Mike Chapman, Sea Of Thieves
“Don’t overlook working on paper –
designing 2D level maps is often the
best place to start!”Jason McCord, Apex Legends
“Break rules, try new approaches and
chase what’s fun. If something starts to
feel different from the way other games
do it, you just might be onto something.”Hamish Lockwood, Yooka-Laylee
“Games with a level editor are really good
for practice. If you can make a good
level, that design experience will
translate to any software.”Gwenaël Massé, Dead Cells
“There are a lot of very good references
and talks on level design available on
the internet. They are a great source
of inspiration!”WE ASK DESIGNERS FOR THEIR
TIPS ON HOW TO GET STARTED
WITH MAKING LEVELS
WANT TO BE A
LEVEL DESIGNER?based on those expectations. They don’t
always play out the way I designed, but that’s
what makes battle royale so compelling.”
Going big
As McCord notes, without that level of control,
and in a world that large, player autonomy is
the biggest obstacle when it comes to level
design. How do you predict what someone will
try to do in your game? For Rare’s Mike Chapman,
design director on Sea Of Thieves, the answer
is to make your world easy to understand
and navigate. “Designing a truly open world
involves a set of unique creative challenges
when compared with a more linear or guided
experience,” he muses. “One of the most
important elements to consider is how players
perceive large open spaces. Using height
and verticality carefully provides players with
orientation points to help them as they explore.”
For Rare, making islands human-proof was
just as important – especially when players
can fire themselves out of cannons and reach
inaccessible areas. But being able to reach a
clifftop isn’t the only consideration. Because
Sea Of Thieves is built to be an evolving world,
the islands need to be ready to adapt.
“The fascinating part about the island
design of Sea Of Thieves, especially compared
to traditional level design approach, is that
each of the spaces needs to be able to play
host to a wide range of experiences. Players
will visit the islands countless times, but each
visit might be in a different context.”
So next time you’re blasting through a
game, and you get a respite in the action,
take some time to consider what might have
gone into the level you’re on. Without these
fine architects creating great stages, games
just wouldn’t be as awesome. QABOVE & LEFT Sea
Of Thieves’
islands have to
be built with
future updates
in mind.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 071