this stuff just for one level. This is good knowledge, and as you say, most of this stuff is logical first.
I started 1 year ago learning level design and doing my first projects, alone and in teams. During the whole time, I had the feeling that I was the only one starting a level design with a text document to layout the general experience. I felt that I was doing something wrong and that I should learn "better" to not need to start with a text to then move to the blockout. Thank you for this example! Really great :)
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge! I think so too! Writing down your ideas is the best start and most effortless way to create something that is truly yours. You don't really need anything else than some imagination to get a first, very rough outline of how the level or the game should feel. I'm very excited for the Hammer part!
I've been doing level design for 6 years now, and it's nice to have a refresher on the bases of LD. Plus, I like seeing other ways of working, I personally don't do much paper design and it's nice to see alternatives. Thank you for that!
I feel that is the right way to do this. After all games and level design have a lot of storytelling and this usually begins as words. In a more practical sense, words give you a logical guide step by step of what you need to do or achieve.
@steve lee Thank you very much for this! I must say this is probably the best "intro to designing a level on youtube". Most other videos are either speed environment designs or heavily focussed on visual and spacial details.
@@stevelee_gamedev Thank again mate, i've struggled away in UE for a while now being led i feel a little astray by other tutorials which have seen me struggling through a lot more work than required just to try to pursue a fully working level. My only other query is, do you have any suggested resources for learning the Hammer editor?
This is really cool !! In half-life Alyx there's actually a similar sequence where you find a dark path, and shortly after you get your flashlight and come back to it. The execution isn't flawless though, the biggest issue is that, because it's dark, it's not highlighted and blends within the rest, it doesn't stand out and the navigation doesn't force you to try to get inside/close to it. So sometimes players just completely miss it. Also, to prevent the players from even trying to get inside the dark path, they blocked it with invisible walls, and a dialog between Alyx and Russel informs the player that it's too dark to go further, which makes me think this has probably not been fully thought through entirely early and is a result of late playtesting So maybe be cautious in the execution that players can't miss it. The rotating valve or forcefields seems like good solutions to make it unlikely for players to be able to solve this without the flashlight, nice. Also, are the weapons (shotguns, SMG) skippable ? Would it mean that if I get the weapons and save the civilians the final combat is much easier than if i skip the weapons and save no one ? You don't need new ideas or anything but just in case : i made a short HL2 map around an escape theme as well. The execution is different (with a couple of puzzles and not so much combat) but in case you're interested for the inspiration part : sylvainmenguy.com/en/project/wakeupandrun
(Hey, sorry for the slow reply - I think youtube filed this as a spam comment because of the link at the end.) All great notes and questions - I've been thinking similar things regarding both the dark area, and things being on the critical path or not. I'll talk about this stuff in future videos :) And nice map! I like that you have a good amount of scripted stuff going on, to create / maintain that feeling of pressure. Good job 👍
Absolutely love your videos, Steve! I am a 3D artist currently in the process of transitioning into level design and your content is an absolutely invaluable resource.
I love how you have a unique way of saying linear, but say it the same way as most in its other forms (linearity for example). Also, cool video! Thank you.
This is some really cool insight. I normally end up working on less linear experiences so I usually taker to paper and draw some sort of graph to represent the possible player experiences if I can but I've made the mistake of designing a huge level and filling in gameplay after on a project before. I'm mostly a solo dev though so learning this stuff takes more time because I'm working on everything else for a game too. This series is going to be really helpful for me I think
I'm new on this topic, but I like the way you organice the elements and the process. I feel confortable with this technique/pipeline. Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
i feel like i would have learned a lot faster if i had seen this instead of the GMTK video i thought had all the answers. all polish, little substance. glad you're here now
I'm not a game designer nore do I have many plans to be one, but I play Game Dev Tycoon and a big mindblock for me has been how a simulation game can have text based level design? And you've given me probably not only one of the best pieces of advice for the games I play, but also answered my question on how text based level design can work really well.
This process is very dependent on knowing the game's mechanics. Just shows how important it is to have clear vision on that front before designing levels around it. Neat process!
Yeah absolutely. Generally, I think designing (good) levels can't happen if you don't know the game's mechanics. It's like a chef not knowing what ingredients they have to cook with, etc.
@@stevelee_gamedev Steve you may already have videos on this but this is a great example of another concept for people to learn - what it's like being a LD on a team where the game isn't yet strictly defined, and tips on how to react to the big design changes that can come in waves.
