Level Design Pipelines!?

[Marvin.Star]

Hello everyone,

I am new here so greetings to all of you! A little about me: I am a Game Development student at Durham College, Ontario, Canada, and my focus is in level design.

I was referred here by a Ubisoft recruiter who said that this is the place to be At the moment I am contemplating my pipeline and what software I will be using to complete the projects I am planning for my portfolio. Your wisdom would be much appreciated!

A couple questions:

Firstly I am curious, what is your workflow? Do you sketch out a map on graph paper and then use Maya to create a block out? Please elaborate as much as you like, the more the better.

Secondly I would appreciate any knowledge of the use of Google SketchUp in the design process. I have been told that level designers at some companies, such as Ubisoft, use Google SketchUp for 'white boxing'. I am a bit fuzzy on exactly what 'white boxing' is. I am thinking it is like a block out, but I am not sure. It was unclear whether or not these designers start on paper or in a 2D software, or if they use Google SketchUp as a drafting tool for top down mapping from start to finish. I would greatly appreciate any knowledge that may clarify the use of this software, and any example of a pipeline from map to engine if possible.

Thank you for your time and brainpower

[Tisky]

I dont work in the industry, yet, but i sketch the map, put the rough blocks out, then work from three. Eat 3d has a great UDK tutorial for this .

[Serenius]

I'm not in the industry, but I'll give my 2c on Sketchup.

Sketchup is awesome for creating exact 2D layouts to proper scale, but kinda sucks for full-blown 3D. I've done both creating a 2D layout in Sketchup and building the actual geometry via BSP (in UE3) and gone the full blown 3D model in Sketchup and imported into the editor (in Source).

UE3 kinda throws you for a loop that only allows for additive geometry building (6 BSP blocks to create a square room) whereas UE3 allows both additive and subtractive (1 cube additive brush and 1 subtractive brush to hollow out the first cube).

To start out on your own, it's probably just best to do it how you're most comfortable, but learn a 3D suite so you can easily hop into a studio that exclusively builds in 3D suites and imports into the game engine (id Software, 343 Industries, Sony Santa Monica, etc.).

[insta]

I've actually written an article about my workflow, you can read it here :

http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categ ... enssen.php

[Marvin.Star]

Thanks for your quick responses!

@ Tisky - Sounds similar to my work flow, what do you use to block out though?

@ Serenius - Thanks for your thoughts on SketchUp. I actually am fairly experienced in working in 3D software, mainly Maya, and I am very comfortable working in the UDK engine as well as Unity 3D. Although I tend to avoid using BSP and make very quick static meshes for block out purposes; because this is how I have worked I havn't missed negative space geometry much. Although I would be curious to hear any thoughts on my workflow, I'll describe it below.

@ insta - Appreciate the link! I am familiar with the website but not this article, I'll dig through it tonight.

Just to clarify, I am not completely new, actually I have built several projects using UDK a couple in teams and a few on my own. As I have been getting more and more serious about design I was curious about different work flows. So I'm a bit beyond basics but if you have suggestions as to any work flows / pipelines that have worked for you I would love to hear about them!

For example my typical work flow involves:

-The Idea / concept: I enjoy building up a good story behind my levels whether they are story driven or just a multiplayer smash up.

-After the idea I begin sketching up maps, very roughly until I find a shape that seems suitable(I tend not to iterate too much here) ** Somewhere around here is where I am thinking Google SketchUp might be useful?

-Next I create very simple assets from Maya, at this point it is key to only make the objects that will influence the gameplay.(no need to model a painting if it doesn't affect how the player moves or sees the area)

-Play Testing!

-Revise block out

-Test and revise until complete.

-Begin beautifying the level if desired.(if you don't have a team working on it already)

That is my typical work flow, any thoughts? What would you do differently? What is your work flow? I'm super excited to find out what different things people use and do in order to design quality maps efficiently :bananawrench:

[skysilcox]

It depends on a few things for me. At work, its such a team effort that the process is very long and involves alot of people doing specific things. In my case that is scripting.

I've messed around with alot of planning tools, sketchup, visio, illustrator, grid paper, whatever, but in my opinion the engine you will work in is a better tool for "planning" than anything else as it will tell you immediately if something is too big, breaks line of sight, isn't long enough, and so on.

A typical process for a personal project MP map for me is this:

SP stuff is bit different as scripting is the crux of the map, but I still tend to just hop in and start making stuff before thinking about it too much, opting to think as I work instead of before. Obviously in a professional environment, so many people are affected by what I do, more planning is needed.

This singleplayer Gears map designed itself as I went, adapting to the combat systems in Gears of War which require mostly flat surfaces with line battles to work well.

The way I approach a professionally developed map is defined by how the studio does things for the most part.

[slowdevelopment]

For personal projects I usually do a little sketching on paper ahead of time to brainstorm, figure out some key gameplay ideas, etc. When I get some sketches that feel like they could be a good start, I go to the editor and whitebox. The whitebox always goes through a lot of iterations; I'll load it up in-game and run around in it whenever I add anything new or make a change, trying to put myself in the mindset of a player. At some point in iterating the whitebox I'll branch off a copy and start adding textures, props, decals, etc. to demo visuals and make sure they fit with the shape and dimensions of the map. Eventually the whitebox stabilizes and then I'll spend a few weeks on visual passes, lighting, vfx, etc.

