One thing I notice is that with game development becoming an easier process each day one thing is for certain… There must be ways to differentiate one’s game from all of the others in the same genre and beyond. As a lifelong gamer, one thing I notice is that complex levels with puzzles, hidden areas and special achievements. Often time one way to determine how great a game is not based on its mechanics, but based on how the levels were created.
So, I know some jaws may or may not be dropping, so I shall go on and discuss the pros and cons of creating a randomly/self-generated map. A couple of months ago I played Wastelands Kings, it had randomly-generated maps and the game did seem fresh, nevertheless; it was pretty polished. Please note, WK is a top-down shooter game, and thus can have a little wiggle-room to be more tolerant for randomly generated maps. I say, before you create a randomly generated game, ask yourself this one simple question, “How many of my top 10-games had randomly-generated maps” and let that guide you.
I just received my Backer GCW-Zero and the mail and it came with some nice retro-games and one thing that I noticed is that these games are awesome, not because they’re retro, but because they’re level designers paid glorious attention to detail and possibly tested the level out a few times too. I say, if I apply these solid directions of level-creating, than Fields of Fresh (my current game project) will flourish well.
So before you go all out on your physics engine, nextGen graphics, be sure your levels are full of awesomeness. I hope this article was common sense, but I meant it to be an encouragement and reminder to not cheap on this core feature of a game.
About the author:
Nathan Hurde, aka theweirdn8 is a busy guy, running a game development team, a site where people can post and search for free things in their area and a tech blog.
Interesting Articles From Other Sites
- Do video game makers owe it to players to keep them from getting addicted? (washingtonpost.com)
- The essential checklist for making an awesome video game (gamasutra.com)
- Entry 16: Level Design (arseniyshved.wordpress.com)
