Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Content Integration
At this point, you will assemble all the assets into the completed (but not yet
tested) level—artwork, new code required by the level, audio, and any remaining
tweaks to the lighting. You'll also adjust any remaining issues with the rigging, by
repositioning characters, effects, and triggers as necessary.
Bug Fixing
Test the level at this point, look ing for bugs in the code and mistakes in the con-
tent. This will be another iterative process, working back and forth between the art,
audio, and code teams and yourself. After finishing your own testing, you hand the
level off to the quality assurance (QA) department for formal testing.
User Testing and Tuning
In the last stage, QA will create a test plan for the level and begin formal testing,
known as
alpha testing
. Their testing will ordinarily be more thorough and strict
than the testing you've done; it will also find things that you missed because of
your overfamiliarity with the material. As in your own testing, they'll work in an
iterative process with the various teams involved, including reporting the bugs in
the rigging and gameplay mechanics that you need to fix. When QA considers the
level to be thoroughly tested, they may make it available for
beta testing
(testing by
end-users).
This chapter ends with a discussion of some important mistakes to avoid—classic
errors of level design that, unfortunately, some designers continue to make.
Get the Scope Right
The single most common error made by inexperienced level designers is to try to
build something too big. (They almost never try to build something too small.)
Everyone would love to make an epic such as a
Final Fantasy
game, but such games
require huge production teams, giant budgets, and multiyear development cycles.
And even among experienced professionals, epic projects often run late and go
over budget.
You must design within the resources of your team, your budget, and the time you
have available. Scope, you should remember, refers not only to the size and com-
plexity of the landscape but to the number of props, NPCs, and special events in
the level. In order not to undertake an unrealistically large level, you must make
lists of these things during the planning stage before you actually start
