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Level design or game mapping is the creation of levels—locales, stages, or missions—for a video game (such as a console game or computer game). This is done using level design tools, special software usually developed just for the purpose of building levels. In computer and video games, a level (sometimes called a stage, course, episode, round, world, map, wave, board, phase, or landscape) is a separate area in a games virtual world, in modern games typically representing a specific location such as a building or a city. ...
This article is about computer and video games. ...
A console game is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment. ...
A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ...
Level design is a process used in the majority of video games in a variety of genres, such as platform games, puzzle games, adventure games, computer role-playing games and even driving games. Most of the coverage of the discipline in widely available media such as the Internet relates solely to level creation for first person shooter (FPS) or real time strategy (RTS) games. Only in the last ten years or so has the actual separation of labor occurred that has allowed the job of level designer to come into being, and in the last three or four years the job of level designer itself has often been subdivided into level artist, level designer and scripter. Platform game, or platformer, is a video game genre characterized by the character having to climb up and down, or jump from and to, platforms and ledges, while fighting enemies and collecting objects required to complete the game. ...
Computer puzzle game is a genre of computer games that emphasize puzzle solving. ...
Adventure is a genre of video game typified by exploration, puzzle-solving, interaction with game characters, and a focus on narrative rather than reflex-based challenges. ...
Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply (RPGs), are a type of computer and video games that use traditional gameplay elements found in pen-and-paper role-playing games. ...
A racing game is any game that involves competing in races through a surrogate playing piece or vehicle, either getting it from one point to another or completing a number of circuits in the shortest time. ...
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a computer or video game where the players on-screen view of the game world simulates that of the character, and there is some element of shooting involved. ...
Dune 2 (1992), an early RTS A real-time strategy (RTS) game is a type of computer strategy game which does not have turns like conventional turn-based strategy video or board games. ...
A level designer is a person who creates levels, challenges or missions for computer and/or video games using a specific set of programs. ...
 Level layout is crucial in puzzle games
 Pinball games have tightly-packed entities and a death zone
 Ammo and door entities in a FPS
 Cliffs, bridges, and water are important in RTS maps
 Level design techniques are used for non-graphical games too
 Storyline expressed through level layout in adventure games Image File history File links Shot21. ...
Image File history File links Shot21. ...
Image File history File links MD_Lemmings. ...
Image File history File links MD_Lemmings. ...
Screenshot of Metroid Prime Pinball, taken from Gamespot. ...
Screenshot of Metroid Prime Pinball, taken from Gamespot. ...
Image File history File links Doom_Level. ...
Image File history File links Doom_Level. ...
Image File history File links Red_Alert_level. ...
Image File history File links Red_Alert_level. ...
Screenshot taken by the contributor. ...
Screenshot taken by the contributor. ...
A screenshot from the CD-ROM release of The Secret of Monkey Island This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ...
A screenshot from the CD-ROM release of The Secret of Monkey Island This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ...
Process There are several steps involved in laying out a map, not necessarily performed in a specific linear order. Different game genres may have very different steps, according to the different game features available. General steps include: This is a listing of computer and video game genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ...
- laying out the larger design of the map by sculpting out hills, rooms, tunnels, etc. for players to move around in
- specifying certain regions where specific activities or behaviors occur (resource harvesting, base building, water regions, etc)
- specifying other entities in the map (such as monsters, monster spawn points, ladders, coins, resource nodes, ammo and health, weapons, save points, etc)
- specifying which part of levels move, locations of doors, keys/buttons and associated locked doors, teleporters, and hidden passageways
- specifying the start and exit locations for one or more players
- adding realism by filling in with details such as level-specific graphic textures, sounds, lighting and music
- often advanced techniques are required, such as scripting, where certain actions by the player trigger specified events
- the path that non-player characters take as they walk around, the actions they will take in response to specific triggers, and any dialog they might have with the player
Cut scenes may be triggered by events in a level, but require distinctly different skills, and may be created by a different person or team. This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...
