Level Design Justification - 26/09/18

In today's lesson we specifically looked at level design, which included sketches, blueprints and also global standards. When looking at sketches, we identified that verticality played a big part in sketching a level, as well as the depth. In addition to this, whilst looking at level design blueprints, we identified the major aspects which were essential to having a successful blueprint design. These are known as global standards, and include a master key, standard scale, naming conventions and defining any special requirements.

Upon looking at these specifics, we had to come up with a basic level blueprint for our own game. In order to meet our specific target audience, theme, genre and also make a successful level, we designed a level which was fairly simple, although was still exiting for the player. Our level featured a large castle, a village and two forest environments, with one being more dark and 'evil', in order to fit with the fantasy theme. Moreover, our game will also include collectibles and enemies to fit our genre, being adventure.

The location of our level will take place in the future, in a new world, along with a spate of new species and new cultures. The overall lighting and tone for the level will be quite bright, aside from the 'evil' forest, in order to meet the needs of the target audience, and to suit the atmosphere in the game, with the tone being quite light-hearted and also tense in places. Along with the lighting, the colour palette for the level will also be mostly bright and vibrant colours, in order to make the level visually appealing to its specific target audience, being gender neutral and also 7-11 year olds. The weather conditions for our game will also vary, in order to suit the way the character is currently playing the level, such as sunny if the player is successfully progressing, or rain if the player is getting closer to an enemy.