a campaign- based strategy game such asStarCraft,the levels or scenarios are defined
by maps accompanied by objectives players must accomplish, such as defend the
Terrans against the Protoss forces in this amount of time. In a racing game, a level
would be one of the tracks available in the game. In a sports game, say baseball, the
levels would be the different stadiums featured in the game. Here the difference
between the various levels is completely aesthetic, since in terms of play mechanics, a
baseball game played in Wrigley Field is only subtly different from one played in
Yankee Stadium.
Games such asCivilizationandSimCitydo have levels, but one key difference from
the games described above is that the entirety of a player’s game takes place on a single
level. The base level is also often randomly generated following carefully designed
rules, and from there it is largely the user’s responsibility to construct the level as she
plays. This is why these titles are often referred to as “builder” games. For these titles,
the authorship of the level is almost entirely abdicated to the players.
This chapter deals primarily with games that use pre-built levels that have a major
impact on the gameplay. Though sports titles and “builder” games may have levels,
their construction is left up to the artists and players respectively, and therefore is not
generally of concern to designers. For games likeDoom,Tomb Raider,Super Mario 64,
Maniac Mansion,Pac-Man,StarCraft, andFallout, however, the design of the levels has
everything to do with gameplay and therefore the designer must be intimately involved
with their creation.
Level Separation.............................
How a game is broken down into its component levels has a huge impact on the flow of
the game. Players often play a game a level at a time. If a parent announces dinner while
a child is playing a game, that child is likely to beg to be allowed to “just finish this
level.” In console games, frequently players can only save their game between levels,
Chapter 23: Level Design 451
Joustmade simple
changes to its
game-world to produce
different levels.