Im fairly new to level design, never really needed to care about that in my previous projects and I kept struggling with a visual approach and I think this will work for me. Thank you for the great video, I will definetly check out your channel for more
Thanks for doing this series! I've been doing level design for a while now on my own games and it always felt "wrong" to start with writing out the player experience despite it seemingly being what worked best for me. Everything you always see online talks about starting with a rough sketch or floorplan which for me personally always feels at best arbitrary and at worst distracting. Since I'm an extremely visual person, if I can visually see something it's harder to change it in my mind whereas a text walkthrough/outline has no visual component which makes it easier to iterate on in that early phase. When working with my teammates they will draw example sketches to illustrate level design ideas early on and I make them keep it between themselves and merely describe it to me, otherwise I can't get the picture of it out of my head. Anyways yeah, it's good to know I'm not crazy for doing so much in text form.
Also wow, in the next video not using dev textures. I never liked using dev textures when I could just as easily have textures that roughly provide a proper context but it always felt like I was again breaking some sort of rule. So again, it's nice to know I'm not crazy haha.
Hehe yeah, for me it depends on the circumstances, but so long as you're aware of the pros and cons of different approaches, it's a case of just doing whatever works. And if I know that my level is ultimately restricted to using whatever assets I have available in the main game, then I like to start using them so that my ideas are informed by what I'll actually be able to finish later, if that makes sense?
Hey Steve, I really appreciate you taking the time to create this series about the best practices, and thought processes when it comes to developing bespoke levels for portfolio pieces. The level of thought on display, and getting to see a block out being done in real time has helped me get back into Level Design as a discipline, and has got me back to looking at Hammer Editor again! You mentioned it in another video, but it was nice to hear that showcasing LD is much easier within a Level Editor, rather than a Game Engine (UE4 in my instance), which I've been trying to wrack my brain trying to figure out the best way to show case that skill within. If I may ask, when companies ask for experience within these different engines, how do you go about showcasing LD skills within these engines (UE4, Unity, etc..)? Is it something I should sweat over? Or is it best to showcase skills within an engine that has a complete game to work with and develop levels that emulate the types of games similar to games I want to work on? I want to get experience working with these engines, but I find it hard to develop hard LD skills without a game within it. Again, really appreciate the work you're doing here!
Hey Tristan! This is always tricky, because I can't pretend to speak for what other companies are always looking for - it can always be a bit different, and some studios can be a bit weird etc, haha. But personally my advice with this is always that showing experience with particular bits of software is always secondary to showing real level design skills and real, playable, finished work. Most studios will accept that people who learn one tool are capable of learning another tool on the job, and learning on the job is standard on basically every project. On the other hand, studios will very rarely opt to hire someone whose creative skills seem lacking, simply because they know how to use the software. Level design is a creative job, and when lots of people apply for a level design job, it will usually go to one of the applicants who show the best and most relevent creative skills and experience - not the person who knows the right software. This is all in my opinion, but in general I think it's pretty true. I hope it helps :)
Excellent process. I use a more procedural process, starting with a single idea or asset and building from there. I'm always looking for ways to improve which brought me here, I've only had around 1M plays on my levels.
Hey, good question! By far my biggest constraint is time - I have to be able to make the level quickly and efficiently, because if it takes me dozens of hours to make (which is nothing compared to what you would do at work), then I'll never finish the level or the video series, which would be bad. Ideally I'd love to have the series done in 6 videos, which really isn't much time to make a level at all, so I need to keep all of my ideas and solutions elegant and efficient, and playing to my strengths, which informs the direction that I've gone with the plan. Another constraint would be that I'm not a super technical level designer, and it's been so long since I've used Hammer seriously that I've forgotten to do a lot of the more technical / complicated scripting stuff. So I naturally bear that in mind, and avoid ideas that would require me to relearn loads of technical stuff that I don't want to spend my time doing. Thinking about these constraints makes me realise that I also missed a key thing I should've put in the Goals section - the fact that I'm making this level for a video series, and that I want the video series to be as short and tight as I can. This will also (and already has) affected the way that I approach the design of the level and the process.
