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Time to watch ALL of it

Can I use this for a class teaching students how to design levels?

Awesome video Max.

As a level design mentor I always struggle to provide a decent LD kit for my students. Usually butchering existing packs and combining it with a few blueprints of my own to support the ideas my students had. My approach was time consuming and not efficient. With your addition I don't have to worry about that anymore! Thanks a lot Max, that's a fantastic LD kit!

Great episode. I'm starting my level design journey and gave myself a challenge - meet you someday as a regular level designer in a well known project and thank you personally!

🔥🔥

Grats max! it looks great!!! :D

Impressive nice !

Bro told us his life story before introducing himself. Host should be able to lead a good conversation

This is a great video about this game type, as every game type is different and designed appropriately for that game.

I have one question:in the Utimate guide to video game writing and design is said the Cinema medium and their tecniques had still today a huge influence on how games are designed,so how is this matter of cuts in level design? Because in the cinema due to the highly cost budge and thin deadline they have to film in the best way possible the actions and words done by the characters to be understanded in the first glance,so requirement is also present in level design?

I think four games that can be put in this principle of giving to the player the weapons and necessary knowledge but allowing them to discover their own ways of playing and using the mechanics into their game experience is: 1.Alice Asylum(game design bible document you have as a main mechanic in the is the alchemic runes symbols where each of them functions like a equipament that has a main ability that can be evolved to certain levels where the player after completely upgrading them gains a unique related to the alchemic rune that you have selected to use and the most interesting part of this is that you adquired them fighting special hidden enemies whose they represent and shows the effects and usage of rune in gameplay that shows without any kind of text or unnecessary content what each alchemic rune can do in terms of gameplay both im their advantages and disadvantages. 2.The Wolf Among Us:althought this is a game focused primarly in story and narrative than actual gameplay the part that i think relates to the principles expressed in the video is that in the game you have significant numbers of interactions that you can do in each location and part of the game that shows what action will be done once the player activates but without giving the full context or result of it making the player feel that each possible action that he can do had value to it even if it's relevant in a micro level aspect. 3.Assassin Creed:After the player had completed the main mission in each hub of the game and such progresses the narrative into a new road the playes receives as acess and substance reward weapons that offers new choices and possibilites on how deal with each mission at the different and distinct parts of the locations where you only receive only a brief what they can do which the main task of discovering effective ways of using it falls down to the player making his experience im the animus more free and challenging. 4.Yugioh Duelist of the roses:After you as the rose duelists had choose and defined the basic information about yourself(your avatar name,deck master and which faction do you want to join in the game) you go to a basic tutorial where the players learn the core mechanics of the game in brief manner without much detail,so that makes the player to dive into the possibles usages of this mechanics throught their own experimentation whose value to the player tend to be bigger even if the mechanic was already learned in the begining(for example:which cards are compatible to fuse with each other,what terrain subtracts or adds points to each type of monster,what monsters are spellbounded by what type)

oh damn another thing for the wishlist, those cards look great and super useful. Pricy though. Been thinking of using photography to study spaces around me, but I just find it difficult to remember resources I have gathered. Need to find a strategy to solve that.

In regards to types Main Menus different and unique in how to utilize some unique interaction from the start i can give three examples of this: 1-Naruto Utimate Ninja 5:in the main menu you have a chibi version of the main character that throught the player input in choosing or selecting modes he make actions and moves even in the idle state which in some cases is directly related with game modes in question. 2-Alice Madness Returns:the main menu is completely static in terms of animation and movement with only a void in the background,but the main central feature that is highlighted is the main Character:Alice liddel presenting his full body and visual image, something that in drawing of comics is very crucial element to give a good and impactful presentation and empathy for the character you show is whole body and all the information that is presented by the design,that creates not only a more strong connection with the main character from the start but also indicates for the player that Alice will be the most character of the game in all aspects. 3-The Wolf Among Us:the menu is highly minimalistic and with very little details but is very creatively used to pass a unique atmosphere of suspense and investigation that the game develops where throught the idle walking of the protagonist,Bigby Wolf,you can see the figures of very characters in the background that is primary or second characters important in each chapter indicating their importance in some level to the plot.

