The creation and layout of the individual rooms/stages/sections in which the game takes place in.
3
votes
5answers
372 views
Player choices affecting a massive online world
Current generation MMOs are pretty static in that choices don't really affect the world for more than the scope of one or two quests -- but that doesn't give you a good sense of immersion, simply a ...
2
votes
1answer
142 views
Level design: compute minimum time between two items for player traversal
Do any game toolsets offer a means of computing the minimum time it would take a player to move between two objects (or positions, more generally) in a level? I'm not asking about how one would go ...
-1
votes
1answer
210 views
Need ideas on how to give my levels structure
I am making an iOS game for a project at school. It is going to be a tiny bit like Fruit Ninja, as in it will have different things on the screen, and when you hit them, they die, and you get points. ...
1
vote
3answers
482 views
Quality Current Free UDK Tutorials?
I'm just getting started with the UDK, with experience in Unity, and would like a good tutorial series about getting to know my way around the basics of level design and a touch on programming. I have ...
3
votes
3answers
261 views
Algorithm for generating levels for shooting game
I have a shooting game made in Java. It's based on time, i.e you have to shoot the objects before the time runs out. Everything is working fine, except that I'm trying to implement an algorithm to ...
8
votes
6answers
677 views
How can I store all my level data in a single file instead of spread out over many files?
I am currently generating my level data, and saving to disk to ensure that any modifications done to the level are saved.
I am storing "chunks" of 2048x2048 pixels into a file. Whenever the player ...
0
votes
1answer
852 views
I need an enemy spawning algorithm for a 2D tower defense
I need an enemies spawning algorithm for a 2D tower defense game. I have 4 maps, each has 4 stages and each stage has 40 rounds. I need to create an algorithm which will instantiate waves, increase ...
1
vote
2answers
298 views
Portal 2 mapping dimensions and measurments
I am wanting to start building a portal 2 map for single player mode.
I have used the hammer world editor before but not for portal.
As far as portals are concerned will the distance I drop ...
-4
votes
2answers
206 views
Designing Levels For any Odd Games
What advice, methods, practices, etc. can be given to help me design levels for any odd game, and also know if that game should have levels?
Update:
For 3d Games I found this: Level Design Tips
But ...
14
votes
3answers
624 views
Is there a rule of thumb to scale up the environment by 33%?
I was reading an article on Gamasutra called A Rational Approach to Racing Game Track Design, and I found the following:
A commonly acknowledged rule for third person games is
that the ...
3
votes
2answers
403 views
Visual Design for AI
i'm developing an editor for a game...
and tonight i have been thinking about implement a visual ai designer...
this is how i think it should be:
What kind of visual components are used in ...
3
votes
1answer
532 views
Can world depth be achieved in a side scroller?
I tend to build games with strong stories, which usually involves quite an indepth world environment. Typically I develope typical 2.5 over head view JRPG style (think Zelda, Final Fantasy 3, etc) ...
6
votes
1answer
359 views
How should I approach architecting a data-driven shoot-em-up?
I'm venturing into Mobile/Tablet based development coming from the world of Web Applications.
I want to write a game similar to 1942/43 video game from the 80's:
...similar in the sense that I have ...
7
votes
4answers
288 views
Level design community help?
I'm developing a 2D physics platformer game, with commercial purposes. Almost everything is finished:
An original game concept
The whole 2D self-written game engine
A level interpreter to read xml ...
3
votes
1answer
283 views
Looping 3D environment in shmups
So I was watching Ikaruga:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj23K8Ri68E
And then raystorm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ4V0G5ykAg
After looking at their 3D backgrounds for a little bit, it appears ...
15
votes
6answers
767 views
What are some techniques for designing fun, challenging Mario-style platformer levels?
I have everything I need to make a Mario type game. I just have no idea how to design the levels to make it challenging or fun. Any tips?
The only way to kill enemies is by jumping on them, so I ...
