作者：Jason Canam

就像游戏开发的大多数方面，关卡设计也需要团队协作。你不可能制作、整合然后就大功告成（你不可能就这么轻松！）你可能是那个“关卡设计师”，但你不是唯一的关卡设计师（尽管你可能希望是）。首先，你做好了自己的那部分工作……但然后呢？

准备好踏上一段存在主义的旅行，你将变成更有眼界的设计师。黑暗就在前方，但我们将携手共进，战胜黑暗后我们会变得更好。

我们先抵达近未来。你已经构思了一个好关卡。你已经利用游戏的机制为玩家设计了高明的挑战。你已经制作了一个精致的关卡。现在，如果你是我，你就会在心里默想：“哇，终于完工了！这个关卡肯定惊天地泣鬼神！”

当然，从某种意义上说，你正在走下坡路。

你开始自满了，你开始炫耀了，你开始滔滔不绝了，你开始……

同行评议：第一轮

同行评议就是把你作品放在同行面前接受公开批评。这真是令人惊讶的事。

但你不担心，你一点也不担心。他们将看到的是史上最伟大的关卡设计。你唯一担心的是，你的同行看了你的杰作后会自惭形秽。因为你是个厚道人，所以你才担心这种比较。你满心欢喜地邀请你的同事来看你的作品。这个时刻你已经盼望了一整天了。你甚至把谦虚脸红的表情都排练过了。你在脑内剧场预演这个情境。一切都会顺利的……

然而，情况有变，事态急转直下……

还不止如此。一次同行评议是不够的。你现在进入同行评议循环。

three_Rs_dark(from gamasutra)

（“3R”：Review（评论）、Resent（愤恨）、 Rebuild（重制））

进入同行评议循环后，你会首先发现，这似乎是一个永无止境的过程，令人痛苦的恶性循环。你做的一切都会继续当着你的面被评论、被嘲笑、被批评。评论再评论，你会觉得绝望，好像你的作品离你当初的设想差了十万八千里。你的一切高明的技巧、惊人的创意都崩溃了。你认为自己做得好的一切都变得平庸无奇（事实上就是如此）。

你的第一反应可能是愤怒。你会马上怀疑“他们怎么可以这样说？”、“他们这是嫉妒吧？！”。但你很快就会停止这么想，因为你知道，深深地知道，你其实不是这么认为的。你很清楚，是你自己做得不好。你的脑中根本没有“别人在嫉妒你”的想法。

所以，你要怎么办？你只能做一件事，那就是重做，做得比之前更好。你深深地知道，这个关卡就像一只顽强的凤凰，它将在烈火焚烧后的灰烬里重生！但愿你已经对同行的评论做了笔记且已经花时间理解你的关卡为什么怎么会失败。如果没有，那么你只好放下身段再去问他们要宝贵的、必需的、重要的、令人痛苦和尴尬的反馈。你会需要它的。

所以，现在你知道什么地方出错了？好的，解决它。我的意思是，你要做出比之前的那个更好的作品……重制有多难？何况，你不是已经用掉你最好的创意了吗？别胡说了！你之前的创意什么也不是了！当然，有那么一阵子你会觉得不知所措。你可能甚至开始无端端地感到恐惧。当然，你不可能这么放弃你这辈子做的最好的关卡……不可能！

但你不会一直这么不知所措下去的，因为灵感会来找你。虽然它找得很困难。突然之间，你又回到世界之巅了。你会回想起之前的那个自己，觉得他“简直太业余了！”。你重新设计和制作。在你做出真正最伟大的关卡以前，你的同行评议还将继续进行。

同行评议：第二轮

他们会讨厌你重制的作品。他们的批评再一次杀得你措手不及，即使这次打击没有上一次那么大了。你会再次觉得晴天霹雳。这时，你会发现自己很快就回到愤恨的情绪中去了（毕竟这也是循环的一部分）。在这个过程早期（我们在哪了，第二回合？离功德圆满还差得远呢。），你可能不会意识到反馈其实没那么糟。这时你可能会把自己灌醉，暂时失忆。

然后，你带着新得到的反馈又重制作品。这次你没有忘记做笔记了吧？又忘记了？那就回去问他们到底讨厌你什么（你知道的，你的作品当然代表你自己）。根据这些“个人攻击”，做出真正伟大的作品吧！只是不要让别人看到你哭。这很难，但还是回到你的座位专心工作吧，任泪流满面。

经过4、5个循环后，你浴火重生了。这段艰难的旅程简直就是一次超越。你几乎进化出了更高级的生命形式。哦当然，你也已经做出真正强悍的关卡了。

现在，你回想起这段经历，你最终领悟，经过痛苦和折磨，你的关卡在每一次循环后都变得比上次的一更好。这个循环是有用的！你的同行评论、批评和建议（也就是上述的“人身攻击”）对你的关卡制作而言，不仅重要，而且是必不可少。你会发现，如果没有他们，你本不可能得到这么好的结果。多么痛的领悟！你现在觉得，同行评议其实没有那么可怕。你下次做的关卡，再下次做的，以及再下下次做关卡都将接受相同的“考验”。

你怕了？没有那么糟。你已经学习到很多了。你已经成长了。

但愿在你下次的同行评议中，你仍然记得这些。（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）

Level Design Iteration. Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Peer Review

by Jason Canam

As is true with most aspects of game development, level design requires a team effort. You can’t expect to simply create, integrate and walk away (you’re not getting off that easy!). You may be the “Level Designer”, but you’re not in this alone (as much as you may like/hope to be). First, you’ll create your masterpiece… But what then?

