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Design Blog Entry 11: Presentation | 1/24/24

Another take on Palworld’s success?!? No, I think we're all good on Palworld takes. Instead, here is a bit of potentially useful information concerning the presentation of your portfolio work online.

Recently, I have being seeing a lot of people posting screenshot images of their level designs or Unreal blueprints. Not only is this not great for engagement but it also does not fully communicate your work to other professionals. I am someone who has also fallen into this trap, but it is something that I have been working on.

Creating gifs or videos of your recorded gameplay can be more effective in quickly showing your work. However, its most important that you showcase your changes over time like in Jordan Davenport's recent post (link in the comments). I understand that it can be difficult to document your work throughout your development process and that documenting takes time away from it, but it’s a great habit that will only make you a better developer.

Another important aspect is communicating why you make these changes as a designer. It’s great if you can show your changes; but its event better if you show an iteration, then review some playtesting results, then display the changes you made based on those results. This allows viewers to understand your design thinking and creative problem solving much more deeply. I originally received this advice from Jordan Peterson so shoutout to him.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you are having a great start to the new year!

Design Blog Entry 10: Game Development Stats | 1/17/24

After seeing Declan Cassidy's post on the Entry Level Skills Hub early this past weekend, I wanted to take a jab at categorizing the different areas of game development as if they were S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats from Fallout as a fun experiment. For simplicity, I only try to pack as many roles as possible into art, design, and development and do not try to list every possible role. I'm curious to hear others perspectives especially in areas outside of design.

Art
Asset Creation: The capacity to create artistic game assets such as 3D art, 2D art, and Audio. Roles that utilize this stat the most are character artists, environment artists, animators, UI artists, 2D artists, concept artists, music composers, and foley artists.
Tech Art: The capacity to manipulate art assets and develop more technically challenging art assets. Roles that utilize this stat are pipeline tech artists, look developers, technical animators/riggers, VFX artists, and material artists.

Design
Content: The capacity to create gameplay and narrative content through utilizing game assets. Roles that utilize this stat are level designers, narrative designers, game writers, quest designers, and content designers.
Systems: The capacity to script and maintain gameplay and narrative mechanics/systems that help to establish the gameplay and rules of the experience. Roles that utilize this stat are game designers, tech designers, system designers, UI designers, sound designers, and QA analysts.

Development
Programming: The capacity to build out low functionality in the game engine or other applications/tools used in the game development pipeline or for a live service. Roles that utilize this stat are generalist programmers, gameplay programmers, QA programmers, tools programmer, and multiplayer programmers.
Engineering: The capacity to build out the different engines required to create games. Roles that utilize this stat are gameplay engineers, graphics engineers, physics engineers, QA engineers, and audio engineers.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Please comment below with any roles that I may have missed or need correcting.

Design Blog Entry 9: Ideation | 1/3/24

How are you going to start crafting your first level in 2024?

Some will begin with documentation, while others may just jump straight into white boxing. Personally, I find research to be an underrated approach, especially if you’re getting into a new or niche game genre. However, ideation is a designer’s true bread and butter when exploring possibilities.

Spreadsheets
A great way to ideate, that I originally learned at Indie Game Academy, is to create a spreadsheet with a few variables such as name, description, and key elements on the top. The first step in this process is to set a timer for about a half hour to an hour and start coming up with as many ideas as possible. Once you’re done, establish a few grading criteria with weights to judge your ideas and narrow your list down until you have your top choice. A few grading criteria examples can be scope, originality, and personal passion. Spreadsheets are a great option if you are still figuring out what you want to make and stuck on considering your options.

Rapid 2D Layouts
Another way to start ideating for your level is to rapidly create 2d, top-down layouts. A mistake that many level designers make when creating layouts is trying to make something that looks visually appealing. Layouts should be quick and dirty, but clearly communicate your game spaces. It’s better to layout many spaces, then clean up your work later, once you have got feedback and narrowed them down. This method is a great choice if you already know the genre of your map and have a good idea of the level flow.

