Level design lectures from GDC

[Fr0Z3n]

Found these two things when browsing r/gamedev as I do a daily basis, read 'em both and found them actually really helpful. Not so much for Multiplayer maps, but more for single player maps. I thought I would share these with you guys since I know that a few of us will be dabbling in Single Player Experiences soon.

Lecture slides on level design by Matt Rix. Creator of the app game "Trainyard"
Lecture slides on level design by Semyon Voinov. Designer of app game "Cut the rope" - A personal favorite of mine.

This site also has a lot of other resources from GDC, not all is avaliable to the public, but some are. GDCVault.com.

[MangyCarface]

Check my thesis bibliography for a list of the most relevant GDC/other game conference talks on level design

[Fr0Z3n]

You want repost that here so I can re-read it?

[zpqrei]

I remember reading your thesis a while back, but I too would like to re-read it, I recall it being very insightful.

[grazr]

I'm finding that after you've read 4-5 Game Design books you've read them all and the only thing that really informs me or i find interesting now is current up to date Dev blogs where they talk about specific issues and how they overcame them.

Design is all about problem solving and keeping clued in to how other people approach things is the most useful thing you can do as a designer in order to keep your wits sharp.

[Fr0Z3n]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grazr

I'm finding that after you've read 4-5 Game Design books you've read them all and the only thing that really informs me or i find interesting now is current up to date Dev blogs where they talk about specific issues and how they overcame them.

Design is all about problem solving and keeping clued in to how other people approach things is the most useful thing you can do as a designer in order to keep your wits sharp.

After almost 2 months of looking at design books/ lectures like this, I have to agree. I have a design book I'm reading now, just for me reference, but a lot of it feels like "Duh, I know this!" knowledge.

[Trotim]

I agree with that, but as soon as you stop learning and reading stuff you'll start falling behind. Also it's never bad to re-read summaries of topics you already know about, sometimes you do forget one tiny thing or maybe haven't seen it from one perspective before etc.
These I keep checking from time to time lately, among others:

http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/...og.html#design

http://www.designersnotebook.com/Des...e_database.htm

[zpqrei]

Everyone's read these, but putting here for reference:

http://www.valvesoftware.com/company/publications.html

[grazr]

Bad Game Designer:

Quote:

Wrecking a Game's Balance for the Sake of A "Cool Feature"

This is how i feel each time someone suggests a map gimmick.

"I have this really cool idea for a map" - "Does it turn one team into fish in a barrel?" - "yes, and it'll be really fun to shoot at them".

Face > Desk.

One of the things that most people seem to overlook is that fun for one person doesn't equal fun for all persons. If you're having an amazing killing streak in a PvP game, that means someone else is having a massive death streak and is likely to rage quit and never play again.