Well I'm currently started my first game on gb studio to get a hang on things and then I'ma move to unity after. I am pretty good at drawing so I will be making majority of my assets.
I also think it's important to think about how the player's future abilities will work in each area. It's so satisfying to revisit an area with your new tricks and fly through everything in a matter of seconds.
You should really know most, of not all of your abilities and what they do FIRST AND FOREMOST in a metroidvaina. That way you can know what feels good to use and can give your abilities time to shine and I don't mean like how they did it in bloodstained where they only work when allowed in specific places.... Edit: looks like i just accidentally reposted what he said in step 3. Just as I posted that I got to that part in the video. 😄
@@Goodgis I have a question about that. I’m thinking about making a mega man zero mission-style metroidvania, but now I’m not so sure anymore. At first, my protagonist was gonna learn new elements for magic, such as fire, ice, wind, earth; the usual elements you see in other games. But I don’t want to make this meek character overpowered like the Avatar so I limit the elements to wind and lightning. But then what will they earn from defeating bosses?
Funfact: there is actually a "cheese mine". In Austria, near the city Weiz (Styria), there is a place where they make cheese in an abandoned silver mine, because of the constant temperature in the shafts. And they call it Mine Cheese
My tip is harder to do for 2d games, but not impossible, but works really well for 3d games. Each level (really each room) should have a focal point. Something noticeable, large, flashy, or interesting where the player can orient themselves around and remember if you come back to it later. It really helps to create the flow of the map if you are focusing on a point, or three.
@@Goodgis Eventually, that can be a cool goal to work on, and Godot doesn't make it any harder to add such feature :) (I use Godot too, and unfortunately, I never finished the game I was working on that was supposed to have player-made levels, so, you know...)
I am making a metroidvania game mixed with a rougelite style game and this honestly helped me get unstuck!! thanks!! (also cant wait for dewdrop dynasty to be done!!!!!)
That sounds so interesting! How does it work? Is it a roguelike where you play a randomly generated metroidvania or a metroidvania which is also a roguelike? Pls answer, this sounds so great. A combination of the 2 best genres
Was thinking about something similar. I was indecided. Should I make a randomly generated metoridvenia or a metroidvenia that u will restart everytine u die? Ended givin the idea up AHAHAH
Thank you for the tips! I've been stalling my own world building but I'm feeling motivated now. I really like the idea of creating the map layout first.
I started watching your videos a few days ago. Really cool content man! Your story is really inspiring! We are about the same age and we have pretty much the same background story! :D Is Godot your weapon of choice in the end? Btw, please, don't give up anymore! I believe in you!
Love the idea of blocking out all the rooms in rough form first, then laying out all items so you can see the critical path. Super helpful. Keep it up!!
I want to see a Metroidvania game where you restore a planet by using electricity so it doesn’t blackout. Instead of killing enemies you charge them up with your gun to make progress on your mission. The world is super dark and you need a light source to guide you through the map. Bosses can be time trials challenges, if you don’t fully charge them in a given time they’ll shut down for a while before you can try again. I am against bloody violence in video games, I want to see someone to stand out in the crowd.
Brand new to the indie game dev dream and platform levels are by far way harder than I ever thought they’d be, love these videos they are such a great help and inspiration.
You wouldn’t know how many times I watched this video! It is so helpful! I’m making my own metroidvania and these game design videos from a fellow metroidvania dev are so helpful! Please make some more in the future!
Thank you! This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for: a digestible breakdown on how to approach level design (w/ visuals and examples). :D It makes things a lot less daunting. So, between this and a post on a website I found, I should be able to tackle level design with a bit more confidence ^_^
I've been learning and researching game developing since 2014 as well as making my own little games. And level design has been something I've never fully understood, even if I was making mostly platforming games. And after so long, I want to say that this video was the most helpful advice I've ever seen in the matter. And I finally feel actually motivated to make levels. I feel like something finally clicked. Maybe it's how you presented your thought process and maybe we try to rationalize stuff similarly, but anyway I'm glad you made this. Thank you.