I'm working on a short level design book, but it's both hard to write, and hard to find the time to write... but hopefully this year is the one? Don't want to promise anything but I'm trying, haha. Thanks for the kind words though - I'll try and get back to you if it finally comes to fruition some day :)
Amazing video. you give me some insights into an aspect of my work as game designer which I always feared, for some reason. Incredibly stupid question, though: what notepad app do you use? Those colors are really pleasurable to the eye, and I'd love to use such an aestethically pleasing app.
That's great to hear Enrico, cheers :) Oh and the notepad app is Notepad++, using (a slightly tweaked version of) it's Choco theme: notepad-plus-plus.org/
Very cool topic, thank you for sharing your design process! I'd like to ask, do you use mind map diagrams to plan nonlinear levels? Or is it better to keep a linear structure in the plan?
I don't think keeping a linear structure in the plan for non-linear levels is necessary (or useful), but I've generally found that there's no reason why ideas and structure for non-linear levels can't be designed in text too, at least in the early stages. I used a process fairly similar to what I've shown in this video to plan out ideas for The Dust District in Dishonored 2, and as far as I remember I just had new and different headings for sections in my text file where I'd think about different sections and aspects of the level, like "if the player chooses to infiltrate the Overseers HQ..." or "if the player doesn't want to help either faction", etc. I found that the non-linearity could be addressed and thought about by just writing about different branches and areas of the levels, in a kind of modular way, if that makes sense.
oh wow. I have a few simple game design documents but their more overviews. And even the 1 game folder that does go into level design doesn't go this deep into how it's going to feel for the player let alone the kind of path they might take along the way. I've been watching some original Doom gameplay videos to get a feel for this sort of thing but I think I need to find other boomer shooters and newer stuff with interactive mechanics to get a better feel of what's been done before
Yeah to me level design isn't just about where players go or what they do, it's looking at the whole thing as an experience, and how it feels. Hope the video helps get this across.
@@stevelee_gamedev IT does for sure! Since making my comment I've been playing through Doom 1 for a while and hope to get my hands on some Quake and Duke Nukem. With my long term goal being to create a game similar to the Time Splitters games. Though I'll likely need to hire someone for music lol.
Trying to use these same planning steps for a mod level I have an idea for. its very different and offers a lot less freedom of choice. Trying to make a level of post-Nova prospekt, the rebels have stormed the remnants of the prison after the teleportation accident destroyed much of it. after rescuing and recruiting survivors, they have boarded a train headed for the city, and have to fight combine forces attacking as the train moves. Mechanically its A LOT so I'm just going to do the best I can. No promises it will ever be finished.
Gotta say, if you say it's "A LOT", then rather than just doing the best you can, I really recommend forcing yourself to scope things down as much as you can, to increase the chances that you can actually achieve it (and to a good standard)! Any questions, let me know.
Whoops. For my project I was inspired by visual references which Is how I based the gameplay and layout on. When do I incorporate the theme with gameplay? Did I get off track? Sorry for yappin I just wanna make sure I'm doing it right. I've never been able to finish a project
The first thing that I do is draw a sketch of an interesting map idea, and work around that. If you have the game mechanics in place, but your map design sucks, then what's the point of creating it?
@@stevelee_gamedev It actually helped a lot. It's far more abstract than your example and more linear levels in general but it really got me thinking about the questions and the different beats that I want in my level. Crazy how something as simple as designing in text can really give a level concrete direction. - Level starts with both teams spawning at their respective bases - Player will orient themselves in the level - Player will see a rifle weapon spawn - Player will head towards control point that is closest to their base - no hud indicator for control points so they will need to be guided towards it - Player will see their teams 2 small health spawns - Player will see rifle spawn on the roof of a building that can be accessed via stairs - Player will either head towards one of the two control points or take a flanking route - Control point route: Player will see different ways to get onto the control point - one way can be by falling through a hole in the ceiling - Flanking route: player will see shotgun spawn in the middle (visible from higher elevation section) - Put large health spawn somewhere - Level ends when a team reaches 125 points
Finally, a true "level design timelapse".
Exactly, most videos are just set dressing an environment with no real design discussion
Just part 1 right? 😛
Just watch it on x100 speed
As someone who is just starting with LD the best thing about this vid was seeing that it is normal not to have all the answers at the beginning and the importance of iterating
Good to hear - that's definitely an important thing to remember, and is something that I'll be emphasising a lot in part 2 of the series 👍
I'm going through this again and still kind of confused on the difference between sequence and gameplay beats. Wouldn't the gameplay beats be part of the sequence of events?
