Post by a Chunk on Jun 3, 2019 16:19:42 GMT
Resident Evil’s Best Games are Defined by their Level Design
By Sam Spyrison
Read this article at our new site HERE: www.nextleveldesign.org/index.php?/featured-content/articles/the-environmental-design-of-resident-evil-r97/
What is it that makes a game good? Sam Spryison believes that in the case of Resident Evil, the level design (or perhaps more specifically the environmental design) is the primary differentiating factor between the best versions of the game, and the rest. Using the Resident Evil 2 Remake as his case in point, he highlights the importance of evolving a genre over time, while maintaining its core elements.
Capcom’s modern remake of Resident Evil 2 looks to take players back two decades, taking advantage of many of the environments and story elements of the 1998 original while updating the gameplay mechanics and overall presentation. Our review offered the title a significant amount of praise, calling it “a bigger and more robust horror experience,” with a key factor being the unnerving atmosphere presented by the Raccoon City Police Department, wherein a majority of the campaigns take place. These types of environments have defined Resident Evil throughout its history and the best ones all share several key elements that exemplify a strong sense of level design.
So how exactly environmental design improve a game? It can set the tone for things to come.
Most importantly, the environments have rooms that easily convey their original purpose prior to the zombie outbreaks, with the Baker House being a strong example of this philosophy. Each member of the Baker family has their own room that represents their personality and prepares the player for their eventual encounter, hearkening back to a simpler time before the events of Resident Evil 7.
One of the ways the Resident Evil 2 Remake keeps players invested is by infusing the setting with a variety of secrets. When combining this with a distinct lack of resources, unearthing these secrets can create a great sense of accomplishment.
Discovering a green herb in a drawer or a few bullets on a table can bring jubilation and truly mean the difference between life and death. The best loot, however, is never as easily spottable, as new weapons, inventory upgrades and more can be uncovered for the dedicated players willing to explore every nook and cranny and figure out the mechanical puzzles.
The final key noted by Sam Spyrison in this article is the constant circling back into previously traversed areas, with new tools in hand.
These return trips often prove to be memorable, as the familiarity of the rooms and hallways that the players first explored in previous hours allow for speedy traversal, which can often be abruptly halted by new and more powerful enemies. Both the original and remake versions of Resident Evil 2 offer several opportunities to return to the RPD, as new photos to develop reveal secrets about areas that were already explored and new keys unlock entire sections of the department that players have yet to visit.
Resident Evil has set a precedent for some of the most memorable environments in gaming history and these levels continue to remind us why this survival horror franchise is still so prominent two decades later.
Resident Evil has set a precedent for some of the most memorable environments in gaming history and these levels continue to remind us why this survival horror franchise is still so prominent two decades later.
Read the full article at this link: www.hardcoregamer.com/2019/01/25/resident-evils-best-games-are-defined-by-their-level-design/323370/#disqus_thread
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