Designing Radically Non-Linear Single Player Levels

[droqen]

Regarding Aubrey Serr's
"Designing Radically Non-Linear Single Player Levels"

[droqen]

Aubrey tries to describe: What is it that I'm interested in?

4:42

Ms. Pac-Man Level Notes
- Not too big or too small "It's small enough so that the whole map is in play"
- Easy to understand "All the systems are legible in some sense - complex enough to be interesting but transparent enough to be predictable"
- No exit "There's no exit . . . even if a radically nonlinear map has an exit, the player often ignores it until other objectives are met"
- Dynamic pacing "you have very few tools for pacing & linear storytelling . . . dynamic systems where timing is important: power pellets, ghost respawns"

5:30

Open world?
. . .
[No, because an open world has] no set challenge and totally different gameplay

5:56

Are these kinds of maps just the same as a . . .
Multiplayer Bot Match?
Yes [!!!], except you don't need:
- [Various online-multiplayer tech things]
- Symmetrical balance
- Etc. [?]

[droqen]

So at this point I think a lot of the things that Aubrey has identified are the wrong things, but in general the talk is gesturing in a really interesting direction. In particular, the idea of these types of games basically being a Multiplayer Bot Match really works for me. A term he uses is "arena," and I wonder if this is a better name for this pattern than "radically non-linear".

[droqen]

8:11

Why are Radically Nonlinear Levels Rad?
- Deeper gameplay "they emphasize gameplay over story . . . a more open map allows the gameplay systems more room to breathe" [ehh i don't know about that but alright]
- More choices "strategic and tactical decisions"
- Map knowledge "exploration is naturally [organically?] rewarded"
- Destroy anything an option [not a benefit to me personally, this is just mechanical]
- More realistic [byawn]
- Replayability

[droqen]

OK, section 2, How do you build a Nonlinear Level? 9:35

[droqen]

  10:40
Aubrey describes some types of layout, and claims that the goal of each layout is to make it impossible to predict which path the player will take. I don't think his examples are particularly good ones for my case, but I understand the point he's trying to make. I can also see how I already apply this to my own work, and how his examples differ from mine and maybe show the beginnings of how I can generalize my process to other genres.

Key: Level designs that intentionally make it impossible to predict where the player will go.

[droqen]

  11:52
"As well as layout I like to have a clear grasp of how the gameplay is going to be unique to the level. One method is to try to find an aspect of gameplay that's underutilized and focus on it" Yeah I'm down

Key: Level designs that revolve around activating a specific underutilized aspect of gameplay.

[droqen]

  15:03
"How to troubleshoot Nonlinear Level problems?"

Common Issues
- Too linear --> Open up more paths
- One solution --> Trust the gameplay, give it room [? ? ? how do you debug if it's not though?]
- No structure ". . . too uniform, so you end up doing the same things over and over" --> Unique layout and concept?
- Not reactive "sometimes the player can feel helpless" --> Balance around the player "the level should be balanced so it's reactive to the player, and they act as the tipping point for the gameplay systems"
- Feels "random", "empty" --> Communicate more/better (he recommends a talk from 2016, hitman, guiding players in a non-linear sandbox)
- Not enough gameplay --> Talk to your design team [He suggests a bunch of example mechanics instead of dynamics, not very useful]
- Not the right style "not cinematic/narrative enough" --> Make the map more linear "there's no way around this, nonlinear levels don't suit every game"

[droqen]

Wow Serr designed the levels for Receiver! I loved Receiver, but I think it didn't communicate what he's now talking about very well -- the field structure was not expressed to me as a player, so I never really did the backtracking gameplay he's describing here at all.

[droqen]

Q&A

Q: "we have tools to measure"
A: "get player feedback, watch people stream the game . . . [no metrics,] watch live playtest where i can see the player's face"

Q: "dangers and benefits of procedural generation"
A: "it should be kept to a minimum"

Q: "i'm an educator . . . start simple and build complexity. linearity -> nonlinearity, is that difficult?"
A: "making a really compelling nonlinear experience is extremely difficult . . . a different set of skills"

Q: "how can you make . . . obstacles that are obstacles without impeding the core gameplay" (world boundary)
A: "this is a really difficult problem . . . you have to have those movement options cost something"

Q: "overlaps with vr projects"
A: "there is a vr version of receiver . . . it basically works . . . "

[droqen]

My raw notes:

arena, clear and transparent systems, requires great systems, requires systems that generate complexity, requires systems where planning ahead is both inevitable and impossible, supports a specific class of gameplay system, multiplayer bot match seems like a great parallel pattern, level designs that make it impossible to predict the player, emergent player behaviour, player behaviour that surprises the designer, having intent within the system but not within the player experience, forces, fields, fields of energy, attraction and repulsion, unpredictable player behaviour, not closing the eyes but intentionally pushing players into unpredictability, tension, dynamic tension, "no exit", requires intention, requires openness, requires playing with forces and not lines, designing fields.

[droqen]

Further notes:

nonlinear level design relies heavily on a strong system with a huge amount of emergent possibility.

nonlinear level design involves making the player unpredictable to the designer.

nonlinear level design is the subtle design of the forces which act upon the player.

[droqen]

i'm not sure if i support "making the player unpredictable to the designer" anymore. it seems like something that designers love and players hate.