# Hope you guys consider level design to be an art.



## geekofalltrades (Feb 8, 2012)

Hell yeah, level design.










































I've tinkered around with level design a lot, but above are screens from the only project I ever actually released. It's called Overture, and is for Portal 1. I did it back in 2009 or so, but lost all of my work-in-progress when I built myself a new computer, so I gave up on it.It's still up for download on thinkingwithportals, if anyone wants to try it. No guarantees that it still works, and I'm no longer supporting it.


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## The Whirlwind (Jun 1, 2012)

geekofalltrades said:


> Hell yeah, level design.
> 
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> ...


Damn, that's awesome. How hard was it to make custom Portal levels? (I'm assuming you used Hammer, which is mind-boggling.)

Ever done anything with Portal 2's editor? It's so amazingly simple.



Dane said:


> I can't see why you would be changing any of these...the originals look a lot more organized and visually pleasing to me...
> 
> EDIT: Sorry, that made me sound a little unappreciative. It's an interesting and debatable as an art form, but I would scream if I saw these designs in an actual game, purely because it upsets the idealist nature of the game itself.


Well... I've already stated that I find the levels are uninteresting on a visual perspective in terms of the specifics, I guess. Have you played any of the newer Pokémon games? Even in Gold and Silver, the levels seemed so much more... natural. Generation 3 onward improved even more with engine tweaks allowing for maps to be less square-like. As a gamer, I can understand how a level being organized is important to the experience on a gameplay perspective (I've been over this during my last post). Again, I believe there can (and should) be a compromise between a level being functional and looking good. Re-evaluating Red/Blue/Yellow's map design... it doesn't look natural at all. The fact that most maps are just arrangements of rocks, water, foliage, and paths with people staring in one direction really doesn't push what one can do in terms of maps.

I mean, yes, level design is technically just an arrangement of all sorts of elements for gameplay and visuals, but in reality it's so much more. A game will usually take place in a geographical location, and tons of things need to be considered when designing levels based on these. You know, "_Why should I place this X at Y?_" A level, to me, doesn't seem coherent if everything is just blatantly... there. When I go to a forest, I want to see bug catches looking for Caterpies, when I'm in a Cave, I want to see hikers exploring every nook and cranny... not just standing beside a rock that is suspiciously _square_.

I'm noticing that your post doesn't go into detail_why_ you dislike the levels I made. If you wouldn't mind, I'm genuinely surious as to your extended opinions are and why you think what you think.

As for a lack of gratitude, I don't care. If your reasoning is good, then that's some great constructive criticism for me. If not, well, it couldn't possibly do anything to what I think about my, uh, work.


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## slender (Sep 28, 2012)

alecross said:


> A while back, I had noted to a friend that a certain game's environments looked incredibly bland, unappealing, and that it hampered the game's experience a lot by providing the player with a dull world to explore. The game/s in question is/are Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen (the 2004 remakes of games that were released in 1995).
> 
> So, naturally, I decided to demo what I imagine this world should be like. Basing on what the games presented as a world, I decided to incorporate new ideas and freshen up the landscape in general for a few of the early-game areas.
> 
> ...


i like that. though when i heard of level building i immediately thought of levels of lines to form art.


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## Dane (Dec 12, 2012)

alecross said:


> I'm noticing that your post doesn't go into detail _why_ you dislike the levels I made. If you wouldn't mind, I'm genuinely surious as to your extended opinions are and why you think what you think.
> 
> As for a lack of gratitude, I don't care. If your reasoning is good, then that's some great constructive criticism for me. If not, well, it couldn't possibly do anything to what I think about my, uh, work.


I think it's just a case of preference. You're probably right on the front that your level designs have more for them in terms of exploration, but I personally like the highly structured, bordering on _bland_ level design, with all the grass contained in neat little rows and boxes and such, as I find it less visually distracting. Your level designs have trees and people that are more naturally placed, which is refreshing for you perhaps, but I personally would see it as too visually overwhelming. I consider Pokemon a casual game, and so the bland maps and layouts are particularly forgiving, as i'm not forced to look around and plan my steps, or say "Wow, what delicious scenery". Instead I can focus on the purely gaming element of raising and maintaining my Pokemon.

Also, I think that my opinion is partially due to nostalgia. It's nice to start off a game in your home town, which is looking remarkably similar to other Pokemon games played previously, as it evokes a feeling of security and familiarity. Pokemon games are, in essence, very similar to each other, the plot, the music, and the scenery, and I think that it's something that should stay consistent in the series. Perhaps they're nice in theory, and I admit that they're interesting to look at and compare, but I wouldn't enjoy playing your levels at all, because it would be too visually taxing on my poor brain.


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## geekofalltrades (Feb 8, 2012)

alecross said:


> Damn, that's awesome. How hard was it to make custom Portal levels? (I'm assuming you used Hammer, which is mind-boggling.)


Yes, I used Hammer. It's not too complicated a tool if you get straight into it and wade around for a bit figuring out how everything works. It _is_ a huge pain in the ass, though, which is why this was the only Source map I ever saw through to completion. It took me about a year of work.


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## DeaneRenata (Dec 6, 2012)

If you are a game designer you're working in my dream industry. Tell me all about yourself. I am interested.


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## The Whirlwind (Jun 1, 2012)

DeaneRenata said:


> If you are a game designer you're working in my dream industry. Tell me all about yourself. I am interested.


I am not a game designer. I'm 17, still in High School but game development is my dream job. Despite that, I don't think I'll ever work in the video game industry. Too much BS, such as media, corporations being dumb (layoffs, being treated like shit, etc) and a lack of freedom to do what _I_ would want to do (as in, forced "commitee design").

So I'm going to be learning programming instead, where the industry is filled with like-minded people.

The video gaming industry could really use a crash a la 1983.


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## timeless (Mar 20, 2010)

E3M5 is a work of art.


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## rycbar (Aug 2, 2011)

To my knowledge the maps in the most recent _Pokemon_ games rival what you have created. I would not call the original maps "dull", but "simple". Sometimes I get annoyed or confused with the newer maps.


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