[Putmalk]

Since we're on the topic of level design, I thought I'd post this. Do you think this is consistent with the guidelines posted in the OP? And may I say, it truly is a fantastic guide (I see you posted the character specific paths, thank you!)

[Deef]

Can't make a judgement on different path layouts when only shown one path, looking at the map would be more useful/interesting.

Sigh, it was such awesome music heh.

[Shadow Wedge]

That spring near the end of act 1 is pretty dickish since there's no reason to believe it would send you straight into spikes and it's impossible to react in time. Other than that it looked pretty good, although a map would be more helpful.

[Cyrus]

Nice guide, I'll be using some of those concepts in my project!

[Shade Vortex]

Let my April Fools day hack serve as an example on how NOT to design Sonic levels.

This post has been edited by Shade Vortex: 02 April 2012 - 08:49 AM

[Caniad Bach]

Putmalk, on 31 March 2012 - 05:19 PM, said:

Since we're on the topic of level design, I thought I'd post this. Do you think this is consistent with the guidelines posted in the OP? And may I say, it truly is a fantastic guide (I see you posted the character specific paths, thank you!)

I think your hack shows excellently how levels or indeed a whole game based around Knuckles' abilities should be, aside from this:

Shadow Wedge, on 01 April 2012 - 09:04 PM, said:

That spring near the end of act 1 is pretty dickish since there's no reason to believe it would send you straight into spikes and it's impossible to react in time.

Other than that I think you've done excellently and that's exactly the kind of paths that cater to specific character's abilities that I'd like to see in upcoming Sonic Team games.

[Sparks]

Spreading out Gimmicks added.

I would have done a lot more, but while trying to update a few images in the first post, I fucked up a level map pretty seriously. It got fixed, but it still tore up my mood for the day.

This post has been edited by Sparks: 16 May 2012 - 05:15 PM

[Knucklez]

Sparks, on 16 May 2012 - 05:14 PM, said:

Spreading out Gimmicks added.

This guide should definately be wiki'd.

[DinodudeEpic]

I find this article to be really helpful in thinking up ideas about what Sonic levels should be about.

Although, I'm wondering if we can have 3D levels with the same aspects. As in, 3D Sonic Levels with multiple paths not only upwards and downwards but left and right too, and it can have them all interconnect. (Just like what the opening post said, but transferred to a 3D plane.)

[Palas]

I posted the in the SEGA Forums and I believe it could add something to the discussion:

Sonic is fast.

Let's just assume that. That's what we want to see in a Sonic game, I suppose. But how do you make the players perceive that? Surely we can just boost him to win, right? It's the sensation of speed that counts.

Well, everyone disagrees nowadays. There needs to be platforming for a Sonic game to be good. But... why, exactly? Even Ken Balough did a statement saying that the level design in Sonic Generations (or was it Sonic 4?) was good because the 3-layer scheme as there (the higher you go, the more rewards, but the harder it is to stay there). Okay, let's just assume this is good for a gaming experience. But... why?

Let me give you a morbid analogy: you want someone to like a mask you've made. It's a common, fullface mask made of plaster. Now, you can give it to him/her and s/he may like it and actually wear it. Okay, but some people will say "yeah, this sucks" and throw it on your face. You may come back with a fancy mask with feathers and glitter and sequins and whatnot, but this will always make someone unhappy. And, obviously, you can only give one mask. So you'll never make as much people like the mask you've made as you'd like to. But~! If you burn their faces with a goddamned flamethrower, hell will they value your mask and wear it!

It's the same with level design. It's about contrast. It's about making then player notice when s/he's being fast and actually feel something about it, be it relief or thrill. That's why "models" of Level Design will always be insufficient.

Ken Balough said that what made the level design in classic Sonic games awesome was that the higher you went, the more rewards you got, but the harder it as for you to stay there. There is truth in this statement, but at the same time it's a farfetched generalisation. For instance, how can this hypothesis explain the fact that nearly all speedruns are made through the top layer? How would this explain Sonic CD's level design, in which you could even run mindlessly, but you'd end up caught in some kind of trap or a more difficult path, whereas the ones at the top were mostly empty and allowed you to actually run?

At the same time, we can't make the counter-generalisation and say we're right. This wouldn't explain Green Hill, for example. What I can suggest is that proper level design in Sonic is never about alternative pathways, exploration, shortcuts etc. It's about building an ambient.

It's about making the level ahead an amusement park. There is a little bit of this, a little bit of that. A little bit of badniks' localisation, a little bit of slopes or something that provides instant, blazing speed. All in shades of gray, so that the player can experience AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE in a playthrough. This will allow the game to be more full and interesting. It's not about leading the way, but to stimulating or refraining certain behaviours: there are may kinds of players and they all have needs, so you better satisfy as many of them as you can.