When I was still contributing to the Metroidvania Game Jam, I did exactly this. Having the Map Laid out beforehand in an abstract way really sparks your imagination! We had a pretty bland level going on and wanted to introduce a Water Area. I decided to go with a Pipe System that runs below the facility that leads to a Tank where you fight a boss. Cool so I made a set of rooms below the lowest floor and saw we had a testing facility room near that. Ofc. it made so much sense all of a sudden. The boss escaped the testing facility room at some point (since it was a month long game jam game I had to design it with people in mind that don't have endless time of getting lost) after you obtained the upgrade. So the environment of showing that boss in his pseudo fishtank of sorts completely changed and in order to not flood the facility with acid you have to hunt it down. All of this wouldn't have been so effortless to come up with if I didn't have the Map beforehand.
Im working on a project and i got stuck on how im going to build the map. your skeletal description/tip, gave me the much needed breakthrough, thank you so much for this!
I never thought to map down the shapes of the rooms and where their doors were first THEN add in puzzles / hazards. I tried to draw the room THEN add elements and THEN draw the next room. This was super helpful and useful for more than just Metroidvania level design! Thank you for making this!
Great video! The tip about creating your worldmap before each room is so obvious, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. I'm currently developing a platformer, but I'm definitely gonna keep that in mind when I'm working on my areas.
Well, I'd say this is "How to efficiently make Metroidvania levels", this is "good" at best, far from making "great" level design. (Though to be fair, many Metroidvania indies fails to achive this fundamental part, so this video still serves purposes.) A "Great" Metroidvania level would also consider how to let the player feel the sense of exploration without being completely stuck or lost, how to make back tracking feels fun, how to make tutorials feel nature in the enviroment, etc. The latest Metroid Dread feels really good in these regards, I originally thought that's because they kept blocking access to certain places at certain point, so it wouldn't be hard to keep track of the player position, situation and abilityies; until I realize this game was designed with sequences break in mind, and it hasn't been reported of "full with soft locks due to entering areas too early". All I want to say is, you have to make a follow-up to claim "How to Design Great Metroidvania Levels". You won't achieve Dread just by planning rooms ahead of times.
This game keeps looking better and better! I've gotta say, your videos are really inspiring, especially for someone who's trying to make a metroidvania-type game as well. I'm really excited to play Dewdrop, keep up the good work!
Thanks so much! I have been trying to find a video like this for weeks! I have got to the point where I think I am ready for level design but whenever I opened up my game I didn't know where to start. You definetly earned a sub! Thanks so much!
My game isn't strictly a metroidvania, but the way it's laid out now, it is sort of a non-linear, but still directional set of connected areas, even if some are on different planets. I wrote down the key points of this video in a way that should be most relevant to my game and I hope that it helps. Level design is painfully difficult, but some of the stuff, mainly step 4, feels like it'll work very well. Thank you!
I'd say this is great stuff to hear in general for level design in regards to games that have more like world space type things. (I've been messing with RPG Maker 2003 so not exactly what someone would recommend I watch but I appreciate it
This video was great! I think you could add some more enemies to the Cheese Mine in order to make the area more interesting though. I have some suggestions for enemies If you can read them! 1. Miner Rat They're like the rat NPC you've shown in the video except they have a cute little helmet that covers their head and eyes. If you get close, they'll do a spinning attack where they hit you with their Pickaxe (they move really slow while spinning) You can kill them from the top (Pickaxe blocks bullets) 2. Flying Rats The Flying Rats are albino mice with mining gear. They leap in the air and start gliding towards the player. 3. Cheese Knights They're rats equipped with Knight armor, they protect the King of Rats. They have shields that can block bullets and are sturdier than other enemies, if the player approaches, they slash with their sword. 4. A Heroic Rat optional mini-boss The Heroic Rat rides a horse and wears heavy armor. (He has a Lance) For his first attack, he charges forwards horizontally with his horse. For his second attack, he does a short range thrust. And for his third attack he can have a diagonal dropping thrust similar to Hornet from Hollow Knight where he jumps off his horse and lunges. If it's not difficult to script, he could have his horse jump with him while he's charging to confuse the player sometimes. And in general for platforming and other stuff there could be mouse traps that stun the player, rats driving mining drills similar to the giant spiked bugs from Crystal Peak in HK and little mining elevators that move up and down
Great video! Also, iterate upon your levels and let your ideas change! Don't just build a level and forget about it - instead, chase after whatever makes the level feel fun.
I am not an artist so I have to find free or paid art assets. I found art assets I love but it’s for a this style of game. I haven’t play a lot of these types of games, so thank you for this! It helps a lot!
