Post by a Chunk on Dec 5, 2018 22:26:54 GMT
Read article at our new site: www.nextleveldesign.org/index.php?/featured-content/articles/analyzing-layouts-to-improve-r6/
In this Blog post, Curtis Gaunt analyzes some well known maps from FPS games, and shares his thoughts on why they work (or don't). The post focuses primarily on designing to fit the mechanics of the game.
For the purpose of this post, I will be examining the level design at a basic level and ignoring all of the finished assets and props that give it life, and looking strictly at the layouts that the players can move and interact in within the level.
He continues on by doing case studies of 3 maps: Dust II (Counter-Strike), Temple of Anubis (Overwatch), and Sovereign (Call of Duty:Ghosts). Here's a portion of his breakdown of Temple of Anubis:
Overwatch has some fundamental differences when compared to other titles in the genre. Unlike most games, verticality plays a large factor as some of the characters within the game can fly. Due to this new mechanic, the level design changes to accommodate height and has multiple tiers of height. Having added emphasis on height doesn’t change the core pathing of the level at its most basic form. This map is known as Temple of Anubis and like Dust II, it has two objectives.
Red lines indicate potential attack paths.
Red lines indicate potential attack paths.
Finally, he asks the question "What can we learn?"
The largest take away here is that less is more in level design. Too many paths to a location make defense of objectives too difficult for players. Having too many choke points makes choices from either team less meaningful. Getting a good layout of your level is more important than the aesthetics. Remember to keep the mechanics of your game in mind when designing your levels. Once all of these ideas are taken into account, the visuals and aesthetics can be considered and your level can be completed.
Read through the entire blog post here: www.gamasutra.com/blogs/CurtisGaunt/20170405/295251/Analyzing_Level_Layouts_to_Improve_Level_Design_in_Competitive_FPS.php
What are your thoughts on this subject? Where do you agree with Curtis, and where do you disagree?
A bigger and more important question... How do YOU learn from studying levels?