
Level Design Patterns in 2D Games - homarp
https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AhmedKhalifa/20190610/344344/Level_Design_Patterns_in_2D_Games.php
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CM30
If anyone else is fascinated in this stuff, it's probably worth watching Mark
Brown's Game Makers Toolkit videos on YouTube. They really go into the
thinking behind the Zelda series, Metroid series, Donkey Kong Country Tropical
Freeze, etc, and the latter follows really well from this sort of article:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqHcE6B4OP4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqHcE6B4OP4)

It's also a field with a ton of material on YouTube, blogs and industry
websites, so yeah, even the sources/citations in the article are only
scratching the surface there. Extra Credits, Critical Gaming, Snoman Gaming,
Skip the Tutorial and a fair few others are worth checking out too.

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bbot23
"and a fair few others are worth checking out too."

I love this topic. Care to recommend any other channels?

~~~
Splognosticus
Game Soup[1], Thomas Brush[2] and Code Bullet[3] are three I enjoy.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGPMrF9AN_D9BrmSmMeV3hA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGPMrF9AN_D9BrmSmMeV3hA)

[2]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuHVjteDW9tCb8QqMrtGvwQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuHVjteDW9tCb8QqMrtGvwQ)

[3]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0e3QhIYukixgh5VVpKHH9Q](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0e3QhIYukixgh5VVpKHH9Q)

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apacheCamel
This sort of stuff is fascinating to me. There is so much design and
forethought to level making that it just blows my mind. Whenever I am on the
other end, playing the game, I never notice when the stage is built in a great
way. I do, however, tend to notice whenever it has flaws. Maybe reading more
about the design of it all will help me be more cognizant of the patience and
dedication put into level design.

~~~
mysterydip
The best level designs guide you to certain things while making you feel like
you discovered or solved something completely on your own.

Sometimes indies use procedural generation as a shortcut to creating levels
(or replayability) without consideration for these patterns, and instead of
creating an engaging varied scenario they end up being obviously disjointed
and break the flow of the player.

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keerthiko
Most indies pay close attention to the level design, even if leaning on
procedural generation to get part of the way there. I am part of a 2-person
team building an indie racing/puzzle game. I am the "tools" guy and my
teammate is the "level design" guy, and I provide the building blocks and the
generative machinery, and he massages them into an intentional and balanced
experience.

Procedural level generation is only viable in production for games if a
professional level designer can step in and tweak it.

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bostonpete
I'm not much of a gamer but a racing/puzzle game sounds intriguing. Is that a
novel concept or are there existing examples out there already?

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keerthiko
As a core game concept, it isn't common. We came upon it because we want our
portfolio to be games that involve a cross-section of skills and play styles
(strategic, on-the-fly planning, twitchy controls)[0]

You can think of speedrunning a puzzle game as a racing/puzzle game though :)

[0] [https://colorballsgame.com/](https://colorballsgame.com/)

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papln
Related: an analysis of Super Mario Brother's Level-1 design as an invisible
tutorial:

[https://medium.com/@abhishekiyer_25378/the-perfect-game-
tuto...](https://medium.com/@abhishekiyer_25378/the-perfect-game-tutorial-
analyzing-super-marios-level-design-92f08c28bdf7)

~~~
doomlaser
Also related -- all of Super Mario Bros. in one image:
[https://i.imgur.com/g6JQ2WV.png](https://i.imgur.com/g6JQ2WV.png) /
[https://twitter.com/Doomlaser/status/1004802864433147904](https://twitter.com/Doomlaser/status/1004802864433147904)

~~~
Nition
Check out VG Maps for maps of just about everything 2D.

[https://vgmaps.com](https://vgmaps.com)

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twic
See also this wonderful monograph on Super Metroid:

[https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/HugoBille/20120114/90903/The...](https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/HugoBille/20120114/90903/The_Invisible_Hand_of_Super_Metroid.php)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9438811](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9438811)

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Lowkeyloki
Since the Mario Maker sequel is just around the corner (release date is 6/28,
I believe), this is a great source of good design hints and lessons for making
satisfying, enjoyable levels.

