作者：Eric Schwarz

我曾经花费了一整年的时间进行游戏关卡设计，最后总结出的观点便是，游戏关卡设计是一个不断变化与迭代的过程。不论我使用的是何种工具或者我所创造的关卡理念是什么，如果我们希望最终获得好结果，就必须尽己所能地完善它。

通常，关卡设计的出发点都是相类似的：玩家必须从A点前进到B点，或者必须打败敌人X，或者在一个自由的领域进行探索。不论游戏属于什么类型，设计关卡的出发点必须受到目标的驱动，即游戏玩法是基于关卡如何促进并影响玩家追求这些目标。

然而，你不仅要有明确的出发点，还必须考虑到任何可能的最终结果，并且深知到达这个结果必须经历一个冗长而又痛苦的过程，你可能需要一直重复某些工作，并删除一些不再需要的游戏设置，故事或者美术设计等。根本不存在任何能够在一开始就创造出绝佳游戏关卡的完美解决方案，不过我找到了一些好方法能够帮助我们加速关卡创造过程，并避免重复劳作。

强调核心特征

尽管我们总会努力去争取一些既定目标，但是在关卡设计中却并非如此，特别是在动作类游戏中。同样地，现实主义虽然重要，但是有时候现实主义反倒会造成一种疲弱感。此时的玩家会对那些与众不同的地理位置印象深刻，甚至因为这些场景而重返游戏世界。

很重要的一点是，你必须明确每一个关卡的核心特征，并进行验证，然后发挥它们的最大优势。游戏环境是广阔平坦的平原并铺着积满灰尘的道路？还是高耸的悬崖和深山谷？游戏基调是交错着各种曲线和环圈的未来太空站？并不是所有的关卡都必须完全与众不同或者引人入胜，但是不管怎样你都必须在关卡设计的最初阶段便明确地抓住要点。

Skyrim(from gamasutra)

如上图，《Skyrim》的地理远景广阔得夸张，但是正是如此设置才能让这款游戏拥有这么多个性。

然而，我们并不能只是明确这些特征并围绕着它们创造游戏关卡。你肯定希望玩家在离开游戏后仍然能够记得游戏中的地理位置。如果你创造的关卡是关于崎岖山口，就尽可能地让岩石更加参差不齐，让道路更加陡峭难行；如果你创造的关卡是关于杂乱贫穷的城镇，尽可能地让每一座房屋的布局更加紧凑，让玩家甚至难以从布满垃圾的道路中获得前进。但是如此也不意味着你必须努力寻找那些荒谬滑稽的游戏特征，并利用其进行设计，你只需要让玩家不再认为你创造的城镇只是“城镇”或者工厂只是“工厂”便可。

传递情感信息

尽管音乐，音效，图像和灯光都能够深刻影响玩家对于游戏关卡的感受，但是游戏关卡本身也能够明确地揭露一些特定的情感。这是一个相对主观的看法，但是我们还应该清楚，游戏关卡的核心几何学能够帮助特定游戏关卡显露出特定的情感。

我最近玩过的一款游戏——《杀出重围3：人类革命》便是一个很典型的例子。游戏中的“Lower Hengsha”不只是一个最佳枢纽地区，而且也是一个让玩家能够感受到其巧妙设计的地理位置。意义很明确：因为不管在哪里，城市总是最繁忙拥挤的地方。通过将一个相对简单的地理位置变成一个富饶的城市丛林，充满各种建筑，街道，下水道运河等，Eidos（游戏开发商）不只是在创造一个有趣的游戏关卡，同时也在不断完善这种地理位置所体现出来的情感。这种设计非常成功，因为它不仅能够展露出游戏美术特征的与众不同，也能够凸显出游戏关卡的特点。

Human Revolution(from gamasutra)

如上图，《Human Revolution》所营造的忙碌，多关卡环境能够为玩家提供他们无法通过画面体会到的情感。

另外一个完全相反的例子便是《辐射：新维加斯》。尽管游戏的绝大部分场景都是以城市为背景，但是玩家的大部分时间却都是在莫哈维荒野中穿梭着。氛围可以说是这款游戏所体现出的最大魅力，即游戏中所体现出的破败荒凉感和无尽的绝望。绵延不绝的贫瘠土地不仅为玩家提供了探索空间，同样也暗示了《辐射》这款游戏的特性。《侠盗猎车手4》表现出的相对密集的城市环境也如此体现了游戏设置。

