Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
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What was the purpose of this building?
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What was the purpose of this particular room/space?
Obviously, the answers to these questions won't mesh into a cohesive
whole unless everyone creating the space already knows (and agrees
upon) them. Thus, the Environment Description Document should include
all this information.
Internal Logic in Architecture
In addition to these many considerations, the internal logic of a space is
just as important to keep in mind. Given the answers to all of the questions
above, does the current location actually make sense? Maintaining har-
mony and balance between level design and narrative design in this area is
a constant challenge.
For example, let's say in a realistic, modern-day FPS title we have part of
a mission take place within an abandoned but fully intact apartment build-
ing. In the real world, any residence with more than four floors is going to
have at least one elevator, and a taller building will have several. The prob-
lem is, level design-wise, we don't want the player to use an elevator; we
want to force him to go up via the stairs or other means.
So we have a contradiction that we may decide to address. Options
might include:
Simply don't include an elevator in the layout
. This would take zero de-
velopment effort (which is great) but the problem still exists. Playtesting
might reveal whether anyone even notices the missing elevators. If not,
you may be home free—but be careful. Don't assume that just because no
test players explicitly mention the omission it means they haven't subcon-
sciously noticed it or have a general sense that the building doesn't feel
quite right. If the player has access to any area where one would expect to
see an elevator (such as the building lobby), its absence may seem strange.
So, ask the right questions—perhaps along the lines of the open-ended,
“How does this space feel?” as opposed to the more direct, “Did you no-
tice there weren't any elevators?” The larger and taller the building, the
more likely the omission will be noticed by the player.
Include an elevator, but make it completely noninteractive with no ex-
planation
. Another low-effort solution, but it may feel like a cop-out. And
if there are elevators elsewhere in the game that
do
work, the inconsisten-
