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[tanyaxshort]

You're welcome!

[Danny Hayes]

tanyaxshort,

That game looks pretty cool! I definitely like the choice of having medium play areas connected by paths in that way. Gives a sense of mini progression between areas.

[R.D.]

We have a rather strange way to layout our levels. We sketch them out in photoshop using layers with drop shadows for the cliffs. This works very well in combination with a tablet!

Here is the level design for an area you can visit in our next demo:



You start out right and can make your way up to the left. In the full game, this will be the first free area so the idea is to keep the paths simple and only make few branches.

Here's an example of how the center-right map looks like in the editor:



And in-game:

[BadMemory]

Here's a few procedurally generated levels using my level design rules:



Basically:
* Define what a room is (size, features, theme), make sure obstacles don't break the game (we used pathfinding checks)

* Define how those rooms string together to form the critical path (and branch off of it)

* Place enemies & items on critical path differently than off of it

* Add locked doors & keys to find

* Add in more connections between rooms to make it more interesting

A full description of the process from level design -> proc-gen level can be read here: http://www.kitfoxgames.com/level-design-and-procedural-generation-in-shattered-planet/

This is really cool! Have you ever read any books by Christopher Alexander? He defines rules of building. I highly recommend.

[Kyle O]

cliff 

[shellbot]

Following so I remember to upload a few of my level sketches once I get home

[darkhog]

http://imgur.com/z3yfoJQ

First level of my in-the-works 16bit platformer. Had to censor some things because spoilers. Keep in mind that only layer on which player can interact with level is barely done, there are still background layer and foreground to be made. Also that base layer isn't finished either - for example grass isn't yet laid everywhere and there are no pickups yet.

As for the jagged tiles to the bottom-left, player has no way of getting there so those won't be visible.

Both tileset and sprites are by yours truly.

Game is being made using GDevelop.

[Canned Turkey]

Metriodvania FTW

[shellbot]

@CannedTurkey That was thoroughly enjoyable to look at

[Kyle O]

More cliffs. Why nobody like this thread?

[ProgramGamer]

Why nobody like this thread?

I do like it. A lot.

[Kyle O]

Just seems like level design can be a very important part of some games and I wish there was a more happening discussion about it.

[ProgramGamer]

I know! I've been thinking about it a lot recently as I experiment with my platformer. I've thought a lot about getting inspiration for layouts, teaching new skills non-intrusivelly and scale as well as technical aspects like tiles and entities for different things.

We need A level design discussion thread!

[hassekf]

I was using those assets for and side scroller game.

We decide to share some of the assets for free.

Cartoon Art Pack with 8 original artwork. Handmade.

Included:

1 Sunset Background
1 Grass Set
1 Rock Set
1 Light Pole
1 City Background
1 Mountains Background
1 Sidewalk
1 Cracked Floor

If anyone is interested, you can download it here: http://ask4asset.com/cartoon-street-art-pack/

[quantumpotato]

Man ya'll are talented with those art.

[Impmaster]

How do you guys start Level Design? I generally just putter around with my paint tool or whatever and draw the messiest level possible then just see what looks fun.

[Alec S.]

For me, the process generally goes:

(On paper)
- Figure out in broad strokes what stuff should go in my level.  Which enemies, environment type(s), obstacles, items, ect...
- Create an outline with brief descriptions of individual sections of the level, describing the purpose of that section, and trying to never repeat myself.  For example: "Introduce ranged enemy", "Introduce melee enemy", "Ranged enemies on other side of chasm", "many melee enemies", "combine ranged enemies and melee enemies", ect...
- I'll probably also sketch some diagrams of these sections.
- If the game is has some non-linear navigation, I'll sketch a map of the whole area and label the sections.

(On computer)
-Block out the level with all the sections from the outline.  Just include enough detail so that you can read functional things like where you can walk and where you can't walk.
-Test out the blocked out level, alter as needed
-Do a visual pass on the level.  If I'm working with tiles, this means getting all the walls, ground, pits, ect... looking right.
-Test, alter
-Do a second visual pass for aesthetic details
-Test, alter

Don't be afraid to stray from the outline that you wrote, either in removing sections that don't work, or adding sections that you think up while playing around in testing.  But it's good to have that outline as a starting point.

(Obligatory link to the articles I wrote on my website about level design: http://renegadesector.com/level-design-primer/ )

[The MegaMagic Dude]

today we've talked about level design at our devlog! This don't intend to be spam... so we are pasting the explanation here, so you don't need to go to our devlog (but this would be cool, for sure)

How would you design maps for an isometric videogame if you weren’t skilled at fine arts?
The answer is easy: using planes, boxes and orthographic view in a 3D software like 3DS Max.

At least this is how we do it. The game designer create a basic layout using simple shapes. Later on our great artists turn this mess into a wonderful scenario.

But this sketches aren’t only used for artists; they are also meaningful for programmers who check them whenever they have to code what happens in a scene.

That’s how our game grows simultaneously in both ways: art and programming.



Later we will talk about the process to decorate this maps through tilemaps!

[darkhog]

Here's what I've done somewhat recently to test out my level editor's capabilities:



I couldn't save it (level save/load routines aren't done yet) and it wasn't finished at the end of the video due to my impatience and the fact it took few hours of real time (vid is a timelapse), but I've liked concept enough that I'll probably include variation of this in finished game.

Check out my devlog too! Just click on game's logo! Technical build was released so you can help me finetune the movement!

[NeightE]

Hey there,

Here is how 100 level design looks like on a wall for an incoming mobile game I'm currently creating with a small team.

I originally started to sketch on paper, but with the complexity of the levels, I felt the need to find a nice piece of software to do this task on a computer with a graphic tablet. I ended up using Mischief, which is really amazing for that kind of utility.

It's incredible how useful and necessary it is to do this before creating any level. We didn't do that sort of thing at the beginning of the production, and it was a huge mistake..