I’ve built a metroidvania before, I know a few tips I can share to help support your development. 1. When a player acquires a new power-up, put them in a space where this power-up is utilize to teach the player how it works and where they can use it. 2. Player movement should be polished and calculated. Create an playground scene to test different features before you implement them into your map. Stuff like (platform height, projectile distance, player gravity strength, enemy stats, etc) need to be accounted for. 3. Feedback is very important. Try out a section you built to see how you would approach it from a player’s perspective. Try to break your game intentionally to find areas that need more work. Reach out to people you know to try out your build to see how they approach a challenge.
Area 5 abandoned hive: this would make a spooky area that would make a great experience for players. Enemies: ghost bee would fly around and go through walls. Ghost wasp is a stronger variant of the ghost bee. Boss: queen bee ghost could summon ghost bees and wasps, teleport/disappear, and dash at you from the left, right, up, and down.
I'm making a game now about going through my brother's dreams/nightmares and recollecting his stuffed animals that will each have different abilities, and these tips might really help for making the game into a metroidvania (I'm still on the tutorial and implementing the stuffed animals)
i really liked the video, really informative about level design! what i was most excited about was the game footage in the background with it's new things, really exciting! :D
Everything needs to connect. Don’t have a sky world right next to an underground world. In between, have a ground world, or maybe below the underground, have an underwater, or above the sky, have space, make everything coherent
This is super helpful. Now I just have to learn how to develop the game itself. I'm so illiterate when it comes to these. I've got two full games all mapped out in my head.
My approach to level/world design is much more itterative. I almost never draft a map or timeline from the start. Due to how little i will know, i rather start somewhere and let it develop depending on what feels right or that fit into level design ideas i want to explore or principles i want to follow. But, drafting the map and establishing a timeline is important, but something you'd do many times. If you work throught this process linearly you tend to get very boring or generic feeling level design. Making good level design is in part about making connections between different elements of the gameplay or depending on other spaces you have or are planning to make. In short the process is very dynamic/organic and not linear. You will always have better ideas of how to design an area/level later on, and its a lot of back and forth. But definetely these are really good tips. Especially how you should know and be able to test with and use the mechanics that are part of the level/area. Especially when they are about the movement or secound to secound gameplay.
also you should use sub-pixel-ing wayy more, the only time sub-pixels are used is the main character and wings, it would make the ememy’s animation much better to use sub pixels.
when im making maps for stuff like dungeons in my rpgs i usually think of the local environment, what purpose the map serves by being there, area progression and dungeon specific gimmiks
Here in Brazil, cheese and mines have a lot in common! This because the people from the state of "Minas Gerais" (General Mines) are known for liking to eat cheese a lot hahaha
Really good tips! This is almost exactly what I'm doing for my metroidvania. I already know what connects were, what should be in this area vs that one, and what should the player need to get to this place. Now I just need to fill in the exact area layouts and then the exact room contents. Though I also plan where major stuff should be while doing the area outline. Since I made the dash ability missable at first, people might feel that the game is too slow if they go too far without it. So after marking about where the second ability should be, I left a mark on the map to create a road block that will force the player back to pick up dash. Alternatively I'll just force the player to get dash first, but I kinda don't want to. Playtesters will help me make that choice.
TIP: if the water coming out the sewer in 6:39 doesn’t allow you to stand on it, I suggest putting a grayish tint over the background to make it separate from the level. When watching the video, I thought you could stand on it because it was as popped out as the pipes and the bullets broke on contact, but I could also be wrong by saying you can’t. That’s just my thought
So using a program called Mega Man Maker, I have made stages with over 150 screens that could be called small Metroidvanias. Roll Metroidvania - Clean the Toilet Proto Metroidvania - Seasons Beatings Mega Metroidvania - Night Mission
@@GoodgisSince then I have 9 of them, a few over 200 screens each. I'm glad that you mention Metroid and Mega Man from the start. I like having the abilities be the keys, but also create areas that requires learning and using some limits of an ability to get through an area.
Have you watched the boss keys series of let's talk game design? The super metroid episode has excellent tips on how to prevent the player from being overwhelmed.
This is amazing advice! I hope to one day make a metroidvania so this is very helpful! If fact I'm going to apply this to my main game, I'm not good at level design btw lol 😅
Really cool video, i know that is from 3 years ago but it's still really useful. Can you tell me the name of the tool to block out the world for world design?