Reference Gathering
If you are more visually inclined, a great way to ideate is to open up PurRef, or any other image board software, and start scouring the internet for all sorts of references. Traditionally, this used by artists, but it can also be a great method for level designers in finding interesting architecture and space layouts. Finding images and piecing together sectioned spaces can be a fun process that pushes you out of your own personal bias. This is a great option as it allows you to work closely with an environment artist as you both simultaneously work on the level and aesthetic design of the map.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you’re having a great start to the new year. This post is a weekly blog that I publish every Wednesday where I talk about game design and development. Please comment below discussing your ideation methods.

Design Blog Entry 8: Souls-like Metroidvanias | 12/27/23

On the morning of Christmas '04, I was gifted the Polar Express video game on PS2. That night, my 6-year-old self beat the game before bed time. Now, 19 years later, on this Christmas I played Moonscars and I too beat the game before I went to bed. After playing the game, I knew I wanted to talk about it and others like it that I have played.

Lite spoilers:
Blasphemous, Salt and Sanctuary, Death’s Gambit, Moonscars

Vertical World Building and Atmosphere
One of the weaknesses of Moonscars was a lack of an interesting vertical world with a permeating atmosphere. The individual locations were not effectively distinctive as they were all thematically and aesthetically similar with minimal gameplay differences. Levels in these games should provide a well-developed flow of locations each with differing challenges, emotional feels, and narrative implications. Blasphemous' Cvstodia has a particular level, Jondo, where the player has to traverse down into an enormous, upside-down bell lodged within the world. Jondo adds a new environmental hazard, provides the player the feeling of awe, and has some lore implications with the bell’s creator. Outside of the world and level design; backtracking, looping, traversal ability unlocks, and well-placed enemy encounters are all important aspects that should not be overlooked.

Enemy Variety and Bosses
One of the strengths of Moonscars is its practical use of enemy variety. There are many different types of enemies using similarly scripted functionalities, but allow for different results. These enemies alongside other combat mechanics likes spikes and shields help to add complexity to the player’s tactical decision-making process. Moonscars also utilizes doppelganger enemies similar to red phantoms in Dark Souls. These encounters feel much more gripping as they pit the player against an enemy on an equal playing field which is especially engaging in one of the final boss encounters. Death’s Gambit has one of the most intriguing and memorable bosses within the genre. The midpoint boss, Thalamus, is a true climax of narrative and aesthetic horror mixed with varied puzzle and combat gameplay tied together nicely with a dramatic flow of tension building and release.

Game Dynamics
One of my favorite parts of Moonscars is the dynamic it creates with ‘ichor’, the cost of spells and healing. If the player uses ichor on an ability, they can still use the same ichor to heal up, but if they heal first, they will lose their ichor. This adds an element of risk and reward to every encounter. Salt and Sanctuary also has a fun dynamic where the player has to switch between magic types in order to manage a bar that will deal damage to them if filled. This rewards the player by affording them additional magic uses for swapping between spells over only using one type of spell.

Thank you for reading. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Design Blog Entry 7: Year Postmortem | 12/20/23

It’s been a crazy year for everyone. Here’s what I’ve learned over 2023!

Online Presence and LinkedIn
If you are not working to develop your online presence, especially on LinkedIn, you are doing yourself a disservice. Something I learned from Scott Fine is that you need to stay in people's minds. In some of the conversations I’ve had, people have recognized me as ‘the Chad guy’. As funny as that is, it's great that people have heard about the game I recently collaborated on. Not only is building a network important, but also developing engaging content for them to remember you is just as important.

Meeting with other Devs
Regardless of your experience in game development you should probably go talk with other devs. Yes, it is great for networking but trading perspectives is priceless. A lot of people say a lot of different things. Talking with many different devs has helped me gauge what I hear and allow me to come to my own conclusions. A bit of a warning though for my fellow junior devs, many people are going to tell you “how things are” or you need to do this and that. They are probably not wrong, but also take everything with a grain of salt. I want to shoutout Shawn Gagnon as we recently had a great conversation where it was just fun to chat about level design and the industry, no strings attached.

