Is there a leveling guide somewhere?

Question

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 records these from various games? For instance, from World of Warcraft, Diablo etc. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I think what makes a good game is the unique idea and design, so no real "rule" should be copied.

But as @DrDeth writes, there are plenty Wikis and sites dedicated to that. Try to ask more detailed/specific questions in this forum, as we will probarbly be better at solving problems than supplying complete solutions. (hench we all need to to a bit of work ourselfs).

To give you something usefull or idea to something I have the following suggestion for a very primitive level guide (feel free to copy my idea or build upon it, thats why I write it here):

Experience/levels

First I would decide an offset-value. Lets call this "offset". Secondly I would figure out some "double up" kinda value. We could call this "factor".

Here are some sample values to show what I think:

• offset = 1000
• factor = 1.37

My algoritme would be: level = (previous level * factor) + offset

This is how the table would look from those numbers (Level 0 starts at 0 exp):

1. Level (1000 exp) (Level 0=(0 * 1.37) + offset value which is 1000)
2. Level (2370 exp) (level 1 * 1.37 + 1000)
3. Level (4247 exp) (level 2 * 1.37 + 1000)
4. Level (6818 exp) (level 3 * 1.37 + 1000)
5. Level (10341 exp) (level 4 * 1.37 + 1000)
6. Level (15167 exp) (level 5 * 1.37 + 1000)
7. Level (21779 exp) (level 6 * 1.37 + 1000)
8. Level (30837 exp) (level 7 * 1.37 + 1000)

Thats just a sample with sample values, my idea here is that you can replace both offset and factor and use this with any weapon, skill, ability, scroll, shield or monsters or what ever... very easy to calculate and scale for you.

And very easy to put into tables for quick lookup.

Do you find this usefull or? please mark or comment any questions.

Answer 2

For each of the games you've mentioned, there are extensive wikis and sites dedicated to them where you can find info on the rankings, levels and requirements.

However, levels and rankings are usually tied into the base system used in the game and so when designing your own you may find it more helpful to look at role playing systems as a whole.

Here is a good resource to start with: Open Game Systems

Answer 3

Levels give players a sense of achievement that comes in a nicely wrapped box (as opposed to level-less game systems). If you want to include levels in your game design, there are some considerations.

1. Levels are an achievement
   You should get a fair amount at each level, and every few levels you should be able to unlock new abilities and powers. DnD 4E (this isn't the real one, but I couldn't find the real one)
2. Levels offer a quick gauge of power and difficulty
   A player with a level 3 character knows he's not going to take down a level 20 monster. This also helps group quest difficulty and tailor suitable equipment for the character.

That being said, a guide to making your own table should consider how long a character should take at a given level to progress, and set the XP values of monsters at that level. Again, DnD 4e has a pretty good example.

The tables themselves often feel a bit arbitrary once you write them down. The important thing is that you tailor the appropriate monsters for the character at that level.