Also very important thing is difficulty. Each room should have its own difficulty and rooms that can be visited earlier should be less difficult than the rooms that gonna be visited later
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Make sure to wishlist Dewdrop Dynasty on Steam. I dare you! store.steampowered.com/app/1444080/Dewdrop_Dynasty/
i already did that, im wating to play the game when it releases
Well I'm currently started my first game on gb studio to get a hang on things and then I'ma move to unity after. I am pretty good at drawing so I will be making majority of my assets.
If it were for mac it would already be on my wishlist :(
will the game be available on Mac?
I love how at the end of the video the showed planned release date on Steam is October 2021 lmao
I also think it's important to think about how the player's future abilities will work in each area. It's so satisfying to revisit an area with your new tricks and fly through everything in a matter of seconds.
That's a great point! Yes, you want your abilities to enhance your backtracking experience.
yeah it's important since that's what truly makes a metroidvania a metroidvania and not a zeldalike
You should really know most, of not all of your abilities and what they do FIRST AND FOREMOST in a metroidvaina.
That way you can know what feels good to use and can give your abilities time to shine and I don't mean like how they did it in bloodstained where they only work when allowed in specific places....
Edit: looks like i just accidentally reposted what he said in step 3. Just as I posted that I got to that part in the video. 😄
Yeah and hollow knight does that REALLY good
@@Goodgis I have a question about that. I’m thinking about making a mega man zero mission-style metroidvania, but now I’m not so sure anymore. At first, my protagonist was gonna learn new elements for magic, such as fire, ice, wind, earth; the usual elements you see in other games. But I don’t want to make this meek character overpowered like the Avatar so I limit the elements to wind and lightning. But then what will they earn from defeating bosses?
Funfact: there is actually a "cheese mine". In Austria, near the city Weiz (Styria), there is a place where they make cheese in an abandoned silver mine, because of the constant temperature in the shafts. And they call it Mine Cheese
That's so cool!
Woah, that's awesome! haha Thanks for sharing!
Cant wait to play dewdrop dynasty irl
My tip is harder to do for 2d games, but not impossible, but works really well for 3d games. Each level (really each room) should have a focal point. Something noticeable, large, flashy, or interesting where the player can orient themselves around and remember if you come back to it later. It really helps to create the flow of the map if you are focusing on a point, or three.
Thanks for sharing!
This makes me think of bob omb battle field
@@villagerjj It made me think of like...the Disney theme parks. I think they create a few big landmarks that signpost each major area
dewdrop dynasty maker confirmed??
Oh gosh, I hope not. XD
@@Goodgis haha
@@Goodgis I actually hope you add a level maker
@@Hamox It would be quite the undertaking.
@@Goodgis Eventually, that can be a cool goal to work on, and Godot doesn't make it any harder to add such feature :)
(I use Godot too, and unfortunately, I never finished the game I was working on that was supposed to have player-made levels, so, you know...)
I am making a metroidvania game mixed with a rougelite style game and this honestly helped me get unstuck!! thanks!! (also cant wait for dewdrop dynasty to be done!!!!!)
That sound awesome! Can't wait to see how it turns out. :D
That sounds so interesting! How does it work? Is it a roguelike where you play a randomly generated metroidvania or a metroidvania which is also a roguelike? Pls answer, this sounds so great. A combination of the 2 best genres
@@broor its like a- well its a bit hard to explain but its like a metroidvania that is also like a rougelike
@@Quaffyson try to explain? Pls!!
Was thinking about something similar. I was indecided. Should I make a randomly generated metoridvenia or a metroidvenia that u will restart everytine u die? Ended givin the idea up AHAHAH
Thank you for the tips! I've been stalling my own world building but I'm feeling motivated now. I really like the idea of creating the map layout first.
That's awesome to hear! :D Thanks so much.
I started watching your videos a few days ago. Really cool content man! Your story is really inspiring! We are about the same age and we have pretty much the same background story! :D Is Godot your weapon of choice in the end? Btw, please, don't give up anymore! I believe in you!
Thanks so much, and Godot is weapon of choice. :D
@@Goodgis Nice.
Love the idea of blocking out all the rooms in rough form first, then laying out all items so you can see the critical path. Super helpful. Keep it up!!