Prepare yourself for an existential journey through which you will emerge a much more enlightened designer. Dark times lie ahead, but we’ll make it through this together, and we’ll be all the better for it.

Let’s travel into the near future. You’ve conceived a brilliant idea for a level. You’ve properly leveraged the game’s mechanics to create new and clever challenges for the player to experience and overcome. You’ve built a fine level. About now, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be thinking to myself: “Wow, I’ve sure done it this time! This might be the greatest level anyone has ever created!”.

Which, of course, means that from this particular high-point, the only way to go… is down.

Strap yourself in! It’s time to show off. It’s time to rub it in. It’s time for…

The Peer Review

Ahhhh, the peer review. All the tension of presenting a creative piece of work combined with the joy of being openly criticized! Truly an amazing thing!

But you’re not worried, you’re not worried at all. You’re about to show them the greatest level ever conceived. The only worry in your mind is that you’ll make your peers feel insignificant by comparison. Since you’re not a bad person, this will weigh heavily on you. You’ll cheerfully invite your co-workers to come take a look. You’ve been waiting for this moment all day. You’re even pre-blushing. You’re picturing the ticker tape parade in your mind. Nothing could go wrong…

Things will go wrong. Things will go very wrong, very quickly.

And things won’t stop here. This won’t stop after one review. No… You’ve now entered the Peer Review Cycle. Welcome to flavor country.

The three R’s: Review, Resent, Rebuild

While caught up in the peer review cycle, the first thing you’ll notice is that it is seemingly never-ending. It is truly a torturous downward spiral. Everything you make will continue to be scrutinized, ridiculed and torn apart before your very eyes. Revision after revision, you’ll feel the despair of never quite accomplishing what you set out to create. All of your clever tricks, versatile rooms and brilliant set-ups will fall apart. Everything you’d thought you’d done right will be on display as the hackneyed mess that it really is.

Your immediate reaction will be one of resentment. You’ll instantly begin to wonder “how are they not getting this?”, “Why are they playing it wrong?!”. But you’ll quickly catch yourself, because you know, deep down, that you don’t actually think that. You know better… You know that you’ve done wrong. The idea of someone “playing the game wrong” doesn’t exist in your mind!

So, what are you going to do about it? Well, you move on and do the only thing you can do. You will rebuild it. Better than before. You know deep down that this level is nothing more than a mighty Phoenix, and it will rise from the ashes! Hopefully you’ve taken notes and have taken the time to understand the how’s and the why’s that failed in your level. If not, then you need to swallow your pride and go ask again for that valuable, essential, important, painful and embarrassing feedback. You’re going to need it.

So, now you know what went wrong, right? Good. Now to fix it. I mean, you created something so awesome before… How hard can it be to do it again? What’s that… you already used your best ideas last time? Come off it! They haven’t seen anything yet! Sure, you’ll be stumped for a while. You may even begin to have panic attacks. Surely, the best levels of your life can’t be behind you… Can they?

But you’ll be in luck, because inspiration will strike. And it will strike hard. Suddenly, you’re on top of the world again. You’ll look back at your former self and think: “What an amateur!”. You’ll create and you’ll build. And before you will be the true greatest level anyone has ever created. You’ll head back into peer review ready to show them what’s what!

Peer Review: Round 2

…And they’ll hate it. You’ll once again be completely unprepared for the backlash, even though it isn’t quite as harsh as last time. It will rock you like a Scorpions song (I don’t remember which one, Big City Nights maybe?). At this point, you’ll quickly find yourself back at resentment (it is a cycle, after all). This early into the process (what are we on, cycle 2? Not even close to being done, yet), you’ll probably fail to realize that the feedback wasn’t as bad and that overall, things are improving. By now, you’re likely drinking yourself stupid and are losing parts of your short-term memory.

You’ll take this newly obtained feedback and you’ll rebuild. Did you remember to take notes this time? Really? Get back there and ask for a list of everything they hated about YOU (because by now you know, without a doubt, that things are personal). Now take that list of personal attacks and create something truly great! Just don’t let them see you cry. It’ll be tough, but just concentrate on getting back to your desk and work through those tears.

After 4 or 5 more cycles, you’ll emerge a better person. The emotional journey you’ve been on has been nothing short of transcendent. You have almost evolved into a greater life form. Oh, and you’ll have finished creating a pretty cool level, too.

Now that you can look back on this experience and laugh (or cry), you’ll finally come to understand that after all the turmoil and all the pain, that the level was getting noticeably better with each iteration. The system works! Your peers’ comments, critiques and suggestions (read: personal attacks) were not only important, they were instrumental in the creation of the level. You’ll realize that you couldn’t have done it without them. This realization will actually hit you hardest. You’ll now know that there is no escaping the dreaded peer review. The next level you create, and the one after that, and the next… They will ALL be subjected to “the review”.

Scary isn’t it? It’s not so bad. You’ve learned a lot. You’ve come so far. You’ve grown.

Hopefully, you’ll keep all of this in mind during your next peer review.

I sure don’t.(source:gamasutra)