@@gryzlaw Yeah in hindsight I wish I named that differently, or explained it better. In my head the "gameplay beats" were more just general ideas, or things that I knew I wanted to include, like "remember to have some non-linearity", or "stealthy bit?". Somewhere to jot down general ideas and thoughts, that was separate to the Sequence section, that is more specific and moment to moment.
Hope this helps!
@@stevelee_gamedev it does help thanks and makes sense too. For example in the platformer I'm developing I have to include hidden collectibles, environmental storytelling, in some cases UI prompts for new moves etc. They are not actual part of the sequence or gameplay elements, but they are things I have to remember to include regardless. I'm currently trying this technique (albeit on paper instead of text editor) and I have to say I'm seeing encouraging results!
Oof, some problems with audio levels in this one. Hope it doesn't end up melting anyone's ears off x
This series is probably the best single piece of level design advice I've found. To the point while also showing *every* stage of making a level from blank page to a complete level. Your process is specific and concrete without being limiting, boiling a difficult and nebulous idea of "level design" down into "what exactly do I want from this level, and how exactly will I do that inside my engine". More of this, please!
Aww great to hear, cheers :)
Based on your pfp I can think of a level that _may_ be really fun to redesign: Colony Ship For Sale Cheap.
@@OmegaF77 Even Jason Jones called that level a sin against the medium. Fixing Colony Ship For Sale Cheap wouldn't be hard, but if you fixed it, it wouldn't be Colony Ship For Sale Cheap anymore lol
I really appreciate you doing this. I often find the documentation the hardest part to organize and feel the final product varies wildly from my original concept
This is gold, I've always found myself recollecting ideas, situations and objects for creating a game, but it never ocurred to me thinking about sequencing and doing all this stuff just for one level. This is good knowledge, and as you say, most of this stuff is logical first.
This approach makes a lot of sense to me. Looking forward to the next video!
I started 1 year ago learning level design and doing my first projects, alone and in teams. During the whole time, I had the feeling that I was the only one starting a level design with a text document to layout the general experience. I felt that I was doing something wrong and that I should learn "better" to not need to start with a text to then move to the blockout.
Thank you for this example! Really great :)
Great to hear that you found it useful, thanks :)
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge!
I think so too! Writing down your ideas is the best start and most effortless way to create something that is truly yours. You don't really need anything else than some imagination to get a first, very rough outline of how the level or the game should feel.
I'm very excited for the Hammer part!
You're welcome, and cheers!
I've been doing level design for 6 years now, and it's nice to have a refresher on the bases of LD. Plus, I like seeing other ways of working, I personally don't do much paper design and it's nice to see alternatives. Thank you for that!
Great to hear it's useful, cheers :)
I feel that is the right way to do this. After all games and level design have a lot of storytelling and this usually begins as words. In a more practical sense, words give you a logical guide step by step of what you need to do or achieve.
I love it! Most things online focus on visuals and I like this approach so much more to start with
👍
@steve lee Thank you very much for this! I must say this is probably the best "intro to designing a level on youtube". Most other videos are either speed environment designs or heavily focussed on visual and spacial details.
Cheers, glad you like it (and I agree)!
@@stevelee_gamedev Thank again mate, i've struggled away in UE for a while now being led i feel a little astray by other tutorials which have seen me struggling through a lot more work than required just to try to pursue a fully working level.
My only other query is, do you have any suggested resources for learning the Hammer editor?
This is really cool !!
In half-life Alyx there's actually a similar sequence where you find a dark path, and shortly after you get your flashlight and come back to it. The execution isn't flawless though, the biggest issue is that, because it's dark, it's not highlighted and blends within the rest, it doesn't stand out and the navigation doesn't force you to try to get inside/close to it. So sometimes players just completely miss it.
Also, to prevent the players from even trying to get inside the dark path, they blocked it with invisible walls, and a dialog between Alyx and Russel informs the player that it's too dark to go further, which makes me think this has probably not been fully thought through entirely early and is a result of late playtesting
So maybe be cautious in the execution that players can't miss it. The rotating valve or forcefields seems like good solutions to make it unlikely for players to be able to solve this without the flashlight, nice.
Also, are the weapons (shotguns, SMG) skippable ? Would it mean that if I get the weapons and save the civilians the final combat is much easier than if i skip the weapons and save no one ?