Thanks! :D
I want to see a Metroidvania game where you restore a planet by using electricity so it doesn’t blackout. Instead of killing enemies you charge them up with your gun to make progress on your mission. The world is super dark and you need a light source to guide you through the map. Bosses can be time trials challenges, if you don’t fully charge them in a given time they’ll shut down for a while before you can try again. I am against bloody violence in video games, I want to see someone to stand out in the crowd.
Nice idea man
Brand new to the indie game dev dream and platform levels are by far way harder than I ever thought they’d be, love these videos they are such a great help and inspiration.
Thanks so much, and I wish you the best of luck! :D
You wouldn’t know how many times I watched this video! It is so helpful! I’m making my own metroidvania and these game design videos from a fellow metroidvania dev are so helpful! Please make some more in the future!
Thank you! This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for: a digestible breakdown on how to approach level design (w/ visuals and examples). :D
It makes things a lot less daunting. So, between this and a post on a website I found, I should be able to tackle level design with a bit more confidence ^_^
Glad it was helpful! :D
I've been learning and researching game developing since 2014 as well as making my own little games.
And level design has been something I've never fully understood, even if I was making mostly platforming games.
And after so long, I want to say that this video was the most helpful advice I've ever seen in the matter. And I finally feel actually motivated to make levels. I feel like something finally clicked. Maybe it's how you presented your thought process and maybe we try to rationalize stuff similarly, but anyway I'm glad you made this. Thank you.
Thank you for watching! :D
When I was still contributing to the Metroidvania Game Jam, I did exactly this. Having the Map Laid out beforehand in an abstract way really sparks your imagination!
We had a pretty bland level going on and wanted to introduce a Water Area.
I decided to go with a Pipe System that runs below the facility that leads to a Tank where you fight a boss.
Cool so I made a set of rooms below the lowest floor and saw we had a testing facility room near that.
Ofc. it made so much sense all of a sudden. The boss escaped the testing facility room at some point (since it was a month long game jam game I had to design it with people in mind that don't have endless time of getting lost) after you obtained the upgrade.
So the environment of showing that boss in his pseudo fishtank of sorts completely changed and in order to not flood the facility with acid you have to hunt it down.
All of this wouldn't have been so effortless to come up with if I didn't have the Map beforehand.
Im working on a project and i got stuck on how im going to build the map. your skeletal description/tip, gave me the much needed breakthrough, thank you so much for this!
I never thought to map down the shapes of the rooms and where their doors were first THEN add in puzzles / hazards. I tried to draw the room THEN add elements and THEN draw the next room. This was super helpful and useful for more than just Metroidvania level design! Thank you for making this!
Glad it could help! :D
I will be needing this for when I make my metroidvania game. Thank you!
Glad I could help. :D
I'm 31 and just starting out learning game dev. I feel so far behind as most people start in teens or earlier 20's , but damn I'm excited!
Nah, you'll do great! :D
Great video! The tip about creating your worldmap before each room is so obvious, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. I'm currently developing a platformer, but I'm definitely gonna keep that in mind when I'm working on my areas.
Go for it! :D I can't wait to see what you make!
Well, I'd say this is "How to efficiently make Metroidvania levels", this is "good" at best, far from making "great" level design.
(Though to be fair, many Metroidvania indies fails to achive this fundamental part, so this video still serves purposes.)
A "Great" Metroidvania level would also consider how to let the player feel the sense of exploration without being completely stuck or lost, how to make back tracking feels fun, how to make tutorials feel nature in the enviroment, etc.
The latest Metroid Dread feels really good in these regards, I originally thought that's because they kept blocking access to certain places at certain point, so it wouldn't be hard to keep track of the player position, situation and abilityies; until I realize this game was designed with sequences break in mind, and it hasn't been reported of "full with soft locks due to entering areas too early".
All I want to say is, you have to make a follow-up to claim "How to Design Great Metroidvania Levels". You won't achieve Dread just by planning rooms ahead of times.
Yeah, I understand where you're coming from. But you can't make a great metroidvania unless you have a good foundation.
Idk what goin on here
this video actually helped me with a small breakthrough of my own! loved the way you explained it, really smart view :)
I'm so glad! :D
This game keeps looking better and better! I've gotta say, your videos are really inspiring, especially for someone who's trying to make a metroidvania-type game as well. I'm really excited to play Dewdrop, keep up the good work!
