Working on my first game (and I have noticed this with other creative endeavors, like music for example), I had a plan to run the player through some "kid gloves" levels just to introduce game mechanics and how to play. Now that this is done... I find myself a bit paralyzed by the infinite creative possibilities when it comes creating the next 80 levels, or mainly, just the next 1 level... How do you more experienced boxers organize your workflow? How do you ramp up your level design? Where do you begin? Where do you end? Do ANY of you experience this paralysis as I do? Basically, I'm wondering what your experience is with creative paralysis due to infinite possibilities, and how you get over. Do you have a system to get you moving in the right path? What tricks do you use? Do you have any pointers @TreySmith ?
@heathclose I personally did the following with my game Enemy Mine. Take a scene, and copy one of each of your assets into it. Then, duplicate that base scene so you have multiple of it. From there, just copy the assets/enemies/etc, move them around, and try out different arrangements. When you find one you like, copy that scene and alter or add to it. Once you get going, it happens fairly quickly. You can also break your levels into themes if you like. For example, maybe the first 10 levels focus on one enemy or obstacle and various arrangements, then the next 10 focus on another, and so on.
@Perry thanks for the reply anyone else have any insights to approaching level design with some direction?
@heathclose I found out that the BEST way to HINDER level development FOR ME is to try it in BB. Now I do all of my level design on paper or photoshop first. When I like the idea THEN I move to execution in BB. Hope that helps...
I think everyone experience paralyses while creating a game or level. Because creative people have lots of ideas in their minds. First of all i recommend you to focus what you exactly want. You may have lots of ideas but you should filter them and only then you should begin to work. Otherwise it will be too hard for you to finish you game. Because you are going to have a new idea every time and you are going to add it to your game. Try to sketch the levels in paper. Sketch as much level design as you can. The design of levels comes to my mind suddenly. I don't sit and think for hours. Creative ideas come to our mind suddenly, when we don't expect them.
As a graphic designer I always follow these steps; basically finding the game idea-creating sample graphic assets-building an example scene-creating original assets-building original scenes and levels-building menus-creating sounds. I believe that the level design has endless possibilities with the right graphic assets. Honestly I've never worked on level design before the graphic assets created. Most of the levels that I made was coincidental, If I saw any missing element while designing the level, I go back to graphic editing and create that desired asset.