So there must be room for speedrunners, for collectors etc. But how exactly do you do that?

I'll start with a very basic concept, which I'll call Clockwork. It's an ideal level in which you can follow all the way to the end, and then come back to the start through other one. Basically, you can reach anywhere coming from anywhere. Now, this is perfectly harmonic, as all of the player's choices are reversible. This could be the base for all level design, since it ultimately gives utter, absolute freedom to the designer and to the player.

That's where the designer can start playing around. The deconstruction of a Clockwork is when a designer places a point of no return somewhere on the map, for instance, and starts placing the gimmicks which provide different sensations. This way, you could make it either what Ken said that's how it was or what I said Sonic CD was like. But~! It's important to unite both paradigms.

That's where burning the player's face comes: Marble Zone. Notice how Scrap Brain follows Star Light, which follows Labyrinth Zone, which follows Spring Yard, which follows Marble Zone, which follows Green Hill. Notice a pattern? Grosso modo, it's an alternation of slow zones and fast zones. This makes the player feel the speed better, because there is the comparison with the last slow zone. Also, these are a different experience, in which you have to get a hold of yourself. Not surprisingly, Star Light is a fan favourite from Sonic 1, Chemical Plant is a fan favourite from Sonic 2, Ice Cap is a fan favourite from Sonic 3, Stardust Speedway is a fan favourite from Sonic CD etc. It's about the value you give to the speed you achieve. It's not about too much automation and too few platforming, but the degree of contrast or integration between them. And, funnily, there needs to be contrast even between contrast and integration in order to make the level design complete.

Also, this can happen WITHIN a given stage. Sections of hardcore platforming, sections of pure speed. This is one thing - but, more importantly, you have to connect them all harmoniously, unlike what was done in Sonic Colors. If you could flatten Sonic Colors' level design, generally speaking, it would probably look like a hive or something like that: a lot of alternative pathways, no cohesion between them because they offered basically the same.

It's important to have in mind that the feeling of progress in terms of challenge is equally important, so that the player knows what's happening in the game and feels compelled to go on. An useful tool are the skill tolls. These are elements that will "evaluate" your skill at that given time and decide whether you "deserve" to stay in that pathway or to go to an emptier or more dangerous one. These are badniks, flying spike balls, you've seen them all. It's really important not to keep on the same element for a number of reasons and, hell, they've done this a lot in the last games. This, along with the possibility to climb up (or fall down) and try again is important. Give me to pathways and they're just two roads I can cross. Give me a toll post on one of them and this will influence my behaviour.

That's where rewards come. You will try and cross a skill toll if you know you'll be rewarded. And visible rings or item boxes are one of the elements that can influence your behaviour, too. The Great Carol Yas has stated, "it's all about seeing something and figuring out how to get there". And, hey, Carol Yas was the one guy who made Sonic great at the time, alright?

Another principle also suggested by Carol Yas is that of long-term, middle-term as short-term objectives that must be put in front of the player. The long-term could be finishing the game or the zone, the middle-term could be finishing the stage; but what's of importance here are the short-term objectives.

If you play Sonic 2 with such high degree of attention as to spot the short-term objectives, you'll actually lose the point. Because they appear as you play, naturally. Here, the point is to make such recognizable and memorable sections that the player will remember what to do about it. But, first, he'll have to figure out. It's like a puzzle, just applied to Sonic. There could even be a few actual puzzles in Sonic if the designers saw fit, but what's important is the dinamism. You can even be stopped, but there is a whole ambient out there scheming against you, and you must use it to reach your objective - sometimes even more than just passing through the obstacles, you have to use them. That's what our beloved momentum is all about: Sonic being the lord of the stage, not the other way around.

But I did say that the designer is the one making stuff to mock on the player, right? Right. But how do the two statements relate without being contradictory? Well, it's just that the designer shouldn't, at first, push the player towards the rides in the amusement park. It's just the neon light that may or may not attract the player, and each one likes one type of ride.

Yes, obstacles make platforming, but how? It's not just direct, frontal threatening. If you take a look, you'll notice that most of the obstacles in classic levels don't hit you - it's you who hits them by doing something that the level didn't want you to. Obstacles have a life on their own and it's your fault if you lose your rings. Not theirs. Spikes fly over your head, badniks shoot things because they shoot things etc. This is what you could call diffuse challenge. The danger is out there, so it does some influence on your behaviour.

Platforming is generally not about something that you want the player to DO, but about something that you DON'T want the player to do. Jump, and you'll most likely get hit. Stand still for too long and see what happens. That's how the designer plays.

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Now, here, let me show you my views in a practical way. I sketched this level a while ago (some... months, maybe).