Thanks so much, that means a lot. :D
Nice video man, haven't watched your videos in a while, they still are amazing haha!
Thanks so much! :D
Thanks so much! I have been trying to find a video like this for weeks! I have got to the point where I think I am ready for level design but whenever I opened up my game I didn't know where to start. You definetly earned a sub! Thanks so much!
Thanks for watching! :D
My game isn't strictly a metroidvania, but the way it's laid out now, it is sort of a non-linear, but still directional set of connected areas, even if some are on different planets. I wrote down the key points of this video in a way that should be most relevant to my game and I hope that it helps. Level design is painfully difficult, but some of the stuff, mainly step 4, feels like it'll work very well. Thank you!
this was so awesome thank you!! I AM SO EXCITED TO PLAY
I'm can't wait to have you guys play! :D
Very cool video. Blind drop at 6:35 . I hope you don't die if you miss that platform.
Nah, and I'll give more of an indicator. :D
Awesome stuff!! Pretty helpful for the game I’m making rn (an axolotl Metroidvania)
That's awesome, how long have you been working on it?
@@Goodgis Thanks man!! A bit more than 6 months
Thank you so much for this video, it'll be helpful for when I make a metroidvania. I feel like this could also apply to other genres like rpgs.
That's a great point! Thanks so much. :D
I just started a game and I know level design will play a huge part in how fun it is, so thanks for the tips!
Hey, I wish you the best of luck! :D
The tips in this video are super helpful!
I'd say this is great stuff to hear in general for level design in regards to games that have more like world space type things. (I've been messing with RPG Maker 2003 so not exactly what someone would recommend I watch but I appreciate it
Idea: Because you already pretty much have a level editor, when the game is fully released, you could add a simple little level/world builder.
Me having an editor, and releasing an editor are two very different things haha but it would be cool.
Hollow Knight: it’s raining in city of tears because it’s under a lake.
Dew Drop Dynasty: dirt is now cheese.
LOL
This video was great!
I think you could add some more enemies to the Cheese Mine in order to make the area more interesting though.
I have some suggestions for enemies If you can read them!
1. Miner Rat
They're like the rat NPC you've shown in the video except they have a cute little helmet that covers their head and eyes.
If you get close, they'll do a spinning attack where they hit you with their Pickaxe (they move really slow while spinning)
You can kill them from the top (Pickaxe blocks bullets)
2. Flying Rats
The Flying Rats are albino mice with mining gear.
They leap in the air and start gliding towards the player.
3. Cheese Knights
They're rats equipped with Knight armor, they protect the King of Rats.
They have shields that can block bullets and are sturdier than other enemies, if the player approaches, they slash with their sword.
4. A Heroic Rat optional mini-boss
The Heroic Rat rides a horse and wears heavy armor. (He has a Lance)
For his first attack, he charges forwards horizontally with his horse.
For his second attack, he does a short range thrust.
And for his third attack he can have a diagonal dropping thrust similar to Hornet from Hollow Knight where he jumps off his horse and lunges.
If it's not difficult to script, he could have his horse jump with him while he's charging to confuse the player sometimes.
And in general for platforming and other stuff there could be mouse traps that stun the player, rats driving mining drills similar to the giant spiked bugs from Crystal Peak in HK and little mining elevators that move up and down
Woah, thanks for sharing!
@@Goodgis Thank you for taking time to read!
This has been the best video on this matter I've so far come across, and the best resource in general. Thanks so much!
Great video! Also, iterate upon your levels and let your ideas change! Don't just build a level and forget about it - instead, chase after whatever makes the level feel fun.
Thanks for sharing!
I am not an artist so I have to find free or paid art assets. I found art assets I love but it’s for a this style of game. I haven’t play a lot of these types of games, so thank you for this! It helps a lot!
love the area name cheese mine.actualy working on a metrovania inspired game so this is very helpful
I wish you the best of luck! :D
@@Goodgis thanks looking forward to your game looks fun.is you twitter tag goodgis aswell?
I’ve built a metroidvania before, I know a few tips I can share to help support your development.
1. When a player acquires a new power-up, put them in a space where this power-up is utilize to teach the player how it works and where they can use it.