始终吸引玩家的注意

没有什么比让玩家从A点跑到B点这种没有任何动机性的直线型关卡更糟糕了。尽管这种设计很现实（在现实生活中的城市，我们也很少会看到迷离曲折的迷宫街道），但是从游戏设置的角度看来，这却是一种非常无聊的设计。玩家玩游戏就是希望能够沉浸于游戏体验中，游戏给予他们越多可做的事情，就说明这款游戏越优秀。在绝大多数游戏中，简单地从一个场所移动到另一个场所并不存在多大乐趣，而如果你能够让这种行动变得更有乐趣，你的游戏也会因此变得更好。玩家总是希望感受到自己在游戏中真正在做着一些事，即便是从单纯的功能角度来看也是如此。

打个比方说，就像是动画加载画面，或者当你打开一个程序时电脑上的鼠标光标变成一个漏斗标志：除非用户/玩家可以清晰地感受到有什么事情发生，并且他们的行动获得了清晰的反馈，要不他们将只会单纯地认为一切如故，什么东西都没改变。作为关卡设计师，你的目标便是尽可能地避免让玩家产生这种感觉。

求生之路2 (from gamasutra)

《求生之路2》从未让玩家遵循直线型路径——即使只是让一些车辆奔跑和跳跃也可以让游戏世界显得与众不同。

尽管关于这一点的例子很多，但是我最喜欢的还是《求生之路2》。“Survivor”在游戏中虽然必须从一个地方到达另一个地方，但是他们必须在这个过程中完成腾跃，拐过任何障碍，攀越栅栏和阶梯，滑下悬崖，穿越过窗子等多种动作。尽管游戏中并未设置僵尸等鬼怪的袭击机制，但是穿越关卡等设置就足以吸引广大玩家的注意了，因为比起漫无目的盲目前行，他们在沿途中会遇到许多不一样的挑战。

垂直性

制作一个有趣游戏关卡的一个简单方法便是，摆脱二维模式！绝大多数游戏软件工具开发包（SDK）都默认地从一个平直的位面开始进行游戏设计。尽管我们总会轻易地想着“好吧，就从这里开始，”但是你却需要好好掂量，这些直白，无特色的位面到底能够给你的游戏关卡带来多大影响。按照定义来看，直白意味着无聊，而如果你的游戏关卡越直白，你的游戏也就会显得越无趣。尽管现实主义具有不小的吸引力，但是即使是“现实主义”游戏，其特点也是超真实感，而并非现实性。

从一开始就在心里形成一个垂直性关卡的理念便是一个有趣的方法。我很少尝试这个方法，并且那些曾经因我而得知这个方法的开发者先前也很少考虑到它，直到事实证明它的功效。毕竟，我们总是想要从一个至上而下的角度去思考关卡设计，尤其是那些制作等轴线游戏或桌面游戏的设计者。我们总是会采用二维模式（而非三维）去规划一款游戏关卡，但是当我们在创造这个游戏关卡时会发现，“这个关卡好像并不如纸上表达的那般有趣！”

蝙蝠侠：阿卡姆疯人院(from gamasutra)

如上图，想想看，如果《蝙蝠侠：阿卡姆疯人院》只是简单地将敌人或者目标物安置在游戏的不同关卡中，并要求玩家从一个场所横越或者滑行到另一个场所，那么它还会是一款非常有趣的游戏？

当你再次开始规划一个新的关卡时，尝试着用三维模式进行思考，或者打开你的SDK，开始在一个3D空间设置不同关键目标点而不再只是停留于2D位面，然后将这两个空间更好地结合在一起。思考坡道、楼梯、阶梯、门、窗户等玩家会在游戏中接触到的事物，以及如何让玩家在下楼梯或者从天花板滑落时变得更有趣。你越早开始思考这些问题，你的游戏玩法便能越早体现其趣味性。

