WolfenVic

Level design, as I've found it, starts with an idea, then leads to sketching, then to drawn maps, after that you end up in the editor putting it together, as you delve more into the level you create story for the way the level is, making it interesting and letting the players have enough opportunity to be immersed.

After you feel the level is playable you hand it off to someone to play to make sure it is. Play test after play test you will receive feedback from many players and learn how to fix something, how they missed a item you thought was quite clear, that the players had no urge to explore this area with possible reward.

When you feel you have gathered enough input you jump back into the editor and try to rectify that and sometimes those small little fixes turn out to be whole new areas of the map, full out changes to the geography and how the map is played and then you go back to play testing.

Do this three or four times the large changes start to narrow down and you finally reach something that looks polished, you reach something enjoyable and rich with the world you have created. Each time you stepped back and watched someone else take the reins you could take a second look and see what you missed.

Two times in the past week I've had the process hit me. First with a simple map I've had on the backlog for Team Fortress 2, and the other with my Left 4 Dead 2 campaign, "The Crash," which I have uploaded here.

My Team Fortress 2 map is having the most drastic change with being erased and forcing me back to the drawing board with the same gameplay. Sometimes all you need is that simple erase and start again to help you find the issue.

"The Crash" on the other hand has been an issue created by solving another problem. The length was quoted, by many, to be too short for a first map. I have since then lengthened the map to include a much longer walk to the station, the issue was that the bots didn't like walking along some of the path. After weeks of frustration the idea hit me to just erase that path and try again another way. Thus leading to another gameplay length increase in the time. Hopefully by the time I finish this, soon, the changes will be worth it and players will be much more pleased with the first level.

These are just two examples of the ever revolving process that is level design.