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Post by a Chunk on Jun 22, 2019 16:01:42 GMT
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 21, 2019 16:41:29 GMT
We have an early, and slightly truncated, edition of our weekly update this week. The reason for this is that we're moving. We'll be taking up residence in a new home, beginning tomorrow. We're excited to share the new site with you, and we'll do so with an announcement and a link. Though we're very much looking forward to tomorrow, today is our chance to look back at the content that was shared this week. Articles:Week 25 started of with a tutorial on generating ideas for level design Next, Stefan Doetschel relays lessons learned from working as a designer on games such as Bioshock and Borderlands We wrapped up this weeks' content with a great talk from Steve Lee on a variety of level design subjects That's all for this week. Please watch out for our announcement tomorrow regarding our new Next Level Design home. It will be shared on Twitter, Discord, and of course right here on this site. Get Involved:Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/NextLevelDesig2Join the Discussion on Discord: t.co/hkxwVml0Dp
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 20, 2019 16:07:10 GMT
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Post by Soldat Du Christ on Jun 18, 2019 5:51:11 GMT
Didnt work for me
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 18, 2019 2:27:18 GMT
Soldat Du Christ, thefro3po, cameron, yoder Thank you all for participating on the site. Want to give you, and anyone else who may be following the site closely enough to see this message, a chance to check out our new site www.nextleveldesign.org/We will be announcing the opening of the new site later this week, but we'd love to have you join and test things out. Unfortunately, you'll need to register a new account, but I promise you it's quick and painless. Look forward to seeing you on the other side.
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 17, 2019 15:43:45 GMT
Producing Level Design Ideas by Yan "Method" Ostretsov Read at our new site: www.nextleveldesign.org/index.php?/featured-content/articles/producing-level-design-ideas-r2/IntroThis tutorial will cover where to look for ideas/inspiration and how to put them on paper for current or future reference. Please note that this is not the right way of doing things. This is simply my methods of producing and documenting level design ideas. Looking for IdeasThere are lots of ways how you can find ideas. Sources of inspiration are practically endless, but the problem is that some are harder to spot than others. Little things such as a shape of a flower can give an idea for an organic level. It's just a matter of how you look at things. Here's a brief list of where you can find ideas: - Digital and printed photos - Movies - Real life architecture - Concept art - Video games - Nature patterns For me one of the most important parts of the level design is atmosphere. I play games to escape reality, to feel like I am in a different place. The way a level designer can create (visual) atmosphere is by paying attention to shape, space and lighting. What kind of shape is it? How does a space define it? How much does a light reveal of that space? All those questions are important to achieve atmosphere. Sound plays a big role in atmosphere as well, as showed in Doom 3 and Condemned games. If you choose to look at architecture for ideas, then my suggestion would be to take a look at contemporary architecture. The reason it can spark a lot of ideas is because it has interesting looking shapes that are wisely defined in space. Most of the structures don't have a lot of textures or small details on them, therefore you are free to use your imagination. *TIP: German publisher Taschen produces some of the most affordable contemporary architecture books of great printing quality. Sketching IdeasOnce you found inspiration or got an idea, it's wise to put it on the paper, so you won't forget it. Plus planning a level on the paper before building it in the level editor, guarantees to save you time and prevent most mistakes that could be encountered later in the design process. I suggest using printer and grid paper. Printer paper is great for rough sketches of shapes. Grid paper is more precise and let's you plan the space more wisely. *TIP: Fine point Sharpie marker is great for putting ideas on paper, because you can apply pressure for rough and solid lines. When I find an interesting shape, I draw several variations of it on the printer paper. Some are top view and some are side view. It's wise to put a little note of that next to the sketch, so in the future you won't be confused. Once I'm happy with the shape, I define the space by cross-hatching with pen outside the shape. Making a small solid rectangle for the player size to show the proportions can be useful. Next step would be to use grid paper or continue on the printer paper and add more notes for the sketch. Here's a list of things you can add notes for: - Item placement - Height level - Direction of stairs/slope surface - Entrance/exit points *TIP: Try not to be too specific when putting ideas on the paper, so you can add and improve them later in the design process. At this point you should have enough information to open up the editor and start blocking the level out.
