or switched for other textures, and polygon faces can be adjusted to better represent
the visual effect the team is trying to achieve. Indeed, level design work has become so
labor intensive that many design teams have started passing off the aesthetic pass to
the art team, a technique used in the development of bothHaloandHalf-Life 2. Regard-
less of who is doing the aesthetic work, the level designer must be fully aware of the
effects changes in the level’s appearance will have on the gameplay.
Balancing It All..............................
Because a good level must balance action, exploration, puzzle solving, storytelling, and
aesthetics, the work of the level designer is a bit of a balancing act. Even if the level may
look better a certain way, how does that impact the story being told? Do the story
requirements for the level mean that it cannot have much in the way of combat? How
important is combat to the game, and can the level survive without it? Is the quantity of
puzzle elements in the level preventing players from being able to enjoy exploring it?
The action, exploration, puzzle solving, storytelling, and aesthetic qualities of a game
level all have interdependencies, which the level designer must be constantly aware of
and be constantly maintaining. The price of good level design is eternal vigilance.
Level Flow..................................
For different types of games, what a level is expected to accomplish changes signifi-
cantly. Consider action/exploration games such asSuper Mario 64,Tomb Raider,or
Doom. Though the gameplay in these three games is significantly different, the func-
tions the levels serve in each are remarkably similar. In all these games, players
customarily play through the level from a distinct beginning point to a separate end
point. A big part of playing the level is exploring the spaces it contains, and as a result,
once players have played through the level, it is significantly less fun to play a second
time. Furthermore, any encounters players might have with characters or adversaries
in these levels are carefully predetermined and set up by the level designer. Every time
players play such a level, they will have roughly the same gameplay experience as the
last time they played it. The flow of the level is more or less linear, with perhaps only a
few choices of how to get from point A to point B.
RPGs offer roughly the same flow pattern as the action/exploration games dis-
cussed above, but with a bit more non-linearity. The designer usually intends for
players to navigate to a particular location in a particular way. RPGs may tend to be a bit
more non-linear than action/adventure games, usually allowing players to choose the
order in which different actions can be performed. Often “hub” style gameplay allows
players to branch off on different adventures while returning to a central location, such
as a town. Players may also stay in the town to hone their skills for as long as they like.
In the end, though, RPGs offer similar level flow as action/adventure titles.
In a level from a strategy game such asWarCraftorCivilization, however, the
action is less canned and the level flow is less clearly defined.WarCraftandCivilization
may be as different from each other asSuper Mario 64andDoom, but the way they use
their levels is the same. Exploration is not such a central part of the enjoyment of these
strategy games, and the battles may take place on any part of the map. Different loca-
tions may provide specific strategic advantages when used correctly, but battles can
460 Chapter 23: Level Design