individual elements to create a perfect path
or puzzle – it can be hard for them to step
back and see their creation from a neutral
standpoint. And that’s where testers come in.
Having the same person test a level over
and over isn’t a good idea when you’re still
in the early stages, though. If they’ve already
been through an old version of your level,
they’re biased when they test the tweaked
version. Finding lots of testers is important,
but what if you see them struggling with a
puzzle you’ve so carefully created?
“The golden rule is watch someone play
and don’t say anything, just watch,” stressesLockwood. “If you don’t help them – even
if they ask – you’ll very clearly see every
difficulty spike, every unclear goal, every
problem that should be iterated on.”
That isn’t always easy, but having fresh
eyes on your world gives you the best chance
of perfecting it. And in some cases, bringing
in people with little or no gaming experience
can give you the most useful results.
“If you want to challenge yourself you might
go to try and find somebody from finance or
HR who doesn’t play games at all,” laughs
Oehme. “Those are the hardest ones, because
they’re going to destroy it just by not knowing“You always have to wrestle yourself back
from your initial feeling of, ‘Just put a lot of
gameplay in there, that’s what players want!’”
he laughs. “If you give them a little bit of
breathing room, you see them cool off, start
to open their eyes and experience the world.
It’s about finding a balance.”
Getting that balance just right is key. When
you’re in a firefight, how often do you stop to
admire your surroundings? You don’t. Without
a pause, your vision narrows and you forget
all about where you are, and why – instead
focusing on the action that is immediately in
front of you. The best design doesn’t make
slower moments jar with the rest of an action-
packed level, either. Get that flow right, and
your entire game will feel more immersive,
engaging and memorable.
Does it work?
But how do you know whether you’ve nailed it
or not? The short answer is: testing, testing
and a lot more testing. Levels created at the
start of a game’s development cycle rarely
make it to the finished game without major
revisions – and many don’t make it at all. In
level design, you have to be willing to accept
when an idea just isn’t working. As Jason
McCord, the level designer at Respawn who’s
worked on classics such as Call Of Duty:
Modern Warfare 2 and the Titanfall series,
tells us, every level goes through a process of
“finding itself”.
“Early on there’s always a lot of iteration to
find the best gameplay hook, theme and tone.
At the start of a project, levels can change
many times as we try to find what makes the
new game unique and special. Many things
get thrown away or restarted.”
Cutting an idea might be painful, but, as
Arne Oehme says, it’s all about the big picture.
“We’ve started on so many things where you
write it on paper and it’s a beautiful dream,
and you put it on-screen and it doesn’t work,”
he explains. “This can go to the last moments
- you’re always editing, shortening, cutting
and making things more concise.”
But how do you know when things aren’t
working? Because level designers are so close
to their work – often spending hours tweaking
APEX LEGENDS – KINGS CANYON’S EVOLUTION
Version one
This is the first version of Kings
Canyon that was really playable –
three weeks into development.
Version two
Two weeks later, the team had added
new areas: Swamps, Thunderdome
and The Pit.Version three
Six months later, and the map got a
new art look. This version is still eight
months from launch.Version four
The current version of King’s Canyon
in Apex Legends – note that it’s been
rotated 90 degrees.ABOVE Respawn
had to think
about both Titan
and Pilot
mobility for
Titanfall’s maps.
LEFT Jason
McCord tells us
that each level
is built around
a “design goal”.068 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
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