OutroI hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any comments or questions you can contact me at the links below. *Note - This article does not represent Yan's current approach, which has evolved during the 10+ years since this article was first published.Source: web.archive.org/web/20090412012908/http:/www.methodonline.com:80/ld_ideas.htmFollow YanWebsite: methodonline.com/Twitter: twitter.com/idMethod
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 15, 2019 17:24:10 GMT
Greetings friends. Let's look at the content that has been shared on Next Level Design within the last week. *Click on an image to go to the contentArticles:We began with 'The Science and Art of Level Design', where Jim Rossignol examines the evolution and influence of Level Editors Next we took a look at the fundamentals of 'Color Theory in Level Design' In the wide-ranging talk on 'Level Design Histories and Futures' Robert Yang covers the subjects of level editors and architecture 'Multi-player Level Design' is a presentation on the core principles of design for multiplayer levels from Thomas Buijtenweg Forums:icyhotspartin serves up a feast of new pictures from his 1 Hour Mapping WIP Soldat Du Christ teases a forthcoming map release For those of you who are actually paying close enough attention to read this, you may have noticed that I've scaled back my participation on the site recently. This is because the NLD team is hard at work preparing for a site transition/upgrade. We recently realized that there is no potential to upgrade the site in the future through Proboards (the forum software we're currently using), and that the option to transfer the existing content from Proboards to another site has been discontinued. With this in mind, we feel time is of the essence, and as a result we've shifted our focus heavily toward developing a new home for Next Level Design. Please bear with us as we continue to pour our efforts into this endeavor. We're making great progress, and we're extremely excited for the future of the community at our new home. Thank you all for your continued support. We look forward to growing the community together with you. Much Love. I want to extend my personal thanks to icyhotspartin , Sethiroth , westin , and Kantalope for their efforts in making this happen. You're the best!!! Get Involved:Join the Next Level Design Forum: login.proboards.com/register/6999139Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/NextLevelDesig2Join the Discussion on Discord: t.co/hkxwVml0Dp
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 14, 2019 23:51:01 GMT
there are two kinds of level designers, those who love dead ends, and those who hate them Same goes for death pits. I commented on a previously posted article that one of things I disagreed with was the authors distaste for routes that don't have multiple movement options. Routes like that certainly shouldn't be the norm, but there another tool in a level designers toolkit. A tool that can be utilized very well in the right scenarios.
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Post by Soldat Du Christ on Jun 14, 2019 22:19:10 GMT
there are two kinds of level designers, those who love dead ends, and those who hate them
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Post by icyhotspartin on Jun 14, 2019 18:28:30 GMT
Multi-player Level Design by Thomas Buijtenweg Read this article at our new site HERE: www.nextleveldesign.org/index.php?/featured-content/articles/multiplayer-level-design-a-presentation-r101/As with many of the articles and guides you'll find on this site, this one is a hyperfocused and concise distillation of what it means to design a level for players to experience - in this particular case, a competitive multiplayer level. Thomas Buijtenweg whips the reader past the important pillars of multiplayer level design, starting with the oldest game in the book and ending up at the fastest game in the book, at a pace equal to that of the Quake characters in his embedded videos. Seriously, it's fast, blink and you'll miss it speed - but it illustrates the cruciality of identifying and utilizing principles in your design process. The examples, distinctions, and explanations he provides are of enormous value to those willing to put them into practice - they illustrate exactly what a designer has to consider when building a level for competitive play. Give it a read. Give it two reads. Give it three. It's an excellent primer for newer designers, and an excellent reminder for those who've got years of experience under their belts. The full presentation is linked below. - icyhot PS: Please pardon the formatting, under construction... ExcerptsPlayer motivation
“Surviving long enough to shoot, kill (annihilate) and preferably humiliate your opponents.”
This requires:
• an opponent
• a weapon (preferably a big one)
• any kind of buff I can find to increase my chances of winning.
“Surviving long enough to shoot, kill (annihilate) and preferably humiliate your opponents.”
This requires:
Fragging them a lot more then they frag me, preferably without taking damage and a big flashing scoreboard that tells me how great I'm doing.
Players will do anything to get that winning edge.
Players will break your game, either the map or the game mechanics, or both in order to get the advantage they need to win.
Know your game: If you know about the exploits in your game you can design around them, or simply accept them and include them into the design.
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Designing Effective Spaces
• As a personal guide I use the following:
• Each area must have a function
• Each area must lead to at least 2 other functions
• After completing its function, an area should (almost) never be useful to stay in
• Try to stick with triangle item placement
Each area must have a function
- Resupply: Allow the player to calm down and pick up some health/ammo to get back in the fight
- Overwatch: Let the player view the battlefield, scout where his opponents are and give him a chance to plan his next move
Each area must lead to at least 2 other functions
A One-way area is boring for the player (no choice!), but also highly predictable for his opponent.
An area that leads to a similar function is very unrewarding for the player.
After completing its function an area should (almost) never be useful to stay in
If an area has a large benefit and has all resources nearby, players will remain within the area for extended periods.
If multiple players do this in different areas, nobody will encounter an enemy.
Try to stick with triangle item placement
This requires some explanation
In essence it is a theoretical way to balance your level. This obviously does not remove the requirement of play-testing.
Example 1:
- All distances are equal
- In a 1-on-1 each player will have a major buff (B or R)
Example 2:
- Route B,Y is shorter
- Player that goes for B will also have Y
Example 3:
- Route R,Y has a Ninja-path
- Players will fight at Y if player at R succeeds at moving over the Ninja-path
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Read the full text here: sassybot.com/resources/presentations/Multiplayer-Level-Design.pdf Follow ThomasLinkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/thomas-buijtenweg/64/389/20a
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 13, 2019 19:05:22 GMT
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Post by a Chunk on Jun 13, 2019 3:50:30 GMT
I like the 4th one but without the three people We're working on something new. Did you notice the PM I sent you?
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Post by Soldat Du Christ on Jun 12, 2019 23:05:15 GMT
I like the 4th one but without the three people
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Post by Soldat Du Christ on Jun 11, 2019 16:44:56 GMT
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Post by Anderson Stamps on Jun 11, 2019 12:17:48 GMT
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