Muhammet Arda KILIÇ
Level Design
 Introduction
 Levels inDifferent Games
 Components of Level
 Elements of Good Level
 The Process
 Who Does Level Design?
Introduction
Level design is where all the different components of a
game come together. In some ways creating a level is like
putting together a jigsaw puzzle; to build the levels,
the level designer must make use of the game’s engine, art,
and core gameplay.
Levels in Different Games
The definition of a “level” varies greatly from game to
game. It most commonly refers to the game-world of sidescrollers, first-person shooters, adventures, flight simulators
and role-playing games.
Levels inDifferent Games
 Level Separation
How a game is broken down into its component levels has a huge
impact on the flow of the game.
 Level Order
The designer should know how the order of the levels will affect
the flow of gameplay, and should be aware of how moving
different levels around will affect it.
Components of Level
Action
Action is the most obvious component of the levels for many
games.
-It is important to understand how much action the level
contains.
-Are there “breaks” or intermissions between major conflicts?
-The level designer must consider how the enemy AI functions
and what types of maps will lead to conflicts.
Components of Level
Exploration
Exploration is a major part of many action/adventure games.
Instead of just providing a bridge between different action set
pieces, if properly designed the exploration can actually be a lot
of fun for players.
Components of Level
 Puzzle Solving
Sometimes progressing in a level involves more than just finding
a path to the next area while killing the adversaries that stand in
your way
Components of Level
 Storytelling
Levels are an integral part of telling a game’s story.If aim is to
create a story based game, it only makes sense for the game’s
levels and the story to work in synergy.
Components of Level
 Aesthetics
A big part of the level designer’s job is to balance appearance
with the other requirements of a given level.Too much detailed
graphics can result the level running slowly or if the textures on a
level isn’t obvious player isn’t able to see where they should or
should not be able to go.For this reason the level designer must
be fully aware of the level’s appearance will have on the
gameplay.
Level Flow
-Level flow of games differs from each ohter according to
game genre.
Elements of Good Levels
 Players Cannot Get Stuck
 Sub-Goals
 Landmarks
 Critical Path
 Limited Backtacking
 Success the First Timer
 Navigable Areas Clearly Marked
 Choices
The Process
 Step 1. Preliminary
-if the gameplay is in aclose-to-final state.
-Are your game mechanics nailed down?
-Will more moves for the character be added?
The Process
 Step 2. Conceptual and Sketched Outline
What sort of challenges will players face here?
What sorts of environments best facilitate those challenges?
How exciting and nerve-racking is the gameplay in this level?
Where will players need to be rewarded?
What story elements need to be conveyed through the level?
The Process
 Step 3. Base Architecture/Block Out
Create the base layout with simple graphics
 Step 4. Refine Architecture Until It Is Fun
Refine architecture untilyour level starts feeling good and
navigating it starts to be fun.
 Step 5. Base Gameplay
Implement the gameplay your level will use.
The Process
 Step 6. Refine Gameplay Until It Is Fun
 Step 7. Refine Aesthetics
 Step 8. Playtesting
Who Does Level Design?
 one designer, one level
 team approach
Thank You