Beginning Game Level Design (Premier Press Game Development)

252 Pages·2005·4.61 MB·english

by  John Harold Feil

Beginning Game
Level Design
John Feil
Marc Scattergood
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I’d like to dedicate this book to my wife and daughter, Jean and Sylvana,
who had to spend many,many Daddyless weekends while I wrote this book.
—John Feil
For my wife, Stacie, a very talented author in her own right, for being my
support,my personal editor,and my sounding board through this process.
—Marc Scattergood
Acknowledgments
John Feil
The number ofpeople who have helped me learn and grow and write this book are many.
I’d like to thank the Thompson crew,especially Sean ,Jenny,Mitzi,and Brandon,for all
their help in getting this book out the door.I’d like to thank Marc Scattergood,who came
in to write when time got tight.I’d also like to thank Bob Bates for all his help,and Warren
Spector for his fine sense of humor.Finally,I’d like to thank this random list of people,
who have in some way contributed to my knowledge over the years: Gary Gygax, Todd
Nord,Dave Hanifan,Tom Brundige,Rick Andres,Jeff Pipes,Chad Walter,Chris Seeman,
Aaron Young, Chuck McFadden, Duncan Brown, Reed Knight, Quentin Westcott, Tim
Longo,Rich Davis,Tony Iuppa,John Christian Vanover,and Jason Della Rocca.
Marc Scattergood
Thanks to my wife, Stacie, for putting up with my 12 hour days at work, only to come
home and spend another 6 hours in front of my computer,writing.
To John Feil,for being a mentor and a friend,and for including me in this chance to share
the knowledge we’ve gleaned over the years.
I’d also like to acknowledge the Mythica team, spread to the four winds as they are, the
Sigil Games Online team,who I hope to continue learning from for years to come,and all
the friends and co-workers I had in Microsoft Game Studios for their friendship, their
shared knowledge and experience, and for helping me strive towards something greater
than myself.
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About the Authors
JOHNFEILis a game industry veteran whose duties have spanned from quality assurance,
to technical writing,and finally to level designer and designer.He’s worked on such titles
asStar Wars: Jedi Starfighterand Microsoft’s new Xbox racing game,Forza,and is currently
a member of the board of directors for the International Game Developer’s Association
(IGDA).
MARCSCATTERGOOD has been working in the games industry since 1998.In that time he
has worked in a quality assurance and operations capacity,as well as level and game design
more recently.His shipped titles include Asheron’s Call,Sudeki,and Zoo Tycoon 2.Most of
that time was spent with Microsoft Game Studios.
He currently is a game designer for Sigil Games Online on the upcoming MMOG,Vanguard,
and was previously working on the now cancelled MMOG,Mythica, as a level designer.
He currently resides in Southern California.
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv
Chapter 1 The Basics of Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 2 Paper Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Chapter 3 Building Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Chapter 4 Building Architecture and Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Chapter 5 Lighting and Atmospheric Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Chapter 6 Placing Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Chapter 7 Breathing Life Into Your Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Chapter 8 Dialogue and Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Chapter 9 Polishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Chapter 10 Specific Genres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Appendix A Helpful Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
Appendix B Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201
Appendix C Review Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Appendix D What’s on the CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv
Chapter 1 The Basics of Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
The “Fun”damentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
System Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Gameplay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Designing Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Pacing and Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Making Your Game Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Respect the Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Hubris Is the Game-Killer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
If You Aren’t Having Fun, the Game Won’t Be Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
It’s Just a Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
What You Have Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
On Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Chapter 2 Paper Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Coming Up with Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Writing a Design Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Creating Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Example: Prospero’s Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
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