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设计出优秀游戏关卡的六大步骤

发布时间:2015-10-30 15:24:19 Tags:,,,,

作者:Catharina Bohler

关卡设计是关于发挥创造性,吸引玩家并引领着玩家走遍你的游戏。基于不同游戏类型,你设计关卡的方法以及使用的工具也会有所不同。

当独立游戏设计师需要使用《Super Mario Maker》去创造一个关卡时会发生什么?他们能带给其他新人设计师什么样的教训?这些问题便是我们在今天将要探索的内容。

几周前的一次经历鼓舞了我们写下这篇文章。我们受邀在EHX展上展示《皮影木偶》。而在出发前几周,我们遇到了一个很有趣的挑战:即我们是否能够使用全新游戏《Super Mario Maker》去创造一个关卡并将其带到EGX上。而这一挑战就好像在生活中有人问我们“你想要来块美味的巧克力蛋糕吗?”一样,我们的回答总是“天哪,我要!”

在《Super Mario Maker》这款游戏中,你能够创造属于自己的超级马里奥关卡,在网上分享它们,并与其他创造者一起体验这些关卡。

SuperMarioMaker(from gamasutra)

SuperMarioMaker(from gamasutra)

这是我们第一次尝试《Super Mario Maker》,我们也不知道结果会是怎样。我们发现这种编辑程序是进入关卡设计过程的一种好方法,所以我们想要把握住这次机会向你们分享一些有关该主题的建议。我们将以我们在《Super Mario Maker》上创造的关卡“Super Shadow Puppeteer”为例去分享关卡设计中真正有效的步骤。

免责声明:根据个人喜好与经历,这些内容也会有所变动。

关卡设计

任何人都可能成为一名“关卡设计师”,并且许多人想要成为一名“关卡设计师”。但是想要成为一名优秀的关卡设计师却并不容易。大多数游戏都有属于自己的完全不同的关注点,目标与风格,但其实从核心看来很多步骤都是通用的。

1.了解可以使用怎样的工具和机制

这需要花费一些时间,但当你完全熟悉这些可能性时,你便能够创造出更棒且更具创造性的关卡。

在《SMM》中,你需要逐渐呈现出游戏风格,道具和效果。也许这么做会有点麻烦,但是游戏希望提供给你机会去逐渐熟悉自己的选择。通过尝试每种道具,你将能够更快打开这些内容。

建议:尽可能随性点,放置各种道具,在这一阶段你不用担心内容是否“完美”。如果你在这个关卡中放置更多道具,你便能够更快打开这个过程。

2.决定你的目标用户并调整难度

你要考虑什么类型的玩家会玩你的游戏/关卡。他们的年龄?他们在游戏中的目标?他们是否有玩游戏的经验?他们是否想要探索,挑战,或者收集东西?

这是一个巨大的过程,即包括平台和类型等选择。而在《SMM》中事情变得不那么复杂,但却也未因此变得不重要。

你需要根据玩家类型去决定《SMM》的关卡类型。你是想瞄准那些想要迎接更多挑战的硬核玩家还是那些更休闲的“马里奥”粉丝?难度并不总是等同于“乐趣”。创造者非常乐于看到玩家在尝试关卡时遭遇失败,但是玩家却也可能因此而受挫。所以你应该慎重考虑玩家类型与难度级别。

你应该大胆地去挑战玩家,但也需要把握好挑战与挫折间的度。《SMM》宣称将在11月4日发行一个免费更新内容,即将在游戏中添加一些检查点。

你们需要牢记,较长的关卡不应该太难,而超级复杂的关卡最好保持较短或者设置一些有效的检查点,提供一些能够激励玩家继续前进的内容。

来自IGN的建议:“你也可以创造一些捷径,即让玩家在到达中间点后能够发现这些捷径。例如安放于关卡中途的管道能将玩家带回开始处—-反之亦然。”

对于我们创造的关卡,我们知道主要受众应该是那些参加EGX的人。而为了拥有属于自己的粉丝,我们决定遵循《皮影木偶》的原则:不要太复杂,比起让玩家受挫,更应该提供给他们更多乐趣,让玩家觉得自己其实很聪明。即不需要经历太多次死亡便能够感受到乐趣。比起让玩家不断避免死亡,让他们能在移动与解决谜题中获得挑战会更有趣。

3.决定主要游戏玩法—-核心

选择一种风格以及一些游戏机制—-基于此去创造所有内容。你的关卡的主要动作是什么?跳跃,滑动,射击,闪避,探索或者解决谜题?