You don't need new ideas or anything but just in case : i made a short HL2 map around an escape theme as well. The execution is different (with a couple of puzzles and not so much combat) but in case you're interested for the inspiration part : sylvainmenguy.com/en/project/wakeupandrun
(Hey, sorry for the slow reply - I think youtube filed this as a spam comment because of the link at the end.)
All great notes and questions - I've been thinking similar things regarding both the dark area, and things being on the critical path or not. I'll talk about this stuff in future videos :)
And nice map! I like that you have a good amount of scripted stuff going on, to create / maintain that feeling of pressure. Good job 👍
@@stevelee_gamedev oh sry about the link i didn't consider it could do this. Thanks, looking forward for the next videos \o/
@@leplubodeslapin No problem :)
Absolutely love your videos, Steve! I am a 3D artist currently in the process of transitioning into level design and your content is an absolutely invaluable resource.
Great, to hear, cheers :)
Enjoyed this. I think this top level approach is applicable to many processes.
Thanks for all your videos, Steve! Love seeing and hearing about your process, as well as other great LD's experiences
I really like this approach, thanks for showing more of your process!
I love how you have a unique way of saying linear, but say it the same way as most in its other forms (linearity for example). Also, cool video! Thank you.
This is some really cool insight. I normally end up working on less linear experiences so I usually taker to paper and draw some sort of graph to represent the possible player experiences if I can but I've made the mistake of designing a huge level and filling in gameplay after on a project before. I'm mostly a solo dev though so learning this stuff takes more time because I'm working on everything else for a game too. This series is going to be really helpful for me I think
Yeah I think we've all been there! Hope the series continues to be useful (and that the next part is coming soon) 👍
Am just getting into level design, can’t wait to use these tips. Thank you
These videos are really cool. Thank you for showing your process
I grew up building HL1 levels in WorldCraft3/VHE, brings back memories.
I'm new on this topic, but I like the way you organice the elements and the process. I feel confortable with this technique/pipeline. Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
Great to hear thanks - and you're welcome :)
I use a similar process but with no structure, this is so much more organized, I'm sure I'll find this very useful in the future
Great to hear Ivan, cheers and good luck with future projects 👍
i feel like i would have learned a lot faster if i had seen this instead of the GMTK video i thought had all the answers. all polish, little substance. glad you're here now
Really interesting to see your process! (It’s also reassuring, as I usually start in a similar way.)
Looking forward to the rest of this series.
You have me very inspired Steve. I'll be using this as a template for a process I'm putting up on my Github account. Thanks!
Great to hear :)
I'm not a game designer nore do I have many plans to be one, but I play Game Dev Tycoon and a big mindblock for me has been how a simulation game can have text based level design? And you've given me probably not only one of the best pieces of advice for the games I play, but also answered my question on how text based level design can work really well.
This process is very dependent on knowing the game's mechanics. Just shows how important it is to have clear vision on that front before designing levels around it.
Neat process!
Yeah absolutely. Generally, I think designing (good) levels can't happen if you don't know the game's mechanics. It's like a chef not knowing what ingredients they have to cook with, etc.
@@stevelee_gamedev Steve you may already have videos on this but this is a great example of another concept for people to learn - what it's like being a LD on a team where the game isn't yet strictly defined, and tips on how to react to the big design changes that can come in waves.
Steve, it's an incredibly useful information for ANY game developer, so thank you very much!
Great to hear, glad you like it!
Im fairly new to level design, never really needed to care about that in my previous projects and I kept struggling with a visual approach and I think this will work for me.
Thank you for the great video, I will definetly check out your channel for more
Great to hear! Hope you enjoy the other videos :)
nicee! waiting for the next video!👌
Awesome. Great overview and thought process.
Cheers Kam :)
Thanks for doing this series! I've been doing level design for a while now on my own games and it always felt "wrong" to start with writing out the player experience despite it seemingly being what worked best for me. Everything you always see online talks about starting with a rough sketch or floorplan which for me personally always feels at best arbitrary and at worst distracting. Since I'm an extremely visual person, if I can visually see something it's harder to change it in my mind whereas a text walkthrough/outline has no visual component which makes it easier to iterate on in that early phase. When working with my teammates they will draw example sketches to illustrate level design ideas early on and I make them keep it between themselves and merely describe it to me, otherwise I can't get the picture of it out of my head. Anyways yeah, it's good to know I'm not crazy for doing so much in text form.