Amazing video

I agree with you. Everything you said makes much sense, especially the units/size. I recently switched my career path from HR to level designing (got a couple of years of experience with steam content), and after building for a few hours, I realized how painful it was to not have a sheet to sum up all the metrics. Since I started to do that, things are going way smoother and it feels like metrics are probably the most important thing when building a level. I discovered you by a friend and I really like your content! Thanks again for your insight!

What you had said about if possible make all the interactive and explorable elements of the game have meaning not only in the practical gameplay but also a intricated and immersive relation to the World of the project had remainded me about a quote of the book The Utimate guide to worldbuilding that says:when you are presenting and showing the world to the consumer explore two perspectives:of a tourist enchanted by the wonders and mysterious of this place and of an resident that lives and deals with his problems and secrets within his living of the place,so i think it's also possible to the use the perspective of the level design with this focus in mind to enhance the contrast of the places not only throught the visual and movement aspect of the level design but also to the narrative aspect of the worldbuilding that the game has in his story and functionality,of course depending of the proposal that game intend to fulfil. For example: in American McGee Alice series you assumed the Role of Alice Liddel that after suffering a major trauma in her childhood had your mind distorced and drastically changed by the experiences and the mental that the protagonist have in each game,so the players and Alice are constantly exploring not only the bizzare wonders of her bizzare psique,but also the dangers and macabre scars that Alice had accumulated in all her adoslecent and adult years offering countless rewards in sensorial feedback of the magnificent art style and exploration itself where every piece of Wonderland tells something about Alice that has broad and wider forms of interpreting them,just like the original book,but throught the input and choises that the players had in their journey in Wonderland. In terms of the collectables been something interesting in terms of gameplay aside from the extrinsic rewards,one example that comes to my mind is the Assassin creed 1,where the collectables basically in the game design structure basically acts like checkpoints that saves the progress of the player but without taking away the player from their immersion of the simulation that the Animus create which is also a genious illussion that the developers use to hide the fact that the narrative structure of the game is a hub and spoke where you assuming the role of Desmond milles's Avatar Altair,complete missions that only explores his memory of the artefact of Eden that he had encountered,in the era of the crusades.

Really useful video, thanks! Subbed 🫡

Thank you very much for making this video and these talks! I am not a Level Designer, but a Concept(Environment) Artist, who sometimes gets a task like to blockout a location. Videos like these are very interesting, it helps with thinking ahead while concepting. I met you at the devcom and did not know what I could ask back then (and everything was so exciting), so I just want to say thank you for sharing your experiences and knowledge!

Kevin has such a cool perspective on music and creativity. There are not enough hours of him talking about it publicly

Hi great video!! i was wondering what kind of software to you use to make those grid images as seen at the beginning of the video where you describe decision points ?

Criminally underrated channel! And it makes no sense why this amazing epsiode got so few views.

Hey man, really appreciate the feedback! You are right man sorry I hadn’t thought about it. Will make sure I try make things clearer moving forward. Again thanks mate

I have a critizism. Do not publish content that relies on visuals as podcasts.. It is extremely misleading and annoying. I listened to like 10min before realizing it's a presentation but published as a podcast. Nice content but had to Switch over to YT to make sense

非常感谢

This is a good video about basics, of course a mixed bag with some errors that you can see often in triple A games (such as making boring filler stuff on purpose for the "pacing", I also hate stuff like the "easy first kill", no wander most of those games feel like the same stuff with different flavour), anyhow if you are new I suggest on take some pen and paper and take some notes. From time to time I return to this video, among others, to force myself to think about stuff I take for granted when refining a map structure, returning to basics is the best way to make sure your maps are fun to play and navigate.

hey want to ask if your patreon and discord are still alive ?