Specialization vs. Generalization
In order to get a job early on you need to specialize in one specific area of game development. In some cases, you will need to specialize beyond a specific job type. For example, a level designer can specialize as an encounter designer which is a level designer who focuses on combat game spaces. However, specializing too much and not learning new areas or tools will limit your capacity as a developer over time. I know I would not be able to do my current work without my past knowledge and experiences outside of level design.

World of Level Design
There is no one tried and true formula for level design. Some traditional studios will have level designers work on early concept work and blockmeshing then send it over to art once they feel gameplay is right. Other studios will have level designers focus more on set dressing and final aesthetic implementation of game spaces too. From my perspective, it is good to be able to take a level from early concept to blockmesh to final implementation with art. Knowing skills from documenting, flow charts, 2D layouts, block meshing and 3D modeling, game design, set dressing, lighting, art direction, narrative writing, etc. can all be beneficial to your growth as a level designer.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I post every week about game development and design. If you would like to learn more about me, please visit more profile which has a link to my website.

Design Blog Entry 6: Horror Design 12/13/23

Horror games are simultaneously the easiest and hardest games to create. They tend to be mechanically simpler than other games, however can be more difficult in achieving their intended experience. Here are a few things I have picked up while developing horror experiences.

Setting
Horror settings should generally be isolated or at least make the player feel as if they are alone. Transitioning at the beginning of the experience from a safe, populated place to a dangerous, unpopulated setting can be a great way to start. If utilized, this transition should be supported by gameplay, narrative, aesthetic, and audio shifts. The setting itself can also be a monster or hazard to the player. The Evil Within is a great example of weaponizing the setting.

Build Up
Creating intense horror is not as simple as a jump scare. Building up to a moment of genuine terror takes time. The slower and more gradual changes to the experience the better. As the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock says, “The terror is not in the bang, only in the anticipation of it”. At first the player could feel a sense of light mystery to get the gears turning. Then establishing elements of oddity and thrill can get those gears turning faster. Lastly, adding immanent danger and player vulnerability will create moments of powerful fear, horror, and finally terror.

Sound Design
Audio is the one element in a horror game that will make or break the entire experience. Without strong sound effects, scares will frustrate the player more than actually scare them. Without powerful music composition, the atmosphere will fall flat, regardless of how great the visuals are.
Like the recent controversy over 'QA not being devs', sound designers and music composers are some of the most underappreciated, yet some of the most important devs! Respect those you work with.

Here is a list of a few of my favorite horror experiences:
Darkwood (2014) Acid Wizard Studio, Crunching Koalas
Pathologic 1 and 2 (2005, 2019) Ice-Pick Lodge
Fear & Hunger 1 and 2 (2018, 2022) Miro Haverinen
Inscryption (2021) Daniel Mullins Games
Amnesia: The Bunker (2022) Frictional Games
My Friendly Neighborhood (2023) Szymanski brothers
Persona 4 & 5 (2008, 2016) Atlus [not exactly horror games on the surface but they have their moments]

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Please comment below with your favorite horror games and experiences.

Design Blog Entry 5: Level Design | 12/6/23

LEVEL DESIGN is CONFUSING?!?!

Similar to narrative design, level design is also in a weird place. Not only can it be challenging for beginners to practice, in a meaningful way, but it is also extremely competitive to land a job in. Not only that, but some describe it as dying craft due to advancements in tech and AI!

Let’s break it down!

Specializations
Like an environment or character artist may specialize in realistic or stylized art, a level designer will specialize in single player or multiplayer level design. From there they may specialize further into specific game spaces such as linear, arena, open world; and/or specific content types such as combat encounters, quests, puzzles, etc. They will also focus, like many other developers, on a particular area of game such as a game genre, camera perspective, 2D or 3D, or platform such as PC, VR, mobile, or console.