很多人会担心游戏中缺少多样性。而在此真正重要的东西是深度,而非复杂性。即使只专注于一个机制,你也可以创造出一款优秀的游戏。你应该确保自己能够尽可能多地探索一个机制,然后再考虑是否添加其它机制。

在《SMM》,关于你能够专注于什么内容的选择非常有限,但是如果你具有绝对的创造性,你便会惊讶于自己能够创造的内容。你甚至能够创造出一些别人认为不可能的东西。

对于我们的关卡,我们希望玩家能够从中回想起《皮影木偶》。毕竟我们还要前往EGX去展示这款游戏。

《皮影木偶》的核心是关于两个玩家之间的同步平台游戏和谜题解决机制。游戏使用了灯光和重力改变作为主要的多元化元素。而因为《SMM》不具有两个玩家的模式,所以灯光机制或动力改变机制会有点受限。

但是《超级马里奥》系列与《皮影木偶》在游戏玩法中也拥有一些共同点,我们也发现带有一个游戏世界的马里奥风格游戏总是能够为我们呈现出华丽的视觉效果。

4.概述游戏玩家的“故事”

就像交响乐拥有基于不同感觉和速度的不同动作,你也想要创造动态化的关卡“故事”。也就是说你要考虑玩家在整个关卡中的体验。他们在一开始的感受是怎样?在之后的感受又是怎样?你应该完善他们的体验和情感变化,并提供给他们更具奖励性和满足感的体验。

这是关卡设计中一种典型的模式:首先你需要引进一个游戏玩法元素,然后你将重复行动,让玩家习惯游戏机制,随后你将扩展其使用与多样性。在经过多次引进后,你便能将玩家带到最终测试了。

对于我们的关卡,我们希望游戏体验和难度都带有《皮影木偶》的影子。从一些特定关卡中获取了灵感,我们创造了一个关于休闲探索的主要关卡以及模仿两个可怕的追逐序列的次关卡。

而我们有意将次关卡设置为与主关卡完全不同的内容,不过其难度却是相似的。并且玩家能够在此感知到的危险和威胁也远远大于实际。

5.草拟出主要元素,为创造性留下足够空间

经历了第3和第4个步骤,你可能对游戏玩法以及整体的游戏流程已经有了一些不错的想法。在纸上勾勒出这一想法是帮助你规划游戏关卡的一种快速且简单的方法。

你必须清楚自己是不可能事先规划好每一个绝妙的想法。所以你最好能在规划好的游戏玩法之间留下足够的空间。之后你可能还会因为所使用的工具而获得灵感。当你在关卡中设置好那些已经规划好的游戏元素时,你将能够获得一些不错的理念。如果你想要进行适当的规划,你可以记录下怎样的中间性游戏玩法更适合自己的“故事”。就像如果你只是提供给玩家一个挑战,那么在中间提供给他们一个奖励或一些有趣但却简单的内容将能让他们在迎接下一个挑战前先喘口气。

drawing(from gamasutra)

drawing(from gamasutra)

我们为自己的主关卡和次关卡选择了一些独特的风格。主关卡拥有一些有机平台,有些是静态的,有些是动态的。它突出了一些能够晃荡的葡萄藤以及会让玩家感到紧张的甜甜圈形状的组块,同时还有一些小小的贝壳形状的敌人。该区域拥有几条可选择的路线以及许多不错的奖励。

Main_Sub_Level(from gamasutra)

Main_Sub_Level(from gamasutra)

而我们的次关卡主要是由一些“人造”元素所构成:如砖块和管道,墙壁和窗户。我们添加了熔岩和炸弹作为核心元素为玩家制造压力与挑战。在这里我们需要确保带给玩家压力,但却不会让他们轻易死亡;就像我们提供了一些会让他们遭受到来自Twompers的攻击的蘑菇。

6.通过测试去保证游戏流程与“叙述”的合理运行

确保你能多次尝试游戏关卡并判断游戏流程是否有效运行以及难度设置是否合理。邀请一些之前从未尝试过你的关卡的人帮你进行测试。你将会从他们的游戏进程以及失败中学到许多。

