The importance of level design?

[xS]

Back in the day, game designers would meticulously design levels, laying out each enemy with great care so that games would pose a stiff challenge to players without being cheap.( I.e you blame your deaths on yourself not the game).

This is the basis on which dozens of arcade games are designed, everything from Ghosts and Goblins to Tapper to Space Harriers is based upon pattern based gameplay. Many home games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros, and old school FPS like DOOM are designed likewise.

The art of level design is not exclusive to many of these action games, in fact it is oftern used in action RPG's like Zelda and the like. Many of the puzzles used in games like Landstalker are works of art that would not be possible without much thought on the behalf of the designers.

However, nowadays the trend is more towards allowing the player to make his own descisions rather than play the game in a rigid, linear way.

Comptemporary FPS for example, allow for much more dynamic battle scenarios than their elder brothers. Not much deliberation is given to enemy attack patterns and formation.... instead the focus is soley on AI. Those in favour of this breed of FPS may argue that rote memorization has no place in gaming, while others might say that these games are incredibly slow and dull.

I also believe that there is a trade off between level design and non linearity. TES: Morrowind for example has some of the most expansive enivironments ever, but there is no way in hell that Bethseda would be able to construct each dungeon at a Zelda level of quality.


So what do you think about all of this? Should gamers play games with a minimal amount of their own personal input, or should they have more of a say in how they play the games?

[Bacon McShig]

I also believe that there is a trade off between level design and non linearity. TES: Morrowind for example has some of the most expansive enivironments ever, but there is no way in hell that Bethseda would be able to construct each dungeon at a Zelda level of quality.

It wouldn't feel right if the dungeons were crafted like Zelda's, though. Morrowind's emphasis is on realism. Having each room in every dungeon be puzzle-based, while a nice gameplay element in Zelda and similar games, is not necessarily realistic. Case in point, I have yet to see a treasure chest appear when I light something in real life.

[Cheebs]

Real-life in video games is overrated. Give me 8 bit Ninja Gaiden where one sword swipe causes a man to explode (bloodlessly I might add). Seriously, I could care less if any real-life conventions are used at all in games.

[NeoZeedeater]

I think non-linearity and good level design can co-exist.

I don't want to see the old-school pattern-based stuff die off since it's great for arcade fixes but I'm a strong believer in the value of emergent game design. When a game's feel and direction is affected by your own choices, I think it brings you close into it.

[piku]

Comptemporary FPS for example, allow for much more dynamic battle scenarios than their elder brothers. Not much deliberation is given to enemy attack patterns and formation.... instead the focus is soley on AI. Those in favour of this breed of FPS may argue that rote memorization has no place in gaming, while others might say that these games are incredibly slow and dull.

I also believe that there is a trade off between level design and non linearity. TES: Morrowind for example has some of the most expansive enivironments ever, but there is no way in hell that Bethseda would be able to construct each dungeon at a Zelda level of quality.

And this is why a game like Halo is nowhere near as close to being as good as Doom (either) or Quake 1, and never will.

I leave out Quake 2 because I felt that game began (or at least was at the beginning of) the whole "random monsters and massive levels that really don’t mean much gameplay wise" era of FPS that I hate so much. That’s why I don’t play FPS games very much anymore, and why I loved Serious Sam so much.

[xS]

I feel the same. The only FPS I look forward to are the non conventional ones like Theif 3, Deus Ex 2, and The Lost. And the online ones.

Going back to the topic..... IMO the 3D GTA series strikes the best balance between good level design and freedom. Anyone else feel the same way?

[Frogacuda]

I think level design is the most important part of scenario design, and the most neglected and underrated fearure of the RPG genre. Good dungeon design can make or break and RPG, but too often wee see games like Grandia or Megami Tensei (both great games on other redeeming merits) that completely neglegt it for bland labyrinths with nothing to do but wander.

I don't think that freedom and deliberate and well thought outlevel design should confilict, and I think that realism should only be considered a merit in as far as it doesn't interfere with the quality of the gameplay. Real life isn't fun or exciting most of the time, but that's not an aspect of real life we strive to capture in video gaming.

With FPSs, your dead on. The divide between level-based, and AI reliant design is what seperates old school from new school, and the shift toward the latter is precisely why I lost intrest in the genre.

There are many things that can encompass "good" level design, but it really is one of the most important and difficult aspects of game design.

Originally posted by Bacon McShig
It wouldn't feel right if the dungeons were crafted like Zelda's, though. Morrowind's emphasis is on realism. Having each room in every dungeon be puzzle-based, while a nice gameplay element in Zelda and similar games, is not necessarily realistic. Case in point, I have yet to see a treasure chest appear when I light something in real life.

I've yet to see a skeleton warrior in real life, too. Now ask youerself which is more implausible.

[xS]

I enjoyed Grandias dungeons for whatever reason.@_@ I really can't remember any of them with detail(apart from the Ship), all I recall is that they were a blast to explore.

[Frogacuda]

Originally posted by xS
I enjoyed Grandias dungeons for whatever reason.@_@ I really can't remember any of them with detail(apart from the Ship), all I recall is that they were a blast to explore.

They were pretty simple. A couple branching paths. No puzzles. Very utilitarian. Only made fun by their ease of navigation and enjoyable combat.

[Captain Canuck]

I think racing games these days need planned out track designs. The great multi-player games usually have the hairpins and turns in the perfect place to test your skill. Crap like the GT series put their tracks in a random track generator program to get a lot tracks or something. I think that has to go. People are eating it up though. Polyphony should add mainly real life tracks so they don't have to design them, or add your own track editor. If they add a track editor, the track graphics would take a big hit though.