Cgma Level Design

[Yamila Comejo]

Hellomy name is Valeria Petruzzelli. There is no much to say about myself. I am a very simple person but I can honestly say I am very driven by my passions. I was born in a small town in the south of Italy, in a large family. Since the young age, I have been very close to my family, especially my cousins that I consider as brothers. I have to thank them for my decision to undertake a career as a game designer. Every Christmas or afternoon we spent together we used to play video games and I started growing the desire to develop games to make other kids happy. Ever since I worked on several projects, many of them personal, to challenge myself and to try to turn my ideas into something concrete.

From my experience, linear levels are even more complex to design than highly structured level. There are many aspects to consider when creating levels for games, I base my ideas on what I want the player to feel when passing by these areas and how I achieve that feeling. If the player is about to face a challenge or a battle, I want the player to feel prepared or to expect a rapid change of events.

The environment is the strongest tool to talk to the player: a dangerous surrounding partially destroyed can lead the player to the idea that something unfriendly is nearby. Sharp shapes trigger the idea of danger, fear, and death in the human mind. If the environment is dark, inhospitable or seems dangerous it has been designed this way for the purpose of communicating a precise sensation and this indirectly pushes the player to be careful in moving forward. In this way, even a linear corridor can bring to the player feelings, allows them to spend more time in exploring the area, maybe looking for something that can be hidden somewhere and that can help them in surviving the next challenge in the game.

Every character is different and has abilities that define the gameplay mechanics. Analyzing the character and his behavior is a key passage and has to be a constant reference when designing the surroundings. The character has to belong to the environment. He has to move within the space feeling like the environment is there to support him during the adventure, making the experience sometimes harder, sometimes easier but always without putting him in front of insuperable obstacles.

A story is made of acts, a succession of actions that influences the events and involves choices and consequences. The environment can influence these choices. It can direct the player in the directions desired by the designer in order to progress in the story and not distract him from the final objective. Designers use weak points to stop the players from going out of the path and give them the chance to use the abilities to pass by an obstacle and progress in the game in the way they want it to be progressed.

Some games also introduced messages as part of the environment. A good example can be Good of War 4 that uses ancient signs to mark the platforms that can be climbed or the objects that can be used to progress.

As said before, when I design a level I base my project on the feelings that I want the player to feel while passing by an area. Tension, peace, danger, fear, joy are all implemented in the level with shapes and colors to make the player feel safe or not welcomed.

I usually consider the level design as theatrical representation. The plot is divided into acts and every act is divided into scenes. There are general lines that are a constant in the story but the locations change and so do the environments.

When designing a level, usually there are aspects of the environment that are always present and that the player considers constant. This does not preclude the fact that each district is different from the previous one, and has characteristics that make it unique and easily remembered by the player. The transition from one area to the next must be gradual: there must be references to the previous area but at the same time, there must be the introduction of new aspects, such as new shops or new enemies that inevitably distinguish a new chapter albeit partially linked to the previous one.

Hello, my name is Valeria Petruzzelli. There is no much to say about myself. I am a very simple person but I can honestly say I am very driven by my passions. I was born in a small town in the south of Italy, in a large family. Since a young age, I have been very close to my family, especially my cousins that I consider as brothers. I have to thank them for my decision to undertake a career as a game designer. Every Christmas or afternoon we spent together we used to play video games and I started growing the desire to develop games to make other kids happy. Ever since I worked on several projects, many of them personal, to challenge myself, and to try to turn my ideas into something concrete.

The environment is the strongest tool to talk to the player: a dangerous surrounding partially destroyed can lead the player to the idea that something unfriendly is nearby. Sharp shapes trigger the idea of danger, fear, and death in the human mind. If the environment is dark, inhospitable, or seems dangerous it has been designed this way for the purpose of communicating a precise sensation and this indirectly pushes the player to be careful in moving forward. In this way, even a linear corridor can bring to the player feelings, allows them to spend more time in exploring the area, maybe looking for something that can be hidden somewhere and that can help them in surviving the next challenge in the game.

I usually consider the level design as a theatrical representation. The plot is divided into acts and every act is divided into scenes. There are general lines that are a constant in the story but the locations change and so do the environments.

Once I have my notes and sketches, I hop into Unreal Engine and use basic cubes to get a rough blockout of the level. I also focus on the mechanics that are specific to that level, but only in a basic form.

Cons: To be included in your portfolio, it needs to really nail the feeling of the original game design you were inspired by. I have seen many examples that make the claim but feel nothing like the original.

Pros: You do not have to worry about creating assets like characters, environment art, sounds, etc. Many level editors also have communities where you can upload your work for feedback.

Cons: Not every studio releases a level editor. Most of them are first-person shooters and some are very old. If your portfolio is full of level editor pieces, it can be attractive to a narrow audience of studios who use similar tools, but no one else. A lot of the industry is switching to Unreal Engine or Unity, so you will still need to learn these.

Cons: This is a 10-week intensive course that requires a lot of work from you. Also, almost every level designer trying to break into the industry takes this course, so a portfolio that relies too heavily on CGMA work will not stand out to recruiters.

A streamlined portfolio also shows the hiring manager that you can get your ideas pitched effectively. No one at a game studio wants to read a 200-page document. They want to get straight to the meat of the idea.

I would tell you that at the end of the day, a level designer is a level designer. While studios may have different tools and workflows, generally the method of creating a level is similar. See the example below:

Even if you want to work on isometric games, a portfolio that also includes work from a third-person single-player game, a first-person shooter, and a multiplayer level will let you apply to a wider variety of studios, instead of banking everything on getting your dream job.

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