I didn't place any badniks or rings for a reason, nor did I specify what each item box does. Now, on to what the objects are:



Now, the first section I'd like to drag your attention to is this one:



There are two points here: first, the player should be able to see the end of the stage (the signpost, the huge ring, whatever) from the starting point, but not the item box. I ask you. Will the player want to see what's to the left? Well, some of them may, some may not. But I won't move a finger to call his attention and say that there could be something to the left. Rings, badniks, everything could be a giveaway. So, if the player gets to the end and sees the item box, there will be the sensation that he didn't explore everything - and, better, s/he'll feel stupid about it because it as there all the time. I suppose this should be able to enhance replay value.

Second, it's important to start a level showing off your gimmicks (the mini black hole, in this case), just to tell the player how they work without harming him/her. This way the game becomes more intuitive.

The second important section is this:



There are three ways from here. To the left, downwards and to the right. If the player takes the left or the bottom path, s/he'll inevitably reach a trigger. If s/he chooses the path to the right, there is a possibility that the first trigger s/he'll face will be the last one... and I don't want that, because it's too threatening to be the first one to meet and I want the player to be prepared by this time. It's obligatory, anyway. So, in theory, only experienced players seeking speedruns should come here (and I'm not even sure this would be the fastest way anyway). That's why I probably should put a skill toll here - the spikes are an example, but there could be a badnik "guarding" this path or, on the other hand, I could attract the player with visible, small rewards on the other paths. This relates with that principle I talked about, in which the paths which are hardest to reach usually become the easiest to cross - it's not always "more rewards, more difficult to stay there".

Another section:



I put those two item boxes there to attract the player to the other 4 ones that he can't reach. Some rings may be necessary to keep the interesting alive (like a trail of... I don't know, candy. Didn't a fairy tale use something like this?). I think that's how you stimulate exploration: "holy cow, 4 delicious item boxes... but how do I get there?" If you take a look, you'll realise it's a long way to reach these (more on this later). But~! Some players are more prone and have more iron will than others, but eventually one ill have to look everyhere to find a way. And it's optional, which prevents loads of frustration (even if not completely).

Now, on the teleporters (required to reach the 4 item boxes placed outside of the maze). I didn't put any order between them. But I did make them visible, yet enigmatic (those two, side by side with an item box in-between). I wonder if this was a good choice. I mean, inevitably the first one will have to be that one, down there. It think it's the only possibility, but I'm not sure. Anyway, Sonic CD did a lot of this: show you something, leave you ondering just hat the heck that might be... and I find it interesting, even though it may look displaced sometimes.

Moving forward:



It is possible to blaze through this level. But~! Go ahead. Try it and see what happens. If you're reckless enough or have set a strategy beforehand, you can cross the center of this level and make it in record time. But, in order to do this, you have to avoid dying. Twice. And you'll have to be fast, but I would NEVER move a finger to make you faster. This is important. The reckless have a place in the world, too. Saying "who cares" and throwing yourself forward without fear is a positive trait, right? There should be reward for this sometimes. But there must be danger, too.

The last section I'd like to talk about is this one:



There is some precision to accessing the path to the left. If you can't or got attracted to the rewards (the checkpoint post, for example), you're screwed: here's one of the two sections where I applied that principle enunciated by Ken Balough (and by pretty much every fan out there): risk and reward. The risk is enormous: you have 5 seconds to climb a hole lot of platforms and reach the top, otherwie, you're dead. Challenge, people. There must be some life-threatening challenge (which the player is actually aware of) and I haven't seen this for a while.

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Now, is music a part of level design? What about art?

I may be a little too holistic about level design. For me, structure s important, but one level must correlate with almost everything else in the game in order to be effective. And music, for instance, is very important. The pace of the tune may stimulate you or refrain you... or maybe make some efforts displaced. Let me give you an example.

Sonic Colors has fast paced music. Amazing music, don't get me wrong, but if you jut TRY to stand still somewhere, the game will make this action seem weird. You gave to be always running in Sonic Colors, and this much I find intriguing. This way, platforming becomes undermined, even if very complex and intelligent (like in Starlight Carnival). Or, at least, it is transformed.

On the other hand, Sonic CD's ambient, grim music made Metallic Madness just insurmountable, because it felt horribly, horribly wrong to run. Even in the Good Future. These effects must be balanced - how?

The first thing to have in mind is that the tune must be easy to remember. This helps A LOT in creating a distinctive feeling for the stage. Actually, not having a catchy tune is probably the worst thing that can happen to a stage, because then you'll most likely remember what the stage was like, but not feel attached to it.

But it must be fitting. Now, Sonic Colors' music WAS fitting in a way. Aquarium Park's tunes are just so Aquarium Park-ish I can't even deal. But~! Let me tell you, Planet Wisp Act 3 is a better tune than Act 1 and 2. Not because I like it more, but because it's also more "neutral" regarding behaviours. It doesn't feel awkward to be slow, but it also isn't weird to blast off.

