Level Design: Concept, Theory, and Practice

by Rudolf Kremers

Good or bad level design can make or break any game, so it is surprising how little reference material exists for level designers. Beginning level designers have a limited understanding of the tools and techniques they can use to achieve their goals, or even define them. This book is the first to use a conceptual and theoretical foundation to build such a set of practical tools and techniques. It is tied to no particular technology or genre, so it will be a useful reference for many years to come. Kremers covers many concepts universal to level design, such as interactivity, world building, immersion, sensory perception, pace, and more, and he shows how to apply these concepts in practical ways, with many examples from real games.

Genres: Game Design, Games, Video Games

408 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2009

About the author

Rudolf Kremers is a BAFTA nominated veteran game developer, author, photographer, producer, father, husband, cat person, filmmaker, dog person, and consultant. (Not necessarily in that order). Originally of Dutch/Spanish descent, he currently lives and works as an interactive entertainment consultant in Canterbury.

He has worked with clients across the entertainment landscape for more than 22 years, including companies like Lionsgate Studios, Framestore and Electronic Arts, providing design and consultancy work for some of the biggest intellectual properties in the world.

Rudolf has written a textbook on game design called "Level Design: Concept, Theory and Practice" (published by CRC Press/Taylor and Francis), a gaggle of short stories, two novels, several screenplays, and an abundance of video game narratives. His debut sci-fi novel Birds of Paradise is set to be published by the wonderful people at Elsewhen Press in 2023.

An unannounced short horror story collection is also imminent. The publisher and date will be announced soon.

He continues to write sci-fi, horror, weird fiction, historical fiction, and whatever other muse he succumbs to.

Reviews

[Duip]

Well, nothing new, a compilation of ideas.

[Mjhancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kremers offers an overview of the issues of level design in video games, and in the process provides a fairly comprehensive investigation of video games in general. The book has five main sections: introduction to level design, emotional feedback systems, game environments, game stories, and designing gameplay. The first section is pretty basic, with only the single player vs. multiplayer discussion being really significant. The second second on emotional feedback fully considers the the psychological role of the player in games. Game Environments focuses on sound design and visual experiences, delving a bit into cognitive science (I think). Game Stories looks at the role narratives play, and Designing Gameplay briefly discusses world building, puzzles, artificial intelligence, and incorporating challenge.

The book is written at an undergraduate level, and while it does discuss most of the significant debates surrounding video games, it avoids digging too deep into any one topic. I particularly liked the sections on game environments, for focusing on sensory elements to a degree beyond most books, and the chapter on world building. I would have liked more direct examples of games using the techniques he described, but what's here is good.