Also wow, in the next video not using dev textures. I never liked using dev textures when I could just as easily have textures that roughly provide a proper context but it always felt like I was again breaking some sort of rule. So again, it's nice to know I'm not crazy haha.
Hehe yeah, for me it depends on the circumstances, but so long as you're aware of the pros and cons of different approaches, it's a case of just doing whatever works. And if I know that my level is ultimately restricted to using whatever assets I have available in the main game, then I like to start using them so that my ideas are informed by what I'll actually be able to finish later, if that makes sense?
this is a very helpful guide, love the thought process!
Great to hear, thanks (and you're welcome) :)
This is really wonderful. Thank you for sharing your process!
You're welcome, glad you like it 👍
Keep up the amazing work
This was really interesting, thanks!
Cheers Mitch, glad you liked it :)
keep up Steve !!
Hey Steve,
I really appreciate you taking the time to create this series about the best practices, and thought processes when it comes to developing bespoke levels for portfolio pieces. The level of thought on display, and getting to see a block out being done in real time has helped me get back into Level Design as a discipline, and has got me back to looking at Hammer Editor again! You mentioned it in another video, but it was nice to hear that showcasing LD is much easier within a Level Editor, rather than a Game Engine (UE4 in my instance), which I've been trying to wrack my brain trying to figure out the best way to show case that skill within.
If I may ask, when companies ask for experience within these different engines, how do you go about showcasing LD skills within these engines (UE4, Unity, etc..)? Is it something I should sweat over? Or is it best to showcase skills within an engine that has a complete game to work with and develop levels that emulate the types of games similar to games I want to work on? I want to get experience working with these engines, but I find it hard to develop hard LD skills without a game within it.
Again, really appreciate the work you're doing here!
Hey Tristan!
This is always tricky, because I can't pretend to speak for what other companies are always looking for - it can always be a bit different, and some studios can be a bit weird etc, haha. But personally my advice with this is always that showing experience with particular bits of software is always secondary to showing real level design skills and real, playable, finished work.
Most studios will accept that people who learn one tool are capable of learning another tool on the job, and learning on the job is standard on basically every project. On the other hand, studios will very rarely opt to hire someone whose creative skills seem lacking, simply because they know how to use the software. Level design is a creative job, and when lots of people apply for a level design job, it will usually go to one of the applicants who show the best and most relevent creative skills and experience - not the person who knows the right software.
This is all in my opinion, but in general I think it's pretty true. I hope it helps :)
@@stevelee_gamedev I definitely appreciate the answer, and look forward to more videos from your channel!
Can't wait for the rest :D
Great stuff Steve!
Cheers :)
Excellent process. I use a more procedural process, starting with a single idea or asset and building from there.
I'm always looking for ways to improve which brought me here, I've only had around 1M plays on my levels.
Thanks
Very Cool Video and very useful
Thank you, Very helpful 🔥👍
Good to hear, cheers :)
That's really helps!
Good to hear, cheers!
This is so amazing, Steve. What would you like to add to the Constraints section for this level?
Hey, good question! By far my biggest constraint is time - I have to be able to make the level quickly and efficiently, because if it takes me dozens of hours to make (which is nothing compared to what you would do at work), then I'll never finish the level or the video series, which would be bad. Ideally I'd love to have the series done in 6 videos, which really isn't much time to make a level at all, so I need to keep all of my ideas and solutions elegant and efficient, and playing to my strengths, which informs the direction that I've gone with the plan.
Another constraint would be that I'm not a super technical level designer, and it's been so long since I've used Hammer seriously that I've forgotten to do a lot of the more technical / complicated scripting stuff. So I naturally bear that in mind, and avoid ideas that would require me to relearn loads of technical stuff that I don't want to spend my time doing.
Thinking about these constraints makes me realise that I also missed a key thing I should've put in the Goals section - the fact that I'm making this level for a video series, and that I want the video series to be as short and tight as I can. This will also (and already has) affected the way that I approach the design of the level and the process.
Why do I discover this channel just now.
Destinyyyyy
I'm sure you hear this often, but should you release one, I would buy the absolute pants off your book and/or course.
