Have you ever lost yourself in a fictional world, fighting enemies and collecting loot for hours on end just because it felt right? How can it be that you always seem to find your way through the level without the game telling you exactly what to look for? We’re going to show you what it takes to be a great Level Designer and what they do on a day to day basis.
What is Level Design?
Unlike Environment Art, Level Design isn’t about how to make a certain part of the game look pretty. It’s about keeping the player focused on progressing through the game while reaching their goals. This can be achieved by using many different kinds of tools like lighting, visual guidance, game mechanics and much more.
Great Level Design is finding the right balance between design, storytelling & engineering while staying within the technical and artistic boundaries provided by the company.
It should prevent the player from getting frustrated or confused while playing through the game. Instead the Level Design should gently guide them through each of the levels. This doesn’t mean you should show the player exactly what to do but rather push him into the right direction. Instead of telling them to go through a certain door, why not make it the only one that is being hit by light? It would help the player move forward while also making them feel like they found their way by themselves without any help from the outside.
What does a Level Designer do?
A Level Designers job is to create a variety of different kinds of levels, to iterate and polish them while following the provided Game Design Document (GDD), concepts, lore and technical limitations.
Here are some of the responsibilities a Level Designer has while working on the project:
- Develop blockouts and prototypes for the game
- Integrate gameplay elements like puzzles & other features
- Test & balance your levels & different difficulties
- Implement NPCs including their Nav Meshes, AI etc.
- Solve problems, bugs & other issues
- Create a Design Documentation along the way
- …
Level Designers often have to find a good mid ground between art & technical aspects to create the perfect level. While a narrow and empty hallway might be more realistic in some situations, it would be impossible for the player to find cover or dodge an attack if enemies are supposed to get in your way at that point of the story. Because of that, communicating with both programmers and artists is essential to find that sweet spot to ensure the best player experience possible.
What kind of skills do I need as a Level Designer?
A Level Designer should not only have a passion for gaming but should also have a creative mind and a good amount of technical skills:
- Great knowledge of architecture, storytelling, design, laws of physics etc.
- Basic drawing skills to communicate their ideas visually
- Basic 3D modeling & sculpting skills
- Basic programming & coding skills
- Documentation & researching skills
- Excellent collaborations skills
- …
You don’t have to be the greatest artist or modeler in the world. It’s enough to have a basic understanding of how to draw and how a 3D pipeline works. Blocking out rough levels or being able to quickly sketch a map on paper is more than enough. As long as you’re able to properly communicate your idea using the tools and skill set at your disposal, you shouldn’t have any problems at all.
How do I get a job as a Level Designer?
You don’t need to have any special degrees to get started as a Level Designer, but it wouldn’t hurt to get one in Game Design or something similar to enhance your chances. Starting off as a 3D Artist will also benefit you a lot. It will help you get more familiar with the 3D workflow and how to implement assets into a game engine.
Apart from your educational background and experience you’ll also need a portfolio to show of your skills:
- Go for quality of work, not quantity
- Include interactive projects and games you’ve worked on in the past
- Make sure everything works properly and that it’s easily accessible
- Explain your thought process and how you got to your result
- Make sure it looks professional & craft your portfolio around the company you’re applying to
- …
While the levels you’ve created don’t need to be the most breathtaking, they still have to be well built. A rough blockout of a “Jump ‘n’ Run” level that looks and plays right is way better than a level that just looks pretty at first glance. You can include projects you’ve done in your spare time, no matter if it’s done in an engine like Unreal or in a game with a map editor like City Skylines or Mario Maker. Just make sure they are polished and playable or include a game play video if you can’t provide the original build.
What kind of programs should a Level Designer look into?
A Level Designer needs to have the base knowledge of multiple programs like:
- Game Engines (Unreal, Unity,..)
- 3D DCC Tools ( Autodesk Maya, ZBrush,,…)
- 2D DCC Tools (Photoshop, Illustrator,…)
- Project Management Software (Trello, Nuclino,…)
- Writing Software (Scrivener, Evernote,…)
- …
Being able to work in both 2D and 3D softwares is essential for a Level Designer. They have to continuously map and blockout their ideas during the day and also have to create a Design Documentation to keep track of everything. A Level Designer also has to know how modular assets work and how to efficiently be able to swap the props later down the line.
How much money does a Level Designer make?
Those numbers can vary greatly depending on the company, genre, style, experience, skills etc. but according to Zippia a Level Designer makes between $62k – $148k and the average income is around $96k per year.
If you want to know more about what Level Design is about, click here:
What is Level Design? – A Building Block for Level Creation
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