《SMM》拥有非常出色的设置,即每次当你死亡时你便能够进入关卡编辑器并从上次离开的位置从新开始游戏。如此一来调整与优化过程也就变得更加简单且更加有趣了。

在这里添加像货币等额外元素既能引导玩家也能装饰游戏,从而让关卡显得更加华丽。同时添加一些额外奖励也能够放慢玩家的速度并提供给他们一些具有选择性的挑战。

结论

设计一个游戏关卡不只是在编辑器上乱忙活,你还能够独自决定该如何做这件事。关键是你需要考虑你想提供给玩家怎样的体验,你还要了解他们的喜好,并为此不断进行迭代。

我们非常喜欢我们的《Super Mario Maker》关卡,我们也从制作过程中获得了许多乐趣。真心希望这个例子能够带给你们帮助和灵感。

本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转发,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Great level design tips, using Super Mario Maker?

by Catharina B?hler

Level design is about being creative, engaging the players and leading them through your game. Depending on the type of game, the way you design levels and what tools you use may vary.

What happens when indie game designers are challenged to make a level using Super Mario Maker? Which lessons can they teach other budding designers? That is exactly what we are exploring in today’s Development Blog.

We had an experience a few weeks ago that inspired us to write this Blogpost. We were invited to showcase Shadow Puppeteer at EGX at Nintendo’s stand as one of the Nindies this year. A few weeks before departure we were approached with an interesting challenge: Could we make a level using the new game Super Mario Maker and present it at EGX. Just as when life gives asks if you want delicious chocolate cake we said “OMG YES!”.

For those who do not know; Super Mario Maker is a game where you can create your own Super Mario levels, share them online and play the levels of other creators.

This was our first time trying Super Mario Maker and we were not sure of what to expect. We found that this kind of editor program can be a good way of getting into the process of level design and so we want to take this opportunity to share some advice on the topic. Using our development on the Super Mario Maker level “Super Shadow Puppeteer” as an example, we are now going to go through our preferred steps in level design.

Disclaimer: Personal preferences and experiences may vary

Level design

Anyone can be a “level designer” and many people want to be. Being a GOOD level designer on the other hand is not as easy. Of course most games will have completely different focus, goals and styles but a lot of the steps are, at it’s core, the same.

1. Get to know the tool and what mechanics are available

This can take some time, but when you are completely familiarized with the possibilities, you can create better and more creative levels.

In SMM you have to gradually unlock styles, items and effects. Having to do this might seem like a hassle, but the game wants to give you the chance to get properly familiarized with your options. By trying out every item and experimenting with them, you will be able to unlock these things faster.

Tip: Go wild, place out loads of items, don’t worry about making things “perfect” in this stage. The more items are placed out in the level, the faster the unlocking process goes.

2. Decide on your target audience and adjust the difficulty

You want to think about what kind of people you want to play your game/level. How old are they? What are they looking for in a game? Are they experienced or inexperienced? Do they want to explore, do they want a challenge, or do they want to collect everything?

This is of course a huge process including the choice of platform, genre etc. For SMM it gets a bit less complicated, although it does not become any less important.

What kind of level you want for SMM depends on what kind of players you will have. Will you target the hardcore people who want a challenge or the more relaxed Mario-fans? Difficult is not always the same as “fun”. A creator may enjoy seeing players fail when trying the level, but the player may end up with frustration. Decide on the player type and the level of difficulty.

Feel free to challenge the players, but remember to find a good middle ground between frustrating and challening. Super Mario Maker have just announced a free update due on the 4th of November that will, amongst other things, add checkpoints in the game!

Still, long levels shouldn’t be too frustrating, and super difficult levels should be short/ have well placed checkpoints, and have something in them to motivate the players.

Cool tip from IGN tip-site: “You can also create short-cuts that players discover after getting to a halfway point. For example, a pipe halfway through the level could show a way to get back to the beginning — and vice versa.”

For our level we knew that the main crowd would be the people at EGX – a consumer- focused game conference. Wanting to reach our own fans, we decided to follow the vision of Shadow Puppeteer: Not too difficult, more fun than frustrating, making the player feel clever. Having fun without too much risk of dying. Giving the player a challenge in movement and puzzles rather than avoidance of death.

