Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
FiGuRe 7.3
This ancient map of the city of Jerusalem combines a bird's-eye view of the
street layout with side or three-quarter views to show architectural details. This portrayal of the
city, which includes events and special locations, looks very much like a modern level design.
This map provided not only a means for navigating the city, but also images
related to areas where special events occurred, to (or away from) which a visitor
might want to navigate. That is the basis for the way some levels are approached,
drawing inspiration from real life.
Figure 7.4 shows a rough level design for the game
The Seven Sigils
. This por-
tion (level) of the game takes place inside a massive cave system with an under-
ground city and two lakes. In the layout, the red grid indicates square footage,
and specific areas are plotted out where events related to the gameplay will
occur. The general layout is shown at center right. Above it, you can see where
this level fits into the complete world. The concept art at the bottom helps you
visualize what the world could look like.
This action/adventure game requires that the player enter the cave (notice the
tiny black figure at upper left, shown inside the circle for scale) and solve cer-
tain puzzles in order to obtain an essential clue in the old ruins (far left, shaded
brown).
notice the enormous
lip ring on the stone
head in the concept
art. it was added to
help appeal to the
teen market for this
game.