For professional work it very much depends on the individual project. People can be assigned to work on levels at any point in development and you may have to do any combination of sketching, level building, scripting, and prototyping what you need art assets / lighting / vfx / sound etc. to do in the level to help communicate with respective disciplines. The job includes maintaining the level's vision on its own and within the context of the game, solving design problems with a cross-disciplinary team, as well as things like scripting, building and fixing bugs.

[Marvin.Star]

Thanks for the responses guys! I really appreciate being able to hear from professionals how you tackle personal projects and how that might differ in a studio with a team. @skysilcox thanks for the pics they helped to illustrate your process very well

If anyone else ever feels like sharing please do!

[Furyo]

I have never used Sketchup, and in my time at Ubisoft, haven't seen many people touch it either. The main reason is that Ubisoft uses different engines that all incorporate better modeling tools, or ways to incorporate models made in Max or Maya faster than Sketchup.

If you end up working at Ubi, in Canada, you're likely to use one of three main engines: Dunia (Far Cry 2, other shooters), Anvil (Prince of Persia, Shawn White, Assassin's Creed, other games) or Unreal (Splinter Cell). And the latter is on its way out if not out altogether. Dunia is based on the CryEngine, and incorporates many tools to make your terrain a lot faster and compatible with the engine. And the solid/block tool is very good too. Anvil will have you model things in Max and will export things in two clicks, whereas Sketchup would take you through another extract process.

All the same, the process is a little bit the same for everyone in the end. You start by figuring out what you want to make (that means, professionally, what you have been told to make in many studios), you do your research to get inspired, talk to the concept artists and the art director about what their vision may be, and you go cracking. A 2D layout is always a great idea, and should be part of your research to get inspired. It may not have to be on paper if you're more comfortable with photoshop and or a tablet, but you get the idea.

Always focus on the gameplay, so white box your main path (that means use rough untextured blocks) to simulate the space you'll be navigating in and set that in stone before the artists get to work on your level. If you change anything substantial after they've art passed your level, you will cost a lot of man hours to your project and make a few people angry in the process. So get your stuff reviewed very fast, and every time you change something substantial. Get your lead to sign off on it, then get it to the artist that will spice it up.

Rinse and repeat, that's a level designer's job

NB: In some cases, you may work on games that require you to be a mission designer within levels that are already made. That's the case with all open world games, where the levels (the cities) are made by architects/artists to respect the overall integrity of the game. If that's the case, the process changes quite a bit as you won't be doing any of the blocking, and will focus on maximizing the existing space to make it fun. In Assassin's Creed for instance, that means you get to place the different platforming ingredients along the buildings and streets. It's quite a different process as you should be more focused on story telling and overall pacing than on lighting, scale or optimization.

Finally in some cases yet your work may be more akin to that of a game designer. When I worked on the flying wing in AC2, my process started by exporting the alpha version of the city of Venice into Max for the prototype that was made outside of the engine, and importing the non working, pure model of the flying wing into the engine, so I could just place it in the air throughout Venice to get inspired for the mission, set the path I would later use, change the scale of the flying machine, etc.

The very first time I presented my mission for the flying wing in AC2, I used a powerpoint presentation of different screenshots I took in game of the flying machine idling in the air. It still sold the idea rather well for what was to come.

[Marvin.Star]

Thank you for your response Furyo! I did see it a while ago, my apologies for not responding until now. What you had to say was very insightful and I just wanted to say thank you

[mjens]

Go to http://www.level-design.org and check out the interviews with LDs/LAs. Almost everyone said something about his workflow.

[Marvin.Star]

Ah, yes this site. I'll check out the interviews. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Grinwhrl]

Just to clear up Furyo's reply; some teams do use Sketchup during the level sketch phase.The rest is spot on.

[Grimmsorg]

All of the above workflows sound pretty close to my workflow at work, one thing I like to do to start with before sketching or blocking out a map is to write down every sequence thats going to take place in the level in a logically order, for example it normally ends up looking something like this:

• 1 - Player Start
  2 - Starting Cutscene [write about what the cutscene is about]
  3 - Rest Section [write about what is keeping the player interested while no gameplay is taking place]
  4 - Enemy Encounter 1 [write about what type of encounter you want to take place]
  5 - Rest Section [write about what is keeping the player interested while no gameplay is taking place]
  6 - Puzzle Section [write about what the player has to do]
  7 - Enemy Encounter 2 [write about what type of encounter you want to take place]

I've found this method very good for determining the basic flow of the level. Also I wouldn't stick to a 2D sketch religiously, in my experience once its fully blocked out and people have reviewed it, theres generally alot that gets changed.

[Marvin.Star]

Just to clear up Furyo's reply; some teams do use Sketchup during the level sketch phase.The rest is spot on.

Thanks for the clarification Dark; I had imagined that some teams must since it was a Ubisoft recruiter who suggested to me that it is used But I do appreciate knowing 100%.

@Grimmsorg - Thanks for reading through and posting that extra step from your own practice! I really like the idea of writing a detailed plan. I enjoy planning things out like that as well; although I often find my original plan gets drastically modified due to scale and time constraints. Perhaps something I may try and work on; creating more feasible ideas to begin with