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I agree with the OP and ith some replies to various degrees, but, still, I think I could only fully express my opinion with a giant wall of text. I'm sorry about that.

This post has been edited by Palas: 25 May 2012 - 06:49 AM

[Strife]

There's something I thought about today regarding multiple routes and rewards.

We know that generally, the more difficult a route is to stay on, the more rewards the player will receive for their efforts (I.e. staying on a high route nets you better powerups, or at least lets you finish the level faster). Of course, not all alternate routes are necessarily difficult to stay on, especially in the case of underground or indoor areas where it's really only a matter of preference which route to take.

Let's say that we have a stage that splits into 3 possible routes. One route is very short, another route takes a longer time to pass through, and the third route is somewhere in between. Do you think it would make sense to have the longest route offer the best rewards? The way I see it, Time is an important resource in a Sonic game, and I'm wondering if shaving 5-10 seconds off your total time is enough of a reward in itself. Plus, if there's no other rewards in the shortcut, it provides that extra challenge for speedrunners, whereas people who need some extra rings or powerups can sacrifice time and go the long way around. (This is technically the idea behind secret areas, actually.)

If your fangame has some sort of boost mechanic, what you could also do to balance out your routes is to make it easier to gain a boost on the longer route to allow players to "catch up" to those who took the shortcut. Heck, if all three paths merge into an area with a lot of enemies or spikes, you could put an invincibility monitor at the end of the long route, such that those who took the shortcut are more at risk but will be rewarded with an awesome time if they're skilled enough not to get slowed down by the hazards.

[Candescence]

If I may, I'd like to interject with some thoughts about possible directions for level design. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair on XBLA and PSN, while admittedly a rather different kind of platformer to what Sonic is, provides a rather interesting take on multiple routes, each with their own challenges, secrets, and rewards. A couple of examples (huge images warning here):

Spoiler

There are even routes and gimmicks that make use of a particular character's abilities, such as the orbs that allow Shanoa to use her magnetic ability or Julius' whip-swing. There's a heavy emphasis on exploration, finding the best route that works for you, rather than the objectively "optimal" route. Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone are probably the closest equivalents to this kind of level design.

It also provides some very interesting takes when it comes to bosses, who, rather than simply wait around for you to come and kill them, sometimes make efforts to hinder you, or interact with the stage in different ways once you actually start fighting them. The first stage boss occasionally fires huge beams of energy from its mouth that can hit you anywhere in the stage if you're not careful. Death in the stage in the first image will leave his boss room to hunt you down in order to attack you, and you can't hurt him normally, instead using those spotlights to ward him off. Menance in the last image will, when actually woken up, rise to about several storeys high, and demolish all the stuff in the middle of the stage, and that huge bone-thing at the top of the stage can be used to knock him down so you can damage him more.

Basically, HoD uses some rather unconventional quirks in its level design that aren't necessarily exclusive to that particular style of game.

Just food for thought.

[Palas]

Quote

Let's say that we have a stage that splits into 3 possible routes. One route is very short, another route takes a longer time to pass through, and the third route is somewhere in between. Do you think it would make sense to have the longest route offer the best rewards? The way I see it, Time is an important resource in a Sonic game, and I'm wondering if shaving 5-10 seconds off your total time is enough of a reward in itself. Plus, if there's no other rewards in the shortcut, it provides that extra challenge for speedrunners, whereas people who need some extra rings or powerups can sacrifice time and go the long way around. (This is technically the idea behind secret areas, actually.)

Iirc, that's more or less how Sonic CD works. The longest route is also the one with more power-ups, but also the one with more badniks. Quartz Quadrant Act 1 could be an example.

And I like this approach. You see, the game will (or should) supposedly try to send you to the longest route all the time. If it actually succeeds in this, and this will happen to unexperienced players, then it would be a rather bleak game if all the fun was somehere else. Besides, what you said is true: "people who need [or even want] some extra rings or powerups can sacrifice time and go the long way around."

[Espyo]

Meanwhile, we have Sonic Heroes' levels. Here's a sketchy sketch I made of Seaside Hill:

Spoiler

Green is terrain, brown is alternate terrain, black is all available possible routes, red is also part of the route, but it's an automated section.

Gah, as you can see, Sonic Team had 3 dimensions to work with, but made something... absurdly linear.

On that note, Sonic Team Jr., the guys behind Sonic Robo Blast 2 have pretty complex 3D levels. Sonic Team should definitely learn with them.

[Turbohog]

To be fair, Seaside Hill was the first level, so it shouldn't be over-complicated. I'd be more interested in seeing the level layouts from later in the game.