10
votes
2answers
3k views
Heightmap, Voxel, Polygon (geometry) terrains
In relation to Heightmap, Voxel and Polygon (geometry) terrains:
What are the main differences between all these three?
Can you form a "smooth" terrain with Voxels, I mean, can you for example get a ...
20
votes
3answers
936 views
Making walls in tile-based games: what am I missing?
After spending time today to jot down some notes regarding the implementation of walls into my tile-based game, I've suddenly realized it's not going to be as simple as I imagined before. While the ...
12
votes
1answer
780 views
Programming a climbing system like tomb raider
I was wondering if anyone knew or had knowledge of how to program a climbing system like the one found in tomb raider/uncharted.
I had thought of just having bounding boxes at all the climbable ...
17
votes
5answers
631 views
Level Design, Implying a path to the player
I am looking for articles on level design and particularly for techniques to imply a direction the player to go in, instead of another.
Like which game mechanics can be used, how graphics, sound, ...
23
votes
6answers
3k views
What 3D level development tools are available to indie developers?
People who build in Unity or UDK have immediate access to a 3D level editor. People who build their games in XNA or from scratch have no such thing. I'm looking for 3D level development tools ...
8
votes
4answers
719 views
Which is better, one big level model or multiple smaller level models?
I am writing a game in XNA 4 and I want to have something like a corridor. Do you think that is better to use one big and solid model, or to use multiple small parts (window, stairs, door...)?
3
votes
3answers
2k views
Voxel heightmap terrain editor
I've recently been experimenting with a simple Voxel-based 3d engine (think Minecraft) which uses heightmaps to define terrain in the following format:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heightmap
Does ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
What good books are there on level design?
I am trying to learn a bit of level design. The type of game I am most interested is 2D puzzle games similar to Cut The Rope for iPad. However, literature on general level-design for different genres ...
2
votes
3answers
313 views
Level Design V.S. Modeler
From what I understand being a level designer and a character/environment/object/etc Modeler are two different jobs, yet sometimes it feels like a Modeler can also do the job of the level designer. I ...
5
votes
3answers
373 views
Game/Level Design Career translations in other fields
Although I would love to get a job in the gaming industry I can't help but feel I should have a backup plan. What I wanted to ask is game/level design a marketable skill that translates to other ...
3
votes
2answers
997 views
Simple puzzles in platform games
I'm working on simple platformer game. I've got already finished programming the main part of game, which is moving and collecting items.
I want a unique game puzzle in every level, but I can't ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Question about top down/side scrolling!
I know that its just the background that scrolls and the player pretty much stays centered. What I am wondering what technique is more correct when I am implementing a large side scrolling map (I am ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
How do you structure a 2D level format with collisions etc. in Java (Slick 2D)?
I am developing a game in Java. 2D Fighter, Kind of like the 2d flash game Raze(http://armorgames.com/play/5395/raze). I currently am using the Slick 2D game library and am researching how to ...
-1
votes
1answer
1k views
Code Structure / Level Design: Plants vs Zombies game level dissection
I am interested in learning the class structure of Plants vs Zombies, particularly level design; for those who haven't played it - this video contains nice play-through: ...
9
votes
4answers
3k views
Drawing large 2D sidescroller level terrain
I'm a relatively good programmer but now that it comes to add some basic levels to my 2D game I'm kinda stuck.
What I want to do: An acceptable, large (8000 * 1000 pixels) "green hills" test level ...
2
votes
4answers
164 views
Looking for games in environments similar to a pinball table
I'm on a team of students working on a third-person adventure game that takes place inside a pinball machine (like, small scale, on the surface, avoiding pinballs, etc).
One of my responsibilities on ...
1
vote
2answers
554 views
What are some good resources on creating and reading 2D game levels in Java?
Could some resources be listed in relation to the creation and management of simplistic, efficient 2D game levels, that are available for use with Java?