2. Player movement should be polished and calculated. Create an playground scene to test different features before you implement them into your map. Stuff like (platform height, projectile distance, player gravity strength, enemy stats, etc) need to be accounted for.
3. Feedback is very important. Try out a section you built to see how you would approach it from a player’s perspective. Try to break your game intentionally to find areas that need more work. Reach out to people you know to try out your build to see how they approach a challenge.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Bro, your literally SO helpful! You have *no* idea how much this helps! (I suck at level design)
Super glad I could help! :D
Area 5 abandoned hive: this would make a spooky area that would make a great experience for players.
Enemies: ghost bee would fly around and go through walls.
Ghost wasp is a stronger variant of the ghost bee.
Boss: queen bee ghost could summon ghost bees and wasps, teleport/disappear, and dash at you from the left, right, up, and down.
Ability broken wings: allows you to fly for 3 seconds before falling slowly down.
Nice! :D
Hi...very good tips...im developing "Crude"...and thats what i needed....thanks
Glad to hear it!
Brilliant video! It's been a while since I've properly done any level design so seeing your approach is great.
Great to hear! :D
I'm making a game now about going through my brother's dreams/nightmares and recollecting his stuffed animals that will each have different abilities, and these tips might really help for making the game into a metroidvania (I'm still on the tutorial and implementing the stuffed animals)
Looking forward to the next video in the series!
It will hopefully be out by the 24th :D
i am currently working on a metroid vania myself and this was quite helpful! Thanks elf man
That's awesome! :D I wish you the best of luck.
i really liked the video, really informative about level design!
what i was most excited about was the game footage in the background with it's new things, really exciting! :D
:D Thanks so much!
Everything needs to connect. Don’t have a sky world right next to an underground world. In between, have a ground world, or maybe below the underground, have an underwater, or above the sky, have space, make everything coherent
Why not? What if it's a floating island, then the sky world would make sense. :D Just don't get caught up in making it too "realistic."
Just the topic i was looking for! Great video, I always struggle with level design
You got this! :D
This really helps me greatly @Goodgis
Super happy to hear it! :D
This is super helpful. Now I just have to learn how to develop the game itself. I'm so illiterate when it comes to these. I've got two full games all mapped out in my head.
Glad I could help!
This is so helpful, thank you!
Amazing to see how much your channel has grown over the past year. Keep up the great work! :D
Thanks so much, Prox!
Greetings from Ecuador. I find your videos so inspiring. Thanks for making them. I've decided to learn to code in my 35's using Godot thanks to you.
Welcome! :D Thanks so much, and I wish you the best of luck.
Yes! Dewdrop is back! I've waited so long. Can't wait till it comes out :D.
I'm really trying to take the time to make it awesome!
@@Goodgis I can tell! The game looks amazing!
I've been wanting to make a Metroidvania of my own, and this is one of the biggest problems I've been having.
Thanks for making this video!
Super glad it was helpful! :D and I wish you the best of luck on your project.
My approach to level/world design is much more itterative. I almost never draft a map or timeline from the start. Due to how little i will know, i rather start somewhere and let it develop depending on what feels right or that fit into level design ideas i want to explore or principles i want to follow. But, drafting the map and establishing a timeline is important, but something you'd do many times. If you work throught this process linearly you tend to get very boring or generic feeling level design. Making good level design is in part about making connections between different elements of the gameplay or depending on other spaces you have or are planning to make.
In short the process is very dynamic/organic and not linear. You will always have better ideas of how to design an area/level later on, and its a lot of back and forth.
But definetely these are really good tips. Especially how you should know and be able to test with and use the mechanics that are part of the level/area. Especially when they are about the movement or secound to secound gameplay.
Thanks for sharing!
You are so underrated, great videos
Thanks so much! :D
also you should use sub-pixel-ing wayy more, the only time sub-pixels are used is the main character and wings, it would make the ememy’s animation much better to use sub pixels.
That's nice the style I'm going for.
when im making maps for stuff like dungeons in my rpgs i usually think of the local environment, what purpose the map serves by being there, area progression and dungeon specific gimmiks
Thanks for sharing!
Here in Brazil, cheese and mines have a lot in common! This because the people from the state of "Minas Gerais" (General Mines) are known for liking to eat cheese a lot hahaha
I NEED this
;)
I just started making a Metroid vania this is so good
Glad to hear it!