Practice
There are two main ways to practice level design. Firstly, there is creating levels using a game engine like Unreal, Unity, or Godot. The main positives of working in engine is that you learn how to utilize them and they provide more freedom to create. However, they also come with the cost of having to implement or script your own mechanics/assets which will take away time from practicing level design. Secondly, there are level editors for released games. Steve Lee is a veteran level designer who advocates for this method as it allows level designers to focus more on their craft as the editor already establishes the general rules and mechanics for your level. However, it’s important to note that fewer studios are providing level editors for their games. I recently spoke with Nathan Kellman who made it a point to focus and master a few tools for creating levels so that you can develop higher quality content.

Teamwork
As Andrew Chambers discusses in his recent video (Want a job as a game designer? Do this) game design can be broken down into two areas, content and systems. Level design is within the area of content as it focuses on implementing game assets to create the experience. Being able to work with artists, writers, and other designers is extremely helpful as it can allow you to more effectively implement assets and pace content from other disciplines.

Process
There is no on right way to create a level. Some will start by creating documentation while others will go to straight to block meshing. A process that I have used prior is as follows.
Research and Documentation
Flow Chart and 2D Layout
White Box and Asset List
Playtests, Iterations, and Asset Implementation
Final Execution

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. This is a weekly blog where I discuss game design and development. If you would like to learn more about me, please visit my profile page which has a link to my website.

Design Blog Entry 4: Engagement Curves | 11/22/23

Something I have been working on recently are engagement curves.

First of all, what are engagement curves and why are they important? These curves are the different elements of the game that are meticulously paced throughout the experience to keep the player engaged from start to end. They are important as they help make the player’s experience more accessible and enjoyable.

Some of the different elements include, but are not limited to, gameplay intensity, difficulty, progression, narrative stakes, plot and character development, content shifts, thematic transitions, and emotional/tonal swings. These elements exist simultaneously and in tangent to one another so it’s important that they work in parallel. For example, raising the narrative stakes without an increase to the gameplay intensity may make those stakes fall flat as there is no direct impact on the player.

Keeping track of these elements is important as the game’s content is created and iterated on. One way to keep track of the elements is through creating different graphs and tables that showcase how they fluctuate throughout the game. The graphs and tables can service to highlight correlations between elements and the content between production areas, which can be analyzed to show the game’s overall flow.

Here is a rough draft of engagement curves that I have been working on for my team’s next project using #miro. Elements are likely to change during production, but this is my initial suggestion and prediction to how these elements can be paced.

Thank you for taking the time to read. This post is one of a series of design blog posts that I write up every Wednesday at 5 to 6 pm EST. If you would like to read similar posts or learn more about me, please look to my LinkedIn profile which has a link to my website. Please comment if you have any other elements concerning engagement that you would like to discuss below.

Design Blog Entry 3: Narrative Design Part 2 | 11/15/23

What is the difference between interactive and non-interactive storytelling methods in games?

Non-interactive methods are stereotypically dialogue and cutscenes that require minimal input from the player and originally come from TV, film, and theater. Interactive methods tend to be choice-based inputs that the player uses to impact the story similar to tabletop and digital CRPGs. However, these are only a sliver of what these methods can be.

As a medium, we have only scratched the surface of how to utilize gameplay and narrative as vehicles to tell stories, provide perspective, and get the player to think and feel in a manner that only games can achieve. Through a strong macro vision and communication between systems, content, writing, and art can games push the medium forward to create new and original experiences. Let’s look at a few examples.

Far Cry 3 is a great example of using traditional methods of narrative cutscenes and combat gameplay. In the game you play as a rich kid, who over the course of the experience, becomes a psychopathic killing machine. The main character’s development within the narrative and player’s progression within gameplay work in parallel as vehicles to push a unique virtual experience. As the player you feel this change over time as you become more effective at killing enemies and your character becomes more violent and unhinged.

