Level Design
For this blog I will be looking at what is involved in level design.
Level Design definition:
Level design or game mapping is the creation of levels—locales, stages, or missions—for a video game (such as a console game or computer game). This is commonly done using level design tools, special software usually developed just for the purpose of building levels, however some games feature built-in level editing tools.
Level design is a process used in the majority of video games in a variety of genres, such as platform games, puzzle games, adventure games, role-playing games and even driving games. Most of the coverage of the discipline in widely available media such as the Internet relates solely to level creation for first person shooter (FPS) or real time strategy (RTS) games. Only in the last ten years or so has the actual separation of labor occurred that has allowed the job of level designer to come into being, and in the last three or four years the job of level designer itself has often been subdivided into level artist, level designer and scripter.
http://dictionary.sensagent.com/level+design/en-en/
Level design is a complex, and I think one of the most important jobs when creating a game. Without the complexity, size and depth of level design, some of the most popular and successful games just simply wouldn’t have continued to do as well, Games such as ‘Grand theft auto’, ‘Assassins creed’, ‘Far cry’ and ‘Fallout’ to name just a few.
Having said that, when creating levels, detail can be equally as important as size, small but highly detailed scenes can generate alot of game playing hours, games such as ‘condemned’ are a good example as to what I am stressing. The small but highly detailed crime scenes are both interesting and keep the gamer occupied. The detail here is quiet good as the blood has gathered along the skirting board and also the splatter of blood all over.
No matter how good the character or the story line, the level design, I feel is more important. There has to be a desire to get into wherever or whatever place it is. The same of course is true in terms of films. The level design for films or set design can make a film alot more appealing there are a few films that spring to mind that I will just run over. There is of course the big historical block buster’s such as ‘Gladiator’ with Dreamworks superb recreation of the Coliseum, also James Cameron’s recreation of the famous ‘Titanic’ but I want to discuss a film called ‘Dark City’. This film was directed by Alex Proyas and its story line briefly is about a man’s struggle with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans. 
The story line and film overall is good but it is the level design in this film that is outstanding. At various points during the film the city which they live in is altered, it shows the changing structure of buildings from old poor homes into glamour’s mansions. This film was the Matrix before the Matrix. As I stated in the film plot, it is set in a world with no sunlight and so there is a really good use of effective lighting to emphasis certain detail as the buildings morph. It also adds to the feel of the film, as in the film ‘The Crow’, to create a dark gothic sort of feel. An excellent plot and story line and some really top notch art direction and, like I said, level design. From the director of ‘The Crow’ it’s one I’d recommend.
The next film that I would like to mention is the more recent film ‘Inception’ directed by Christopher Nolan. The story line of the film is briefly about a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception is a mind bending sort of film in terms of the special effects incorporated into its level design and film plot.
Below is an extract detailing the link from ‘Inception’ to level design.
As a game environment artist and level designer "You have a chance to build cathedrals, entire cities that never existed, things that couldn't exist in the real world."
Inception is level designers dream. Throughout the film words such as architect, creating levels, worlds, creating boundaries (closed loops) for believable worlds and designing layouts are discussed in Inception.
After watching Inception a couple of times, I found many similarities between creating worlds in a game and creating worlds in dreams.
Second time I went to see it I set down with a small notepad I always carry with me for ideas. I wrote down a few things that I believe could help a level designer. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it.
Many things in Inception directly relate to level design and creating game worlds. Here is what I learned in Inception about creating worlds.
- As a level designer you have a chance to build worlds, to design levels. You create a world out of an idea, a single thought you have in your mind. Simple idea becomes something tangible for someone else to experience. Player has a chance to explore your creation. Something that started as a simple idea in your mind can become a game world. Do not ignore a simple idea of a world you want to create.
- Continuously create. Never stop creating. Always design and build something new.
- Design with story in mind. Make sure the player has an objective you want them to fulfil. Make it clear, make it interesting.
- The world you create is about visuals and emotion. The feeling you want the player to experience, reinforced by the visuals.
- Never create from memory. Always use reference to create worlds. Use your memory to communicate the feelings of spaces and environments you've been to, but when designing use reference to make the world believable.
As I watched ‘Inception’ it filled me with many thoughts and ideas, I love the whole concept of creating levels and then executing them whilst in a dream. To me it translates to creating a level in my imagination then applying that to reference and creating an actual game environment.
In one of the dream worlds within the film it sees the main stars going through a level set in a pristine city but then they come across an old house. This house is a representation of a house that one of the characters lived in, in waking life. I think that, visually, it says so much more than words. I think it’s a great way to catch the attention of the viewer and to draw you into a certain chain of thought. It is this sort of skill that I will try to incorporate into my level design.
