Video Game Level Design: How to Create Video Games with Emotion, Interaction, and Engagement

by Michael Salmond

Overview

Level design connects the player to the game through challenges, experiences, and emotions. This book is an invaluable introduction to the evolving practices of Level Designers across the games industry. The increasingly complex role of the Level Designer requires technical and creative skill as it brings together architecture, art, player psychology, interaction design, usability, and experience design. This book explores in detail the principles designers employ when planning levels and building engaging spaces for the player. As well as practical approaches to level design, the book delves into the theoretical underpinnings of the processes and charts a path towards thinking like a Level Designer.

Throughout the book you will be guided through the fundamentals of level design: each chapter builds on the types of research, ideation, best practices, and methodologies Level Designers employ when creating prototypes and shipped games. A series of interviews with designers and case studies from game studios examine the application of industry-wide expertise used to create triple-A and indie game titles. By the end of this book you will have gained valuable insight into the role of a Level Designer and be able to devise, plan, and build your own engaging and entertaining game levels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350015746
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	04/15/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	91 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Michael Salmond is program coordinator of the Digital Media Design B.A. program at Florida Gulf Coast University, USA. He is the author of The Fundamentals of Interactive Design (2015) and Video Game Design: Principles and Practices from the Ground Up (2017). He has published scholarly papers on video gaming and is an active game developer and interaction designer.
Michael Salmond is a digital interaction designer, artist and digital theorist. His work has been exhibited and published nationally, internationally and online. He has been practising within the digital medium for over 20 years and currently teaches interaction and digital design at Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida, USA.

Table of Contents

1. What Is Level Design?
2. Creating Immersive, Believable Worlds
3. Design for Narrative
4. Environment Design vs Level Design
5. Building Worlds
6. Design for Single&Multiplayer
7. Level Design is Agile Design
8. The Language of Level Design
9. Prototyping Level Design
10. The Game Is the Level, the Level Is the Game
11. Communication and Final Touches
12. Where to Next?

Editorial Reviews

A pragmatic approach to level design that captures the critical elements needed to conceptualize and create meaningful player experiences. Michael Salmond uses practical and straightforward examples to clearly define and explore the key considerations of game and level designers alike. The content is diverse covering many topics, yet succinct and to the point. This book fills a critical void for video game education.” —Johnny Luce, co-owner, software designer, and engineer at augzoo

“This is an excellent book on level design, with a wealth of up-to-date and varied examples. It is highly visual and extremely readable, giving a comprehensive view of the area in a way that is colorful and engaging, whilst maintaining a good level of technicality. It is ideal for students studying game design, in order to develop their understanding of the theories and practices involved in level design as a specialism” —J. Weinel, University of Greenwich, UK

From the Publisher