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World Design for 2D Action-Adventures
Award-winning action adventure designers Christopher Totten and Adrian Sandoval guide you on a quest to create levels for different styles of 2D action-adventure games, from top-down dungeon-crawler adventures to side-scrolling non-linear “Metroidvania” titles. Blending theory and practical analysis, the book shows how principles of game and level design are applied in some of your favorite 2D action-adventure games. It uses examples from popular games such as The Legend of Zelda and Hollow Knight, while also providing insights from the authors’ own experiences creating independent games in the genre.
The book also intersperses these examples with practical exercises in 2D action-adventure world design using the free and easy-to-use GB Studio engine, allowing readers to practice their skills and see how lessons from the theory chapters apply in real game development environments. These practical chapters cover the basics of using GB Studio and related software, such as Asesprite and Tiled, to help readers create their own action-adventure characters, monsters, quest systems, switches, keys, and other mechanics - all the way up to designing their own dungeon!
Level Design Practices for 2D Action Adventure Games will be of great interest to all those looking to improve their level design skills within this genre.
The book also intersperses these examples with practical exercises in 2D action-adventure world design using the free and easy-to-use GB Studio engine, allowing readers to practice their skills and see how lessons from the theory chapters apply in real game development environments. These practical chapters cover the basics of using GB Studio and related software, such as Asesprite and Tiled, to help readers create their own action-adventure characters, monsters, quest systems, switches, keys, and other mechanics - all the way up to designing their own dungeon!
Level Design Practices for 2D Action Adventure Games will be of great interest to all those looking to improve their level design skills within this genre.
- GenresGame Design
16 pages, Paperback
Published December 30, 2024
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 14, 2026
Lost of useful concepts and considerations, as well as highly instructive chapters dedicated to applying what was learned via easy-to-use open-source software. It's a wonderful thing to be able to read books on such niche topics by experts like Totten who are both academically minded and genuine practitioners of the craft.
Mind, most of the topics weren't explored at the depth that they would each afford, so maybe a follow-up with more of a theoretical focus wouldn't go amiss; I'd also have appreciated more of an intersection with 3D games, since some examples given in the book might have been better illustrated with reference to 3D action-adventures or ARPGs. On a related note, I did enjoy how often the author noted that many of the concepts here are applicable to RPGs as well; I went into this as an RPG designer with a similar mentality and I was not disappointed.
A great book to have beside you while crafting 2D games with expansive worlds, without a doubt.
Mind, most of the topics weren't explored at the depth that they would each afford, so maybe a follow-up with more of a theoretical focus wouldn't go amiss; I'd also have appreciated more of an intersection with 3D games, since some examples given in the book might have been better illustrated with reference to 3D action-adventures or ARPGs. On a related note, I did enjoy how often the author noted that many of the concepts here are applicable to RPGs as well; I went into this as an RPG designer with a similar mentality and I was not disappointed.
A great book to have beside you while crafting 2D games with expansive worlds, without a doubt.
Displaying 1 of 1 review