Oooooh! I can't wait to watch this one!
:D
Super useful, and just what I needed for my own game. Thank you :)
Glad it could help! :D
You should map the emotions for each section of the map too. It is important to alternate between feeling save, scare, happy, curious, etc.
I've never thought of that. :D
Excellent Video at a perfect time!
Keep it up!
Thanks a lot! :D
Thanks, will do! :D
Great and useful video! Looking forward to the music video😁
Thanks so much, me too! :D
Really good tips! This is almost exactly what I'm doing for my metroidvania. I already know what connects were, what should be in this area vs that one, and what should the player need to get to this place. Now I just need to fill in the exact area layouts and then the exact room contents. Though I also plan where major stuff should be while doing the area outline.
Since I made the dash ability missable at first, people might feel that the game is too slow if they go too far without it. So after marking about where the second ability should be, I left a mark on the map to create a road block that will force the player back to pick up dash. Alternatively I'll just force the player to get dash first, but I kinda don't want to. Playtesters will help me make that choice.
Thanks for sharing!
Wishlisted! But you really need a trailer!
Thanks Jason, I'll been meaning to work that. I'm really going to dedicate 2022 towards polishing and wrapping up this game.
wow this video came out exactly at the right time, i'm making a 2d game and level design is the hardest part for me. thanks a lot
Glad I could help! :D What type of game are you making?
i agree with you man, designing and making a level is so hard...
All it takes it practice! :D
When ever you make an enemy, make sure it fits with the theme in the level.
Definitely!
This really helped me!
Glad it could help!
Thanks for your advices!!!
Thanks for watching! :D
I learned a lot from this video. Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps me out a lot. Your game looks awesome.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much!
This will help me on my dream game thx
Glad to hear it!
Thanks for the fantastic video
Thank you for watching it!
TIP: if the water coming out the sewer in 6:39 doesn’t allow you to stand on it, I suggest putting a grayish tint over the background to make it separate from the level. When watching the video, I thought you could stand on it because it was as popped out as the pipes and the bullets broke on contact, but I could also be wrong by saying you can’t. That’s just my thought
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
So using a program called Mega Man Maker, I have made stages with over 150 screens that could be called small Metroidvanias.
Roll Metroidvania - Clean the Toilet
Proto Metroidvania - Seasons Beatings
Mega Metroidvania - Night Mission
Woah, that sounds awesome! haha
@@GoodgisSince then I have 9 of them, a few over 200 screens each. I'm glad that you mention Metroid and Mega Man from the start.
I like having the abilities be the keys, but also create areas that requires learning and using some limits of an ability to get through an area.
Very good video! I love these vids, they are super cool!
Thank you very much!
I LOVE THIS!!! AND YOUR GAME LOOKS AWESOMEEEE 🔥
Thanks so much! :D
This game really grew a lot
Thanks so much!
This is such a usefull video! Thank for you view on level design and making this video.
Glad it was helpful!
You inspire me all the time :)
Thanks so much! :D
Super beautiful game wow!
Have you watched the boss keys series of let's talk game design? The super metroid episode has excellent tips on how to prevent the player from being overwhelmed.
Yeah, GMTK is an awesome channel!
Amazing video!
You are so kind! :D
You should add Venus fly traps and sticky honey
Love the idea! :D
This is amazing advice! I hope to one day make a metroidvania so this is very helpful! If fact I'm going to apply this to my main game, I'm not good at level design btw lol 😅
Go for it! :D
I have been getting into Undertale recently, whenever someone says Metroidvania, my brain cracks a bit
Why? haha
Great video!
Thanks!
Great pretty much what was I expecting, but the topic would be much more interesting with a few examples
I tried to give as many as I could but thanks for the feedback!
Really cool video, i know that is from 3 years ago but it's still really useful. Can you tell me the name of the tool to block out the world for world design?
Cool video. If you have time, I'd love to see something in-depth of how you've blocked out your "rooms" for the game in Godot Editor.
For sure!
Also very important thing is difficulty. Each room should have its own difficulty and rooms that can be visited earlier should be less difficult than the rooms that gonna be visited later
Good point. :D
amazing work. Always inspiring.
Thanks, David! :D
Also plEASE go in depth for music creation, as a beginner composer I’m struggling a bit with that
I definitely will. :D