Back

The Level designer profile is responsible for creating and organizing the different scenarios, environments, stories, and missions of a game.

His work includes conceptualizing and implementing the levels by considering aspects such as flow, rhythm and space, to ensure an engaging and coherent gaming experience for the player.

To achieve this, they use different resources such as concept art, photographic references, and game design documents, and create maps and physical models of the levels. Level design is a key stage in the process of developing a game, as it is the foundation of the game’s structure and its consistency and quality affect the user experience.

Job Description

The level designer’s job is to ensure that players are focused on advancing the game and meeting their objectives or missions while minimizing the possibility of confusion.

In addition, people who work on level design must consider the sequence of levels. The first level of a game should introduce the player to the game world, introduce characters, and explain the story. Each subsequent level must advance the story, develop characters, and increase the complexity of the game.

It’s important to note that level design should not be confused with level creation, which is the work of environment artists. In environment art work, the 3D game environment is created and then level designers use this environment to define the game’s scenarios, placing enemies, loot, secret trapdoors, setting up mission parameters, AI patrol routes, and non-player character (NPC) positions.

  • Create level layouts and areas of interest that players can explore following the game’s themes and traditions.
  • Work on the continuous review and improvement of the levels throughout the entire video game production cycle, from conception to completion, ensuring that the levels are easy to understand, challenging and accessible for a positive gaming experience.
  • Prototype the environment and establish layouts, suggesting ways to use interactive and non-interactive elements to create the desired emotions.
  • As the project progresses, integrate produced elements into the map, such as new gameplay, artificial intelligence, sound, etc.
  • Develop robust design documentation that explains how level progression (flow), layouts, and blockouts work for use in game testing.
  • Prototype the environment and establish layouts, suggesting ways to use interactive and non-interactive elements to create the desired emotions.
  • As the project progresses, integrate elements produced in the video game, such as new gameplay, artificial intelligence, sound, etc.

To work on level design, it’s important to have a healthy dose of creativity and also have a solid understanding of some technical and programming concepts related to video game development. Although it is not necessary to be an expert in these topics, it is important to have a basic knowledge in order to carry out this function effectively.

Video game studios can look for the following skills in the level design position:

  • Possess a solid understanding of the technical and creative aspects of game level design, including map creation, level structure, and placement of interactive and non-interactive elements.
  • Be able to use puzzles and gameplay mechanics to create interesting and challenging narratives for players.
  • Have a good understanding of programming and technical implementation of games, including scripting languages and basic syntax.
  • Have drawing and visual communication skills to convey design ideas and concepts clearly and concisely.
  • Have basic to intermediate knowledge of 3D art, modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, and other areas related to the creation and use of graphic elements in games.
  • Have knowledge of user interface (UI/UX) design and how to implement and optimize the gaming experience for players.

In the work of level design, you have a wide variety of responsibilities and to fulfill them, a wide range of tools and resources are used. This includes graphics, 2D and 3D animation software, game engines, and programming languages that are used throughout the game development process.

You may be required to use some of the following programs, programming languages, or scripting within the level designer role:

  • Game development engine (Unity 3D, Unreal Engine, or other)
  • Microsoft Office or Google Workspace software for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
  • Artistic software (such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator) to create a wide variety of visual designs
  • Programs such as Draw.io or Articy Draft to create flowcharts, mind maps, narrative trees, mission and system design
  • Jira and bug tracking software
  • Scripting tools and languages (Python, LUA, C#, Unreal Script, Blueprints)
  • C++ programming languages and Python are also commonly used
  • Documentation software such as, Confluence, Notion
  • Teamwork software like Miro


[integrate_google_drive id="1"]






 

[pmpro_login]

×