创作和艺术原则

尽管关卡设计本身很少直接与艺术联系在一起，但是我们需要尽早从创作角度去思考关卡设计，甚至是在草拟关卡布局阶段。你不一定是名艺术家，但是却必须牢记一些基本原则以帮助你在关卡设计过程中创造出与众不同且外观精致的游戏关卡。

我认为最显著且最重要的一个规则便是三分法。尽管关卡总是出现在3D空间，但是玩家也总会期待着拥有一些特定的时间，不论是离开一个经常访问的位置，或者走在一个熟悉的街道上，还是直接走向一个目标。我们最好能够把镜头视角摆置在水平层面，同时以玩家的角度思考他们将看到哪些事物。根据三分法创造游戏规则不仅能够提供给玩家优秀的视觉体验，还能够确保游戏中的每一部分都能够很好地维系在一起。

生化奇兵(from gamasutra)

如上图，要铭记三分法等创造技巧，使其为关卡的艺术性加分——《生化奇兵》便很好地利用了这种技巧。

尽管艺术原则是一个非常棒的起点，但是其中也有一些相对重要的因素。我认为平衡便非常重要，因为我们能够在开发的早期阶段便获得这一要素，并且不需要依赖于任何细节或者补充设计。不论你是在提供核心的关注点还是在不同层面上安插不同场景，你都需要确保每一个关卡都不会压倒其它关卡，确保所有场景美学的完整性和一致性。除此之外，因为电子游戏与现实世界的不同，所以比起现实规则它们更容易受到乐趣规则的支配，所以你必须牢记，在创造游戏关卡的时候不只是从游戏设置的角度进行思考，还要同时考虑到游戏的美学内容，保持两者的平衡性。

当然了，最重要的一点便是，没有哪些内容能够一劳永逸。不论三分法或者其它艺术原则再管用，也不可能同时适用于所有地方，特别是当我们想要实现一些特定叙述目标时，就不适合使用这些方法。例如《半条命2》中玩家缓慢地朝Citadel城塔前进时就不适合使用这种方法，这不仅显得太过于匀称，而且太多颜色搅和在一起会让游戏画面显得太过于刻板。

结语

关卡设计是一个稳扎稳打的过程，但我们却不一定需要创造出冗长且极端困难的关卡。如果你总是在琢磨着应该使用何种工具，等待最理想的美术内容或其他产品元素到位，你就会发现自己的作品永远不能完工。当然了，你可以一直修改并尝试一些游戏，但需要记住的是，比起花大把时间重新设计或规划游戏关卡，你应该更多地关注关卡细节和特性的优化。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Making Game Levels Interesting

by Eric Schwarz

Throughout the years I’ve spent in doing level design, one thing that’s always remained largely the same for me is that it’s a process of constant change and iteration.  It doesn’t matter what tools I’m using, or what idea I have going into level creation; when it comes right down to it, the only way to get truly great results is to keep refining and refining.

Usually the starting point is pretty similar as well: the player has to get from A to B, or fight enemy X, or has free reign to explore with several points of interest.  Whatever the game genre, there’s always going to be a starting point in designing a game level which is objective-driven, with the gameplay arising out of how the level facilitates and mediates the player’s pursuit of those objectives.

However, while oftentimes you might have that clear start point and at least some idea of an end result in mind, usually getting to that end is a lengthy and sometimes painful process, as work is done, redone, moved about, and completely deleted as the needs of gameplay, story, and art direction change.  While there is no surefire way to end up with a great game level right from the start, I’ve discovered a number of ideas to keep in mind that can greatly speed the level creation process and ensure that less work needs to be done in the long run.

Accentuate the Core Characteristics

Subtlety, though something to strive for, often doesn’t work so well in level design, especially in action-oriented games.  Similarly, realism is also great, but sometimes being too realistic can also lead to a feeling of blandness (just look out the window sometime).  It’s the high-impact, distinctive locations that stick with us even after we’ve turned the game off, and that take us away from the real world and into fantasy.

To that end, it’s important, right off the bat, to identify exactly what sort of core traits and characteristics of a level are important, then play to them, and turn them into strengths.  Is an environment sprawling and flat, with rolling plains and dusty roads?  Are there towering cliffs and deep valleys?  Is it a futuristic, alien space station with lots of curves and loops?  Not all levels are going to be completely unique or interesting (a small shop in an RPG, for instance), but it’s always good to have something to latch onto as a starting point.