I'm working on a short level design book, but it's both hard to write, and hard to find the time to write... but hopefully this year is the one? Don't want to promise anything but I'm trying, haha. Thanks for the kind words though - I'll try and get back to you if it finally comes to fruition some day :)
great video thank you
Great to hear, thanks :)
Amazing video. you give me some insights into an aspect of my work as game designer which I always feared, for some reason. Incredibly stupid question, though: what notepad app do you use? Those colors are really pleasurable to the eye, and I'd love to use such an aestethically pleasing app.
That's great to hear Enrico, cheers :) Oh and the notepad app is Notepad++, using (a slightly tweaked version of) it's Choco theme: notepad-plus-plus.org/
Very cool topic, thank you for sharing your design process!
I'd like to ask, do you use mind map diagrams to plan nonlinear levels? Or is it better to keep a linear structure in the plan?
I don't think keeping a linear structure in the plan for non-linear levels is necessary (or useful), but I've generally found that there's no reason why ideas and structure for non-linear levels can't be designed in text too, at least in the early stages.
I used a process fairly similar to what I've shown in this video to plan out ideas for The Dust District in Dishonored 2, and as far as I remember I just had new and different headings for sections in my text file where I'd think about different sections and aspects of the level, like "if the player chooses to infiltrate the Overseers HQ..." or "if the player doesn't want to help either faction", etc. I found that the non-linearity could be addressed and thought about by just writing about different branches and areas of the levels, in a kind of modular way, if that makes sense.
learn a lot~ by the way, what's the font, looks comfortable.
oh wow. I have a few simple game design documents but their more overviews.
And even the 1 game folder that does go into level design doesn't go this deep into how it's going to feel for the player let alone the kind of path they might take along the way.
I've been watching some original Doom gameplay videos to get a feel for this sort of thing but I think I need to find other boomer shooters and newer stuff with interactive mechanics to get a better feel of what's been done before
Yeah to me level design isn't just about where players go or what they do, it's looking at the whole thing as an experience, and how it feels. Hope the video helps get this across.
@@stevelee_gamedev IT does for sure!
Since making my comment I've been playing through Doom 1 for a while and hope to get my hands on some Quake and Duke Nukem.
With my long term goal being to create a game similar to the Time Splitters games. Though I'll likely need to hire someone for music lol.
Nothing wrong with creating a GDD it can help you figure out what you will and will not need and key mechanics that may or may not be implemented
Trying to use these same planning steps for a mod level I have an idea for. its very different and offers a lot less freedom of choice. Trying to make a level of post-Nova prospekt, the rebels have stormed the remnants of the prison after the teleportation accident destroyed much of it. after rescuing and recruiting survivors, they have boarded a train headed for the city, and have to fight combine forces attacking as the train moves.
Mechanically its A LOT so I'm just going to do the best I can. No promises it will ever be finished.
Gotta say, if you say it's "A LOT", then rather than just doing the best you can, I really recommend forcing yourself to scope things down as much as you can, to increase the chances that you can actually achieve it (and to a good standard)! Any questions, let me know.
How could i sequence terrain gameplsy when i have no reference to base the layout on?
Whoops. For my project I was inspired by visual references which Is how I based the gameplay and layout on. When do I incorporate the theme with gameplay? Did I get off track?
Sorry for yappin I just wanna make sure I'm doing it right. I've never been able to finish a project
The first thing that I do is draw a sketch of an interesting map idea, and work around that. If you have the game mechanics in place, but your map design sucks, then what's the point of creating it?
If I'm making a multiplayer shooter (TDM), would it still have a sequence?
Probably not, unless the game mode has some kind of inbuilt structure to it :)
@@stevelee_gamedev It actually helped a lot. It's far more abstract than your example and more linear levels in general but it really got me thinking about the questions and the different beats that I want in my level. Crazy how something as simple as designing in text can really give a level concrete direction.
- Level starts with both teams spawning at their respective bases
- Player will orient themselves in the level
- Player will see a rifle weapon spawn
- Player will head towards control point that is closest to their base - no hud indicator for control points so they will need to be guided towards it
- Player will see their teams 2 small health spawns
- Player will see rifle spawn on the roof of a building that can be accessed via stairs
- Player will either head towards one of the two control points or take a flanking route
- Control point route: Player will see different ways to get onto the control point - one way can be by falling through a hole in the ceiling
- Flanking route: player will see shotgun spawn in the middle (visible from higher elevation section)
- Put large health spawn somewhere
- Level ends when a team reaches 125 points
Nice, great to hear 👍
What text editor is he using?
I'm using Notepad++, with the "Choco" style applied :)