2013

Stages of level design

1.
IDEA:
Start taking a journal every where as ideas can come from anywhere at anytime.
Sketch to go along with the ideas.
How excited does this idea make me?
Am I inspired to create this idea?

2.
PURPOSE AND FEATURES:
What is the purpose of this idea?
Why do I want to pursue it to completion?
Why do I want to create the environment/level design?
What is the reason/purpose?
Know why I want to create this world.

3.
LOCATION/ENVIRONMENT:
Where?
Urban or rural?
Interior/exterior.
Time period.
Past/Future/Present.
Weather.
Time of day.

4.
PHOTO REFERENCE:
Mood boards for each area.
Set design, props, lighting.
Inspiration mood boards-TV, Film, Books etc.
A mood board just for interiors, one for streets, one for beaches etc.
-All this helps to structure a level.

5.
STORY:
The environments story.
What happened to it prior to the player getting there?
What is the player doing there?
What brought them there?
This will dictate the level.
There wheres and whys.
The environments history-Why are they there?

6.
OBJECTIVES AND OBSTACLES:
Goals for the player to complete.
Why does the player need to do this to progress?
Opposition the player has to overcome, puzzles, battles etc.
Design objectives and obstacles for the level design.
Obstacle Mind Map Tree!
- If the player does this, then that happens.
Think of the different scenarios.

7.
TOP DOWN MAP:
Starting sketching and planning maps-
Buildings, boundaries, landscapes, focal points, player paths, alternative routes, flow/pacing etc.
Sketched maps allow to change things easier.
Then put into Photoshop.
Then focus on player paths and focus points spawn points and enemy locations etc.

8.
FOCAL POINTS:
Functional purpose- player can orientate, find places.
Aesthetic- Environment more visually pleasing.
Makes the player want to progress, to reach the focal point, a feeling of achievement.