Skyrim’s vistas border on the geographically absurd, but they’re what give the game so much character.

However, it’s not enough to just identify those traits and build a level around them.  You want the player to remember a location after he or she has left it behind, after all.  I find that in almost every case, the mantra “turn it up to eleven” works best.  If your level is a craggy mountain pass, make the rocks even more jagged and the path twistier than you normally would think to.  If you’re building a cluttered shanty town, place the shanties nearer to each other, pile up the trash higher, and stay away from providing obvious paths through the level.  While this doesn’t mean that you should always go for the absurd and ridiculous, taking advantage of those unique characteristics and pushing them forward just a little bit more than you would otherwise will make your levels feel like more than “just a town” or “just a factory.”

Mood Through Design

Though music and sound, artistic direction and lighting can all have a big influence on the player’s perception of a game level, the level design itself is often extremely important in nailing the intended mood and feel.  This is one of those more subjective points, but I think it’s worth bearing in mind that often the core geometry of a game level is just as important in establishing the mood of a given game level.

One of the best examples of this I’ve come across recently is Deus Ex: Human Revolution.  The hub area of Lower Hengsha isn’t just great-looking, it’s also a phenomenally well-designed location.  The intent is clear: a city area that feels bustling and crowded, as well as foreign and unfamiliar.  By transforming what could otherwise be a fairly straightforward location into a multi-story urban jungle, complete with rooftops, streets and sewer canals, Eidos don’t just make a more interesting level, they also make one that directly improves the atmosphere and feel of the location in such a way that is almost integral to it; doing the same for the game’s Detroit hub just wouldn’t have been right.  The design is so successful that you could actually take out most of the distinctive artistic features, and you’d still be left with a level that stands out.

Human Revolution’s busy, multi-level environments help establish mood beyond what the graphics themselves are able to provide.

Another, completely polar opposite example, is Fallout: New Vegas.  Though there are portions of the game which take place in urban environments, most of the player’s time will likely be traveling through the Mojave Wasteland, a largely flat and extensive desert stretching into the distance.   Much of Fallout’s appeal comes from its atmosphere, its crushing sense of desolation and bleak hopelessness.  The dry, mostly barren landscape stretching out into the distance suggests not only new gameplay locations for the player to explore, but also accentuates those qualities that make Fallout what it is.  Grand Theft Auto IV’s comparatively dense city environment could have served the gameplay just as well, but would have killed that mood so important to the experience.

Always Keep the Player Engaged

There is nothing worse in level design to see the player running in a straight line from A to B, with little to no maneuvering required in between.  Though it may be realistic to provide a path that’s completely straightforward (real-life city streets rarely resemble mazes), from a gameplay standpoint, it’s usually completely and utterly boring.  Playing a game is all about being engaged and wrapped up in an experience, so the more you give the player to do, the better.  In most games, the simple act of getting from one point to another isn’t too interesting, but the more you can do to make that act fun, the better.  The player needs to feel he or she is actually doing something, even if from a purely functional perspective, there’s no difference.

To use an analogy, it’s a bit like an animated loading screen, or the mouse cursor changing to an hourglass on a computer when you’re opening a program: unless the user/player can see something is actually happening, and there is clear and obvious feedback for his or her own actions, then chances are he or she is simply going to think nothing much is happening at all.  Your goal as a level designer is to avoid that feeling of nothing happening as much as you possibly can.

Left 4 Dead 2 never, ever gives the player a straight line to follow – even a few cars to jump on or climb over make a world of difference.

Though there are so many excellent examples to choose from, my favourite has to be Left 4 Dead.  Rarely do the Survivors get from place to place without having to jump over something, take a side-passage around an obstacle, climb over a fence, scale a ladder, slide down a cliff, dive through a window, and more.  Even without the zombie hordes attacking, just getting through a level is in itself engaging simply because of how the player is constantly called upon to do something other than walk forward.

