10 replies to this topic

[Lukasmah]

Not sure in which forum this should go, so I'm placing it here. If some moderator sees it, please move it where it belongs.

I'm working with Hello engine 5.1. I'm trying to make a Mario game. Coding isn't the problem, I allready added some stuff. I have some trouble with making graphics, but I can just get some Mario sprites online, or Modify sprties when needed. I can get tiles too, too. No problem with music due o this being a fangame, and I can easily get Mario music online. But I have one problem: level design. I can't just get a level designer, because of some reasons which are of no imortance and will mention them if someone asks. I could use some tips for good level design. The biggest trouble is the difficulty curve. I just don't know how to make levels to follow it.

[Neon00]

My suggestion is to look up some Super Mario levels and see how they're designed then make your levels off of the generic Super Mario levels.

[Jack Indie Box]

just google good level design. but really its all about creativity and ALOT of play testing if you want good ones

[Saijee]

I would suggest looking at Super Mario World hacks.
Raocow does a bunch of vids showcasing them:

[Nathaniel]

when i get stumped on level design i just break out my old consoles (or an emulator ) and play through some of my childhood favourites.take an idea and mould it into your own and use abilities to thier best. for example if you have a wall jump or something make good use of levels design with wall jump in mind.

[Sirosky]

If you have the time, you can consider making a level editor. I mean, given that your skills are adequate, it shouldn't take too long.

[TsukaYuriko]

Level design and its effect on the game has many different parts: Fun factor, difficulty factor, beauty factor... those are the ones that immediately pop into my head.

Fun factor: Is the level fun to play? If you re-use the same design elements over and over, the game will start to seem boring. (Pro tip: Using the Hello Engine is frowned upon and will make most potential players go "ah, just another Hello Engine game". This usually applies for most games, but I've seen it happening especially with the Hello Engine.)
This factor is connected to the difficulty factor a lot. If your level is too hard, it will frustrate players. If it's too easy, they will get bored. The best way to test whether your game is fun to play? Let others play it and ask them to tell you whether they had fun playing. Ask them to specifically write down which levels they thought were fun (and vice-versa). You could even ask them to write down whether they liked certain sections of levels (maybe ask them about rooms instead of levels, if your levels consist of more than one room, to keep the work load smaller) so you can get a general idea of what you should do again (not copying it exactly!) and what to avoid in the future.

Difficulty factor: Is the difficulty of the level fitting? We don't want lava pits or spike balls in world 1 (excluding castles), for example. Again, if you want to know whether a level is too easy or too hard, let others play the level and let them give feedback.

Beauty factor: Is the level pleasant to look at while playing? Clashing graphics or missing tiles are two things which totally kill this factor. If you can't spot them yourself, ask others to test your levels. The usual.


Conclusion: There is no guide to learning how to design good levels that I am aware of, just a few guidelines. But those guidelines won't make you perfect. Judging your game yourself will obviously give you a biased opinion, so in the end, it's always best to get a bunch of (good!) betatesters to test your game and give feedback, based on which you can improve your design skills. You DON'T want betatesters who simply tell you "nice game". You want betatesters who tell you "Level 1 was a bit too hard for the first level. I suggest you swap the fire-spitting piranha plants for normal ones. Also, the pipe maze was really confusing. I spent a couple of minutes figuring out which pipes led to the exit. Not fitting for the first level, either. Finally, it was way too long for a first level. In fact, it took me seven minutes to beat it. I was expecting it to take around one or two minutes, but seven is way too much. You could turn the underground section into level 2, the length of it seems appropriate. But one thing: Take out a few of the endless pits. I died twice because I mistimed a jump. In level 1.".

Okay, maybe my betatester example was a bit more detailed than what you should expect, but try to find a betatester who is willing to actually write a report of his testing. Throwing in a few mistakes intentionally (which I do in my own games when releasing them for betatesting) is a good way to check whether your betatesters are paying attention (or even playing your game at all!).

Edited by TsukaYuriko, 22 June 2012 - 11:48 PM.

[Lukasmah]

If you have the time, you can consider making a level editor. I mean, given that your skills are adequate, it shouldn't take too long.

Don't worry, I don't need one. Im pretty much using game maker, so I can build levels using it. It's not like I'm making a game in C, java etc.

Oh, and TsukaYuriko, those are some good tips, have a .

EDIT: Wasted my daily quota, will rep this later.

Edited by Lukasmah, 23 June 2012 - 08:08 AM.

[PoniesForPeace]

Throwing in a few mistakes intentionally (which I do in my own games when releasing them for betatesting) is a good way to check whether your betatesters are paying attention (or even playing your game at all!).

Ah, this is a good idea!

[Lukasmah]

BUMP

[Jack Indie Box]

why you bumping? youve had plenty of ideas given to you. you have to do the designing yourself, trial and error is the best way.