Scripting programming languages (commonly called scripting languages or script languages) are computer programming languages designed for scripting the operation of a computer. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
A cut scene or cutscene (sometimes also referred to as a cinematic) is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no control. ...
History MUDs were one of the first games that required significant amounts of time to design areas. Often, promoted users were assigned to create new paths, new rooms, new equipment, and new actions, often using the game interface itself. ZZT was another early game notable for its user-accessible mapping and event triggers/scripting, and it still is one of the gentlest ways to introduce a person to level layout. In computer gaming, a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon or Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash style computer games and social instant messaging chat rooms. ...
ZZT is an ASCII-based computer game, created in 1991 by Tim Sweeney, of Epic Games, who later designed Unreal. ...
Once game modding become popular, individuals became very interested in designing unique levels. Some of the best tools and most mapping expertise became associated with games that were designed to be easily modified. Doom and Doom II were one of the first games to attract focused modding activity, and many WAD files were made for it. Half-Life, Quake 3, and many other games have notable mapping tools and communities that formed around them. 2004 Banshee car modification for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - replacement of original Banshee by Suction Testicle Man Mod or modification is a term generally applied to computer games, especially first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. ...
WAD (Wheres All Data?) is the file format used by the computer game Doom and the many other games based on the Doom engine to store data such as levels and graphics. ...
Half-Life For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. ...
Quake III Arena or Quake 3, abbreviated as Q3A or Q3, is a multiplayer first-person shooter released on December 2, 1999. ...
In certain games, such as NetHack, some levels may be randomly-generated. In these cases, it is the original programmer who controls how the shapes of rooms and tunnels are formed, by tweaking the randomized algorithms. NetHack is a roguelike computer game originally released in 1987. ...
Goals Good level design strives to bring out the best gameplay in a game, provide an immersive experience, and sometimes to advance the storyline.
Good use of textures and sounds can go a long way towards convincing players they're walking through a lush tropical forest or crawling inside a wet gloomy cave.
Maps can impact gameplay to a certain extent. Maps are capable of turning many types of games into a platformer (by careful placement of platforms) or a puzzle game (by extensive use of buttons, keys, and doors). Some FPS maps may be designed to largely prevent sniping by not including any long hallways, while other maps may allow for a mix of sniping and closer combat. Most RTS maps give each player a starting base, but will have resources and terrain that are designed to draw players out of their base and actively encourage players to engage each other. Team game maps can give a noticeable advantage to one team over another, when designed poorly. Looking through a USMC sniper rifles scope at a practice range at Camp Hansen The same USMC sniper team, with a M40 Sniper Rifle (2004) The term sniper is attested from 1824 in the sense of sharpshooter. The verb to snipe originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India...
Gimmick maps are sometimes created to explore a specific narrow type of gameplay, such as sniping or fist fighting. While they are briefly interesting to level designers and experienced players alike, they are not usually included in final polished games because of their limited replay value.
Notable details Some levels have features that the casual player will likely never see, but are interesting enough to be discovered and documented by dedicated gamers.
Level designers sometimes create hidden rooms and areas. These usually give some additional rewards, such as ammo or powerups, for players who figure out how to reach them. Sometimes, they serve as easter eggs, containing messages such as the level designers' names or pictures, or political or humorous messages. For example, Quake has many secret areas that reward the player with ammo, weapons, quad damage powerups, and like, and in one hard-to-reach secret areas, Dopefish makes an appearance. A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ...
Zombies attacking the player. ...
Several poses of the Dopefish, accompanied by its far less famous cousin, the Schoolfish. ...
There are many map bugs that level designers try to avoid, but sometimes go unnoticed for some time. A player might be able to get stuck in a hole with no way out, or even a way to die. A player might be able to find a specific spot where they don't have to move to gain experience, because monsters are constantly spawned but can be easily killed in a single-file line. In multiplayer maps, it's problematic if a player is able to reach visible areas of the map that the level designer didn't expect them to go, for example, reaching a rooftop where players aren't usually able to go, and camping there (waiting other players and killing them unexpectedly). In the worst case, a player might be able to drop "outside" of a map where other players can't reach them. Experience points (often abbreviated as exp or xp) are a representation of a characters advancement and improvement in skills in role-playing games. ...