Verticality

If there is one simple trick to making a level more interesting, it’s this: stop thinking in two dimensions!  Most game SDKs by default will start out with a completely flat plane to work with.  Though it’s easy to think “well, sure, have to start somewhere,” it is surprising just how much of an impact these flat, featureless planes can have on your game levels.  Flat, is, by definition, boring, and the closer your game level is to flat, chances are it’s going to be less and less interesting to play.  Once again, an appeal to realism is tempting (of course we don’t have constant drastic changes in elevation, it’s impractical), but even in “realistic” games, the hyperreal is what rules, not the real.

Creating a level with verticality in mind right from the start can be an interesting and entertaining approach.  Usually, I don’t do it, and those I’ve spoke to also tend not to think of it so much until after the fact.  After all, that’s kind of how we think about level design on a basic level, from a top-down perspective – especially those who have a background in isometric games, or even tabletop games.  When we plan out a level, usually it’s also in two dimensions rather than three, and without turning a conscious eye towards that, sometimes it’s possible to build a game level and suddenly find, “hey, wait, this is a lot less interesting than it seemed on paper!”

Consider just how much more interesting Batman: Arkham Asylum becomes simply by placing enemies and objectives on multiple levels, or requiring traversal and gliding to get from place to place.

As an experiment, the next time you sit down to think out a level, try to imagine it in three dimensions, or better yet, open up your favourite SDK and drop key objective points not just at different spots along that basic 2D plane, but in 3D space, and then conceptualize different ways to go between them, even if it’s just with CSG.  Think about ramps, stairs, ladders, doors, windows, and all the sorts of things the player might interact with when playing the games, and how it’d be more interesting if the player entered a room by descending a staircase, or falling through a ceiling.  The sooner you get stated on this, the sooner you’ll have fun gameplay.

Composition & Artistic Principles

Though level design in and of itself isn’t always directly connected to art, it’s important enough to think about how a level will look from a compositional perspective even in the early stages when you’re just sketching out a layout.  You don’t have to be an artist to do this, either – there’s just a few basic rules to keep in mind that can make a huge difference in speeding along the level design process, and that will provide good-looking levels without waiting for detailing and lighting to get involved.

The most obvious and essential of these is, at least in my opinion, the rule of thirds.  Though levels take place in 3D space, often it’s easy to anticipate where the player is going to be looking at a given time – whether that’s when exiting a commonly-visited location, walking a familiar road, or moving towards an objective in a linear fashion.  As such, it’s important to drop the camera to ground level and figure out what the player will be looking at.  Building a level around the rule of thirds is an excellent way to provide visual interest and to make sure that each portion of the game world is adequately filled with something.

Always consider how composition techniques like the rule of thirds can complement a level’s aesthetic – BioShock in particular makes extensive use of them.

Though the principles of art are also a great starting point as well, some are more important than others in level design.  I find that balance is most essential above all others, mostly because it can so easily be achieved early on, without relying on detailing and lighting in the same way.  Whether that’s providing one central point for the player to focus on, or weighing the scene equally on all sides, making sure that one part of the level doesn’t completely overpower all the others is important in providing a sense of aesthetic wholeness and unity.  Moreover, videogames, unlike the real world, are much more readily governed by the rules of fun rather than the rules of reality – usually a level design will actually be enhanced from a gameplay perspective as well as an aesthetic one by keeping balance in mind when building.

Of course, the most important thing to note about this section is that none of this is set in stone.  The rule of thirds and other artistic principles are all well and good, but they shouldn’t be used everywhere, especially where inappropriate to achieving a certain narrative goal.  For instance, Half-Life 2′s slow progression towards the Citadel wouldn’t be nearly as effective if it wasn’t literally looming over the player, and sometimes too much symmetry, or too many colours that fit together just right can become formulaic.

Conclusion

Level design is a slow and steady process, but it doesn’t have to be extremely lengthy and difficult as well.  Between teething pains working with tools, waiting for the right art assets to become available, and other production pipeline concerns, it can sometimes feel as if your work is never done.  And while it’s true that you can always tweak and play with something forever, by keeping in mind some of the points I’ve made above, you’ll spend less time on redesigning and rebuilding your levels, and more time focusing on the details and particularities.

As usual, I’ve only scratched the surface of this topic, and would love to hear any more “quick tips” or fundamentals that anyone else has to share.  Please feel free to comment and leave any others you might have picked up yourself!（source:gamasutra）