Assignment 1 Conclusion

Having looked into the different roles within the Games Development pipeline and the separate specialised categories within each, I have found that despite my belief that I would either remain fascinated with the Concept Artist or 3D Artist roles, the role of Level Design has become an area that I strongly hope to explore and learn more about within the course.

Part of the logic behind this decision comes from the belief that as an individual that enjoys drawing and already has some understanding in concept art from my time studying Animation, I would be denying myself the possibility of learning other disciplines by continuing down the same route. However, the e-book "Ultimate Level Design Guide" by Alex Galuzin from World of Level Design has truly been an eye opener for me. The book thoroughly explains the various processes from initial designs on paper and gathering reference materials to blocking out levels and beyond.

Amongst my research, it was this book that presented me with the greatest feeling of excitement and opportunity about the possibilities within designing a level, and not just for the challenge of designing a map from scratch specifically for a game that we will eventually be creating, but also how that sort of knowledge can be used for creating mods and maps for existing games. The idea of building the groundwork of a world that will gain colour and texture is an appealing one, using concept work and notes to imagine environments that incorporate good design with gameplay mechanics to create something enjoyable to explore.

I also understand that there is more to level design than simply making levels. In the early stages of development especially, a level designer will also produce test maps for experimenting with game mechanics that will influence how main levels will later be formed to accomodate for their uses. For example, this is a test map from a game I happen to love, The Legend of Zelda : Wind Waker that demonstrates a map that was constructed as a place to not only test out gameplay mechanics and proportions, but also for environment artists to play with lighting and effects.