Thank you so much for presenting and sharing your knowledge! I watched the entire video fascinated with what you had to say. You’re very good at public speaking and keeping your audience focused. I can’t believe people weren’t more engaged or at least laughed from time to time when you made a fun joke.. tuff crowd and even with the tech difficulty you stayed professional and kept the same energy! Liked the video and new subscriber 👏

Hey which blocks are you using? Is it just the modelling blocks? Also, how do you add the translucent colors onto the blocks like that? I’m trying to get better at level design and this looks way more professional than what I been doing 😅 you’ve got a new subscriber this is such valuable information! 🙏

Hey Max! I have followed you for around 6 years now, think you only had a couple of videos out when I found this channel. Back then I was still a student and had finally realised that I wanted to become a level designer. I was desperately and eagerly trying to find more information about this discipline and at the time your channel was one of the few sources out there. Almost two years ago I landed my first internship as a level designer at Arrowhead Game Studios, working on a pretty unknown game back then called Helldivers 2. I’m now a full time employee and have contributed a lot to the level design and mission design for this game. Just seeing Helldivers 2 play in the background in this video made me realise how far I have come, and I just wanted to thank you for all the great content you have put out during these years. You have definitely helped me and i’m sure you have helped other level designers. Have a great day and keep up the good work!

theres only one commint in 4 years?

Reusing level layouts with some alterations (or even using a generated environment) can be all that needs for a level to feel different, but it has to be a clear difference. It’s why a lot of people find Skyrim dungeons as repetitive as they all feel the same even if they’re all different layouts generally

hi! Very informative as always. Can you explain what is the "cover generation" pls?

😎 Promo SM

Hey Max, thanks for the video. while learning Level Design i signed to GameJam and at this point I'm not sure how to behave in the team. How does it usually go, considering the in GameJam everythig has to be from scratch? what will be the effective approach to the Jam? should we prioritize something first overr the other?

The division 2 was terrible 😭😭😭😭 I do like your video tho😭🤣😘

Just ran into your page, interesting content, keep it up for good.

Wow. There's video now

Currently, our project is working on Boss Battle Design. I think a good way to design Boss battle is that the Designer should ask himself : What Gameplay Experience does he offer? Does players experience it natrully? How players react to play? Our team problem is when they found that some reference is cool, they just want copy it. but it's not work when all mechanics stick together. And also, I think Game Designers (3C, AI, Boss) should start their Career as a Level Designer becuase all content will be provided in Levels, LD will consider more about General Player Experience and Level Environments. How to create a Cool Boss Battle Environment, lights, CG and Boss Skill in a efficient way is very important. Because project budget is limited

Coooll

why not fund the studio yourself? i think it's pathetic expecting some magical money fairy to pay for everything.

What's one of your favorite boss fights and why?

You need to share that desktop wallpaper dude.

can you share the guts gazing at the stars desktop please?

Jobye has been my mentor since mid-2023. He evaluated my work and gave me the direction I needed to 10x my skills. I work two jobs and it isn't easy to build a portfolio, Jobye cuts through anything that's not important and keeps me focused on a single direction. 10/10 HIGHLY RECOMMEND signing up for his mentorship.

Very nice tips, I am use some of them recently, and the my team pipeline is very well. Another tool that, particularly, help me is the control sheets. Is very quickly do manutence if you have a good control of where have or not some interaction in a level. I create a template sheet and use in any project. If somebody want see I have a video about my LD control sheet in my channel: ruclips.net/video/hIJEOR8wsqw/видео.htmlsi=TuF4RFjZ9-V28sUM

I find so many executives that cause the problem’s in the first place don’t fall on their own sword but fire people below them and keep their position. It’s just sad.

Had the same situation at the beginning of 2023, you have a 100% right advices as always ! Keep strong and very best of luck, Max !

Amazing stuff! I love the idea of filling in the open world with these mini side bits. My favorite one I've experienced so far was in Westbrook Hills near Kerry's house. It was a small spot with a machete on a tree with several dead bodies nearby. There was a text conversation note about a child asking their parent to come pick them up because they were scared. It made me realize how scary but real Night City is and left me wanting to learn more.

6 minutes in and zero analysis or breakdown. CTRL-F.