3. Decide main gameplay – Core

Choose a style and a few mechanics – build everything from that. What will the main verbs be of your level? Jumping, sliding, shooting, ducking, exploring, solving riddles.

Many people will be worried about not having enough variety in the game. The important thing is to focus on depth, not just complexity. You can make a great game, only focused on one mechanic . Make sure that you have explored that one mechanic as much as possible, then explore it some more. Then look at adding other mechanics.

In SMM it might seem like you have limited options of what you can focus on, but you would be surprised of what you might be able to make if you just get creative. You could probably make something way out there, that no one would ever think was possible.

For our level we thought it would be cool to make a level reminiscent of Shadow Puppeteer. We were attending EGX to showcase our game after all.

The core of Shadow Puppeteer lies in synchronized platforming and riddle solving between two people. Using lights and shifting gravity as a major diversifier. As SMM does not have 2 player mode, light mechanics or shifting gravity we felt a bit restricted.

But the Super Mario series and Shadow Puppeteer share some similarities in gameplay and we found a Mario-style with a world that could provide us with the right look.

4. Outline the “narrative” of the gameplay

Just like a symphony has different movements with distinct feel and tempo, you want to create a dynamic level “narrative”. That is to consider the player’s experience throughout the level. What do they feel in the beginning? What about later? Their experience should develop and their mood change to give them a rewarding and satisfying experience.

There is a typical formula in level design: First you introduce a gameplay element, then you repeat the action, letting the player get used to the mechanic, before expanding the use or variety. After several of these introductions, you can put the player to the final test (usually a time trial or boss-level, but be creative).

For our level we wanted the experience and difficulty to mirror Shadow Puppeteer.
Taking inspiration from specific levels, we created a main level that was all about casual exploration, and a sub – level that imitated two thrilling chase sequences.

The sub – level was intended as a direct contrast to the main level, although the level of difficulty is not that different. The perceived danger and threat is bigger than it actually is.

5. Sketch out the main elements, leave room for creativity

With step 3 and 4 in mind, you probably already have some great ideas for sections of gameplay and for an overall flow. Sketching this out on paper is a quick and easy way to plan the level, before making it.

You have to realize, though, that you will not be able to plan every brilliant idea beforehand. Leaving some room in the level in between sections of planned gameplay is advisable. It gives you room to be inspired by the tool you are using. As you set up planned gameplay elements in the level you will most likely get some good ideas. If you want to plan things properly, you could just write down what kind of in-between gameplay would be best suited for your “narrative.” Like if you just gave your player a challenge, giving them a reward or something fun but easy can be a good way to give them a breather before the next challenge.

For our level we chose unique styles for the main and sub – areas. The Main level had organic platforms, some static and some dynamic. It featured vines to swing from and donut blocks to give a little simple thrill, and a few small, shelled enemies. This area had several routes to choose from and many nice little treats to find.

Our sub – level was dominated by “man-made” things: bricks and pipes, walls and windows. We added lava and bombs as central elements to stress the player and to challenge them under pressure. Here we were very careful to make sure that the player was stressed, but not very likely to die; like providing mushrooms where we knew they might take a hit from some Twompers.

6. Test to make sure the flow and “narrative” feels right

Make sure to play through the level several times and see if the flow feels right and the difficulty is appropriate. Get other people in that have never tried your level before. You will learn a lot from how they choose to progress, and from where they end up failing.

Super Mario Maker has a really good setup here, going into the level editor every time you die and letting you play from where you last left off. It really makes the process of tweaking and polishing easier and more enjoyable.

Add in extra elements here like coins to guide the player and decoration to make the level look nicer. Some extra rewards can also be added to slow the players down or give an extra optional challenge.

Conclusion

Designing a level can be more than just messing around in an editor, but how you choose to go about it is up to you. The important thing is to think about what kind of experience you want players to have, understanding their preferences and to always be open for iterations.

We were quite happy with our Super Mario Maker Level and had loads of fun making it. We hope that our examples have been helpful and inspirational. If you wish to try out
“Super Shadow Puppeteer” you can find it here:

AB9A-0000-00C7-4C26

If you have any level design tips or strategies that you want to share, or have an amazing Super Mario Maker – level that you want us to try out, please leave us a comment.

We would love to see levels going for different genre styles.(source:Gamasutra

 


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