This is the summary of Emilio Padulo's Level Design Master Class.
· The Concept
· Existing vs Non
· Explicit
· Implicit
· The 4 W
1. The Concept
· Story is the glue that holds the world together.
· An effective enviornment story will establish how the player will receive it,
· Building a world isn’t easy, there are many steps to create a great and memorable one.
2. Existing vs Non
· When working on a pre-existing story, the job becomes more detailed.
· Since you know who the character is, what is going on and where it is, your job is to fill in the gaps to bring your environment into the fold.
· When creating a level for an existing game, its important to respcet the story.
· If your creating your own story, then it becomes the first priority before you start designing and levels.
· This is called a World Design Document.
· The elemnts that you should focus on are:
· World Map
· Timeline
· Culture
· Location
· Characters
3. Explicit
· Now this kind of story telling is done through a player’s interaction with NPCs.
· The story is told to you.
· This can be anything from:
· Dialogue
· Cinematics
· Objectives
· On screen text
4. Implicit
· On the other hand, this kind of storytelling is done by props around a level.
· Everything around the composition tells the player what the story is.
· The player figures out what’s going on through searching and exploring the level.
· This is subtle and indirect.
5. The 4 W
· Who – what – where – when
· What: Here you create the background for your story. The environment exists in the world throughout the entire story. Although the player might pass by for only a few minutes, it continues to exist throughout the entire game.
· Things to note is what it the overall story of your game.
· What happened to this location, what will the player see and what will they do.
· What are the types of people that live there?
· What do they do.
· What’s their daily routine.
· What significant event happened to make this place stick out.
· Where: What is the theme, location, and settings.
· The where is important in the overall blueprint of the game.
· Where does it fit in the story.
· Who: Give a more detailed explanation of the culture of the environment.
· The beings that live there, what are they like?
· How do they feel towards the environment.
· Really dig deep to make them come to life.
· When: At what point in the story does this environment take place?
· This is important when it comes to the overall progression of the story.
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