Camping is computer gaming jargon for the practice of a player staying in one area of the game world waiting for enemies or useful objects to appear or to come to the player rather than actively seeking them out. ...
In some cases, specific mapping tools can be designed to automatically detect problems such as falling "outside" a level, and reaching "stuck" areas. Careful level designers run these tools as the last step before releasing a new version of their level.
In most cases, the best way to improve a map is by playtesting it with experienced players, and allowing them to try to exploit any problems.
Tools A wide variety of specific tools may be used by someone designing a level. While it is sometimes faster to design shapes and textures with general multimedia creation tools, specific games usually require the data to be in a unique format. Because of this, many specific compilers, and converters of shape, texture, audio data may be required to lay out a level.
Some level editors for PC games include Valve's Hammer Editor, Epic's UnrealEd, Leadwerks 3D World Studio, BioWare's Aurora Toolset and id Software's Q3Radiant. Multi engine, multi game editors include id Software's GtkRadiant, based on Q3Radiant, and the open source QuArK. An example of a console game with a level editor is TimeSplitters, developed by Free Radical Design. Sometimes, professional 3D editing software, such as 3D Studio Max, AutoCAD, Lightwave, Maya or XSI is used, usually customised with a special plugin developed for the specific game. UnrealEd is the level editor for Epics Unreal series of first-person shooters. ...
Valve Software is a Bellevue, Washington-based video game developer made famous by its first product, Half-Life, which was released in November 1998. ...
VHE is provided as part of the Source SDK. Valve Hammer Editor, formerly known as Worldcraft and now commonly called Hammer, is Valve Softwares map creation program for their first-person shooter computer game Half-Life and for all of its mods, sequels, and expansions. ...
Epic Games, formerly known as Epic MegaGames and also known as Epic, is a computer game development company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. ...
viewing the Unreal Tournament 2004 map Facing Worlds 3. UnrealEd (UEd for short) is the easy to use level design software used to create levels for Unreal, other games in the Unreal series, and games based on the Unreal engine, such as Deus Ex, although it has changed along with...
3D World Studio is a map/level editor for use with Torque Game Engine, DarkBasic Pro, and Blitz3D. The program was developed by Leadwerks. ...
BioWare Corp. ...
The Aurora toolset is included in the game Neverwinter Nights, allowing players to create their own adventures and share them with others by using a module (a game made in the toolkit), potentially more advanced than the campaign included with the game. ...
id Software (IPA: /ɪd sɔft. ...
GtkRadiant is a level design program developed by id Software and Loki Software. ...
GtkRadiant is a level design program developed by id Software and Loki Software. ...
Quarks are one of the two basic constituents of matter in the Standard Model of particle physics. ...
It has been suggested that Duckman Drake be merged into this article or section. ...
The companys original logo (1998-2006) Free Radical Design is a video game developer, based in Nottingham, England. ...
The rewrite of this article is being devised at Talk:3D computer graphics/Temp. ...
3D Studio Max (sometimes called 3DS Max, 3DS MAX, 3ds Max, 3ds MAX, or just MAX) is a 3D modeler developed by Autodesk Media & Entertainment (formerly known as Discreet and Kinetix). ...
AutoCAD 2006 drawing. ...
LightWave (or, more properly, LightWave 3D) is a computer graphics program for 3D modeling, rendering, and animation. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Softimage|XSI is a high-end three-dimensional (3D) graphics application developed by Softimage, Co. ...
A plugin (or plug-in) is a computer program that can, or must, interact with another program to provide a certain, usually very specific, function. ...
Sources Natural Selection (NS, NaSe) is a modification for the computer game Half-Life. ...
See also This is a hierarchical list linking to all articles related to computer and video games. ...
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