Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
In short, avoid conceptual non sequiturs in realistic games. They discourage new
players and make your game unnecessarily hard without making it more fun.
Remember the principle that level designers should reward players for using their
intelligence, not punish them for it.
Make Atypical Levels Optional
Level designers naturally like to vary the content of their levels, and it is good
design practice to make creative use of the game's features or to set your levels in
different environments to provide the novelty that players like.
Still, you should
not
create wildly atypical levels and force the player to play them
in order to get through the game. Level designers sometimes create a level filled
with only one kind of challenge—an action game level consisting of nothing but
platform jumps, say, with no enemies to fight or treasure to find. Others like to take
away some of the actions that a player uses routinely on other levels and force her
to make do with a limited subset of actions for the duration. Some have created lev-
els that borrow from a different genre entirely: a real-time strategy game level in
which both sides control exactly one unit, thus turning the level into a strange sort
of action game.
There are two reasons not to make these kinds of levels obligatory. First, it breaks
the player's suspension of disbelief to be suddenly confronted with a situation that
would never occur according to the rules of the game world as the player has
already learned them. Second, it may actually make the game unwinnable for some
players. If you create a level filled with only one kind of challenge, then a player
who happens to be terrible at that kind of challenge—but who reasonably expected
to make it through the game by being good at other kinds of challenges—might
not be able to finish the game at all, stymied by one atypical level. And there may
be many players who don't find that challenge as exciting as you do, who will find
an entire level of it boring.
You shouldn't avoid mak ing at y pical levels at all; they can be a lot of f un. But make
them optional—hidden levels the player can unlock through excellent play or side
missions for extra points.
Don't Show the Player Everything at Once
As they say in theater, “Always leave them wanting more.” This advice applies to
the overall progression of the game, so both game designers and level designers
need to be aware of it. If your players have faced every challenge, seen every envi-
ronment, and used every action that you have to offer—all in a single level—then
the rest of the game will be old hat for them. You have nothing further to offer but
variations on a set of play mechanics and game worlds that they already know
everything about. Let your game grow from level to level. Introduce new features