The Dishonored series is another, yet more nuanced and untraditional, example utilizing an advanced chaos system that is unique to the franchise. In the game the player is an assassin who impacts the narrative and gameplay via their playstyle choice. Throughout a playthrough, this choice or change in choice will alter interactive and non-interactive content alike. If the player decides to do a non-stealth killer playstyle the world will naturally become more chaotic. This choice will cause more areas to become infected adding additional combat encounters as you play. It will also cause allies to be distrustful and potentially hostile towards you, change written dialogue to become darker, and provide negative character development to different characters. It is very subtle at first however the game is very reactive to your playstyle and is unique even within the immersive sim genre.

There are many other great examples like Middle Earth: Shadow of War’s nemesis system or Fallout: New Vegas’ karma/faction system that have pushed the boundaries of what narratives can do in the virtual experience medium. Ian Thomas created this chart some time ago which I have found to be helpful in regards to depicting the different areas of narrative within games and how they can work with other departments to create powerful narratives.

Thank you for reading. This is the 2nd part of a narrative design blog post. Link in the comments.

Entry 2: Narrative Design Part 1 | 11/8/23

Narrative in games is in a weird place.

Part 1 of 2
I think we have all heard developers say that the game should focus on either the gameplay or the narrative. Why can’t they focus on both? I find that pipelines from different industries within tech and entertainment are initially the cause. However, it also has to do with the history of storytelling itself.

Since the beginning of human civilization stories have been told in linear and mainly non-interactive ways. However, in the last 100, 50, 20 years storytelling has been evolving in ways never seen before; being able to be told in real time and with constant input from the audience. We have gone from non-interactive mediums to new interactive mediums such as social media, short term video, and of course video games and simulations.

In many cases stories are either the forefront of the experience or pushed to the side entirely. In both cases, narratives are usually not utilized in a way that only games can express. In the worst of situations the story does not mesh well with the overall experience, causes stress on other development areas, and is not particularly good on it’s own. From my perspective this comes down to how we write stories and develop games. Either a screen play or bible is written and designers have to adapt or a game is developed and writers have to adapt. This is a terrible practice not just within narrative development but also in other production areas. A great example is with The Callisto Protocol where it was highly probable that engineers and designers were in a position where they had to adapt to a narrative and artistic vision and struggled greatly for it. I have talked about this to some extent in my last design blog post concerning macro vision and in the comments of other developer's LinkedIn posts.

So how do we create game narratives utilizing both non-interactive and interactive means that allows games to tell stories only they can tell? Stay tuned for part 2 of this two part narrative design post.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I would love to hear your perspective and opinion on this topic and others. Please comment and feel free to direct message me!

Entry 1: Macro Vision | 11/1/23

So, it’s time to start over again.

After recently launching my team’s game, The Chad, it’s time to begin a new game project. But where do you start and why? Do you begin with the gameplay loop, concept art, a screenplay, or go straight to coding? I don’t think so. I personally believe you should start with an idea or set of core principles that describe the experience you are looking to create. This is what some would call macro design or macro vision.

A great macro vision will look at how the game’s elements can work in tangent to create a unique and powerful experience. However, it should not dive deep or go into great detail for any particular area. Here is the macro doc template I created for my team as we were ideating on our next game concept. Feel free to use it and let me know if it helps.

A great design lens I personally use to look at game elements comes from Jesse Schell’s Elemental Tetrad, which breaks them down into four main categories: aesthetic, mechanics, story, and technology. I tweak these categories slightly as shown below. Regardless, your core concepts should address how they will impact the design of each element.

When I create a pillar for a game concept, I start by describing the idea then I break it down into the four categories to discuss how it will impact those areas.

Verticality: Utilizing vertical space in a unique way
· Mechanics: Traversal mechanics that afford the player fun ways to move vertically in space
· Design: Vertical level design the develops gameplay intensity over elevation changes
· Art: Vertically stretched shape language and character anatomy; Shepard’s tone (pitch change) while moving vertically in certain areas
· Narrative: Vertical based world and society design like in Dark Souls and Arcane

Another great perspective on macro vision is from Timothy Cain who describes pillars from the original Fallout in his Design Pillars video on YouTube.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. This is the first of many posts that I will be discussing my views on game design and development. If you are curious to learn more about me, please visit my site via my profile.