LEVEL DESIGN PROCESS

I decided to write an article/tutorial about a level design process. In this article, I’ll cover things like planning, sketching, blocking out, naming, building and adding details to the level. As an example, I’ll be using sketches and screenshots from my Doom 3 CTF map, entitled Central Hub (methctf1).

When I decided to start a new map, I was looking for an idea. The armor room in Station M (my previous map) was a perfect place for a flag room. I figured gritty underground station connected with hubs and lifts will make a good CTF map.

If it’s possible, I try to get the reference of things I build. Movies, books and online images are great material for reference.

There was a problem with the texture choice, because I couldn’t find many dark textures. Most of them were metallic and had a shiny surface, thus making the map look like a regular Doom 3 map. The solution was to use dirty decals on top of brushes, to dim the shininess and blend in shiny textures with the surrounding environment.

To support the textures, I picked the light color that reflects them. So for a dark brown wall texture with gray ceiling and red corners in some places, I picked a brown/blue color for the lighting. Color theory comes in handy when it’s time to pick the colors for the map. The main light in Central Hub is brown (warm color), which is inviting to the player. Few areas have blue and gray lighting (cold colors), which are darker and give the player a chance to sneak around those areas or for a FC (Flag Carrier) to hide, while his flag is being returned. A few small orange lights highlight dark areas and work as an accent to the main lighting.

It's always a plus if a map has some kind of a gimmick. Something that players will remember it for. When I was sketching gameplay ideas for Central Hub, I came up with a circular room that has pipes surrounding it's middle and connecting two hallways which lead to the flag room. I thought it would be a good place for a FC to rocketjump on pipes and hide there, while his flag is being returned. From the top view in the level editor it looked like some kind of a hub. I named the level after that area. Later I added vents, which served as pipe supports and had steam comming out of them. I placed blue light in the hub to create a dark and chilly atmosphere. Since I was building a CTF map and bases were identical, I called the hub areas - Blue and Red Hubs.

Blue Hub (beta version)

I tend to sketch gameplay ideas or parts of the level before building them in the editor. It’s always a good idea to make a few rough sketches, because it takes less time than actually building it and it’s very easy to fix or make changes on a paper. Planning and sketching can help you to see and predict the problems that may arise later in the design process, which will take a long time to fix or even result into starting a whole level from scratch. Another thing to remember is that a level always changes throughout the design process and that not all things that look good on the paper will look good in 3D. Only a few things that I sketch make it to the final version. Some rooms change 2–4 times before I decide to keep them.

For Central Hub, I sketched a few gameplay ideas, different parts of the level and main areas such as flag rooms and team hubs.

Sketches of gameplay ideas and details

Sketches of details and texture choices

Early sketches of blue base

Early sketches of CG (Chaingun) room

Once I’m finished with planning and sketching, I begin blocking out the level in the editor. Blocking out means to roughly block out map areas, add temporary lights and early item placement. It’s really important to see if what you planned on a paper looks good in 3D and to check the scale before adding textures and details.

Here is an example of blocked out level:

Central area of Central Hub

The CG (Chaingun) room

Note: I used 'textures/base_wall/reactorwalla3a2' texture to block out Central Hub.

It’s not necessary to name a level right away. In fact, I usually name levels in the middle of their development. Good names are always catchy and easy to remember. To find a name for a map, I usually think of a phrase to describe a level, level’s gimmick or some main area.

I had a hard time coming up with the name for Central Hub. The level has several lifts, which enable the player to do a bunch of trickjumps, so I was looking at names with movement. The player jumps, bounces and moves through the level, just like a quake. I looked for a phrase similar to quake and came up with the Seismic Movement. I liked it at first, but later realized that it would be hard to remember. I continued with the design of Central Hub, until I begun to build an octagon-shaped area with pipes circling it. It connected two hallways just like a hub connects wires on a network. I was thinking that the central area of the map is the main hub, thus coming up with Central Hub as a name for my map.

There are two methods for building the level. The first is to work on one room at a time, add permanent lights, textures and details. The second is to work on a whole level in layers. So if I was using the second method, I would add basic textures to the whole level, then add permanent lights, then details and so on.

Most LDs get tired of working on one room at a time and if they are building the map as a hobby and not for a game studio, they might not finish the level. When I get tired of working on the same room for a long time, I move to another room and work on something different.

For Central Hub, I used combination of those methods. I worked on a level in layers at first and then individually on each room.

Blocked out level with temporary lights

Added basic textures and item placement

Added permanent light and details (Alpha version)

Details are what separate good levels from great levels. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with what kind of detail to add to the map, but the answers are in the reference or even in the map itself. Level areas should have something that stands out, something like an accent, a detail that catches player’s attention.

I try to add details that are realistic, but sometimes visuals are more important than reality.

A DS server that lights the surroundings

A computer with wired servers

Always test your maps before releasing them to the public. Make sure that players won't get stuck, there's no z-fighting (two or more brushes sharing the same coordinates) and no vis problems. Release beta versions of your maps for testing and feedback, before releasing the final version.

Since Central Hub is a map for CTF, feedback was really important to me. I got some feedback on alpha version, to make sure that I'm on the right track, before continuing with the map.

I hope you learned a thing or two and enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to contact me at yanostretsov[at]yahoo[dot]com.