SUMMARY
Role:
Level Design
Intention (SMART Goal)
by 3/12/20 as part of the level designers, I will have completed AI & Randomization tutorials to be able to create AI that can do randomized actions for Project 6.
PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY
Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)
Dave Riller – one of the main level designers of Valve. He designed TF2, L4D2, and the half-life games. He worked on making Left 4 Dead look realistic and creepy.
Games should be fun to Navigate, note which parts of each level are observational, strategic, or navigational. Games shouldn’t focus on words. Give objectives to the player but don’t tell them how they should go about completing it. make sure the game is surprising and empowers the player.
Primary Source:
Secondary Source:
Notes:
- emphasizes on Co-Operative play, something that many games at the time didn’t do(1:46)
- All players are the same, mechanically speaking(2:49)
- players are gently pushed towards cooperation and sharing supplies(5:47)
- Lights were used to guide players(7:14)
- Sound is used to build suspense and tension(10:11)
- procedurally generated encounters help keep player motivated to replay the game(11:56)
- Left 4 dead 2 punishes players for not co-operating, but does it in a way that doesn’t frustrate the player(2:52)
- Does not force characters to stay together, as forcing players to stay within a certain distance from other players can be too frustrating(2:52)
- made sure that the level was never empty, and always had something to do(12:24)
- allowed for strong access to modding community so that people can change the game as they see fit(13:37)
Training Source(s)
https://mad-gfx.com/news/2018/7/15/10-principles-of-good-level-design
- Levels needs to present the player with different vectors of gameplay (observational, strategic, or Navigational)
- Games should not rely on words
- Provide clear objectives
- don’t tell players how to complete the objectives
- each level should showcase or highlight a game mechanic
- take risks, and surprise your player. Otherwise the game gets boring
- Allow players to influence the world and make choices
- allow for both risks and rewards
- experiment with hidden areas and visual cues
- be aware of constraints
- create emotion through mechanics (such as an AI that chases the player)
- reuse and modify mechanics throughout different levels
https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Random.html
- lists all forms of randomization
- most important form for what i’m working with is Range (as it will let me generate a random number which will perform an action)
Project Timeline
- Create GDD
- create flowchart of gameplay
- create all moving objects
- research tile map
- implement a tile map
- Research AI
- Research Randomization and generation
- Code AI
- set up action 1 for the AI
- set up action 2
- set up action 3
- Randomize actions
- ensure there is only one copy of each scene in the game
- Identify the rules of the game