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zubspace
The patterns described here are: Guidance (Leading the player), Safe Zones,
Foreshadowing, Layering (Combining multiple enemies and hazards), Branching,
Pace Breaking.

It's a good list which can be applied side-scrollers, top-down games or even
3D games alike. The examples are great and some of those games really awaken
unforgettable childhood memories. But I believe that the list could be so much
longer.

Some other things which which come to my mind regarding level design:
Procedural generation, Unlocking, Backtracking, Parallax effects, Mixing
environments, Transforming environments, Open and Closed levels, Secrets and
Cow Levels...

I'm having a great time thinking about this stuff. It's fascinating to observe
those different elements while playing a game. Game mechanics are even more
intricate. I think the combination of level design and game mechanics is key
to creating a great game.

~~~
llbowers
Hey,you sound like you know a lot about this topic. I'm really interested in
learning about it, do you have any recommendations for resources (books,
youtube channels, etc.)? Thanks!

~~~
zubspace
There are many resources for game design. But I have to tell you honestly that
I think it's questionable just to read about it. You can read books, podcasts
and blogs about it for years, but that alone doesn't make you a game designer.
Anyhow, here are some resources I enjoy: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Game Design is not a recognized science either; a lot depends on understanding
what's fun and what's not. You'll get better the longer you play around.

What distinguishes a good game designer from a beginner is years of practice.
To achieve that, you have to be able to try new things in a very short time.
Learn a game engine, which is widespread and does a lot of work for you
(create games and not a game engine). Unity or Godot for example. Start small.
Games you can finish within 1-2 weeks. If you can do that, you can write
dozens of small games a year. You get faster and maybe find your own style.
Here's a great resources which shows you, how someone from the indie community
can approach it: [5] [6]

Something I can't recommend enough are Game Jams. Take a look at Ludum Dare
[7]. It really is fun to think up and implement a concept within a short time.
And you learn a lot, through the process itself, through the feedback of the
wonderful community and by playing other games. The next jam starts on October
4th.

[1]
[https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedesign/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedesign/)
[2] [https://80.lv/articles/level-design-
articles/](https://80.lv/articles/level-design-articles/) [3]
[https://keithburgun.net/podcast-2/](https://keithburgun.net/podcast-2/) [4]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0JB7TSe49lg56u6qH8y_MQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0JB7TSe49lg56u6qH8y_MQ)

[5]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhb5hy4_sIM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhb5hy4_sIM)
[6]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Z1XWw1kmnvOOFsj6Bzy2g/vid...](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Z1XWw1kmnvOOFsj6Bzy2g/videos)

[7] [https://ldjam.com/](https://ldjam.com/)

~~~
llbowers
Wow! Thank you so much the time and effort you put into your response. I
really appreciate it.

I've been going through Unity but it's been a lot harder than I thought. I'm
hoping to get to a point where I can participate in a game jam soon.

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MattRix
I love seeing posts about level design show up here! I did a talk at GDC a few
years ago about puzzle game level design:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSUu_36SmlQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSUu_36SmlQ)

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albertzeyer
I really enjoyed the Commander Keen series. But also Duke Nukem 1-2 (2D),
Crystal Caves, Bio Menace. Or Game of Robot.

I always found that some of the platformer games of consoles, like Super
Mario, Donkey Kong, had much more simplistic and kind of boring levels. You
did not had to collect keys to enter doors, or do other more complicated
things, but basically it was mostly dexterity.

This aspect comes a bit short in this article, I think. To me it was always
kind of crucial, how much such puzzle element there was in the game, whether I
liked a platformer game or not.

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Alsastre
I really recommend
[Levelhead]([https://www.bscotch.net/games/levelhead](https://www.bscotch.net/games/levelhead))
from the creators of Crashlands. It is inspired by Mario Maker but I think it
has a lot of needed improvements.

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tobyhinloopen
Nice “allow” button at the close-button for the cookie tracking popup.

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DEADBEEFC0FFEE
As a someone who has been gaming since about 1980, I find this fascinating. I
think it's entirely likely to see credible machine generated maps, rules, art
style before long.

~~~
jaimex2
It's been done well already by some games. 1991's Toejam and Earl random
worlds seemed to be incredibly good at it.