7
votes
4answers
505 views
Recursive dungeon maps as represented by an elastic 2d array
I came up with a method for recursively generating simple dungeon maps by starting with one room and recursively connecting new adjacent rooms randomly to it.
Maps are represented as two dimensional ...
4
votes
1answer
607 views
Typical Method Of Building Puzzle Levels
I am designing a puzzle game for the iphone and was wondering as most puzzle games consist of the player progressing through multiple levels. You see for example Angry Birds has over 100 levels.
Once ...
5
votes
1answer
651 views
Random generation of interesting puzzle levels?
I'm making a Sokoban-like game i.e. there's a grid that has some crates on it you can push and you have to get the crates on crosses to win the level (although I'm going to add some extra elements to ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views
Procedural terrains in 3D: what has been done ? Are there common algo and/or theories about it?
Besides programming, modeling an environment takes a great deal of time.
I don't know about the work time involved, for example, in a WoW dungeon level, or other beautiful city-like, future ...
2
votes
1answer
364 views
What tools are available for creating 3D collision and pathfinding data?
What is the process of creating geometry data to assist on NPCs movements and such on a 3D world to avoiding having them from going through the ground, etc? Are there specific modelling programs that ...
0
votes
4answers
691 views
Creating Level iPhone
I am thinking about a new game idea for the iPhone and presumably all the levels would have to be made programatically. So Im wondering what the best method to approach it?
Say I have a game with a ...
13
votes
6answers
1k views
Recommended RPG game that can be used to learn game Modding? [closed]
I would like to learn game development via game modding. RPG/MMORPG is one of my favorite genres. Could someone recommend me a good and recent ( I would like to play the game as well) game to learn ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
How do you create your levels containing curved slopes in Box2d?
I have just started developing games for iPhone in Cocos2d and am currently working on a Box2D prototype. I know this is not an easy start, but I have experience in the AS3 port of the physics engine. ...
3
votes
1answer
935 views
How does a game like Doodlejump generate its “level”?
How does the game Doodlejump for iphone generate its stage? Are the platforms randomized in some way? If so, how do they make sure it doesn't generate impossible combinations?
If it's not ...
0
votes
3answers
413 views
Is there a leveling guide somewhere?
I am designing a simple game and am looking for some help designing different level/ranks. For instance, starting from "Novice" to "Intermediate" to "Master". Is there are repository somewhere that ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
2d map: how to manage it?
i'm developing a 2d game (top down), and i'm a beginner.
Now, i've to create a map, with object (to interact with) ...
I don't know how to .. manage the problem !
Does anyone can help me ? What are ...
4
votes
4answers
876 views
Tile editor for flash based games?
I am trying to make the age-old version of pacman. And only then that I realized that I need to spend a heck lot of time for making the tile matrix itself. It gets messy more and more.
I've also ...
4
votes
1answer
245 views
Use of solid brushes and CSG in level building
Since Quake 1 (I think it was the first), level design tools for FPS games have used solid brushes and CSG operations to define level geometry instead of more conventional poly modeling tools you see ...
10
votes
5answers
3k views
2D Level design/editing/saving questions
I thought about making a simple 2D Sidescroller game like SuperMario.
Then i wondered about how to save, load or create the levels for the game. The first thing i thought of was drawing a simple ...
3
votes
3answers
364 views
How to do an infinite torus topology battlefield for over-the-shoulder perspective
I'm currently prototyping a simple two-player adversarial game, where the players are able to move around and shoot at each other with cannons. I would like the playing area to feel essentially ...
16
votes
5answers
1k views
Enemy Spawning method in a Top-Down Shooter
I'm working on a top-down shooter akin to DoDonPachi, Ikaruga, etc. The camera movement through the world is handled automatically with the player able to move inside of the camera's visible region.
...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
How to create an endless scrolling background?
I need to add a scrolling background to a my game, the image is 512x512px. It's for a car game with two way traffic and I want to be able to cross over to the opposite side and drive against the ...
