{"id":2557,"date":"2025-08-26T02:41:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T02:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-fall-2024\/?page_id=2557"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:31:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:31:25","slug":"level-design-principles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/level-design-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"Level design principles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Level design principles are not rules, they are more like guidelines that will help a new designer in their process of designing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like any other art form, level design requires its own process of discovery through practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"guidance\">Guidance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing a level must do in a game is introduce the mechanics of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some games use tutorial with explicit instructions. Others use visual cues to guide the player to discover the mechanics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/270.owen.cool\/notes\/level\/World_1-1_obstacle_schematic.png\" alt=\"World 1-1 schematic\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_1-1\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_1-1<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also important to intoduce the goal of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal of each level should always be clear to the player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In cases where the ultimate goal of the game may be mysterious, there must be something else compelling the player to move forward, such as a narrative or visual interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"obstacles-and-rewards\">Obstacles and rewards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the mechanics and goals are established, obstacles and rewards are introduced to complicate the experience of the level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Obstacles or challenges should be fun and engage the player to progress through the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rewards should reinforce the goals of the game and lead the player towards mastery of mechanics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/270.owen.cool\/notes\/level\/SonicTheHedgehog1.png\" alt=\"sonic\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Green_Hill_Zone\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Green_Hill_Zone<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"perfect-player-principle\">Perfect player principle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This principle states that there should in theory be a perfect player that can complete a level without any prior knowledge of the mechanics or design of the level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/270.owen.cool\/notes\/level\/n.gif\" alt=\"N\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.quora.com\/If-you-had-to-play-one-computer-game-for-an-hour-or-two-every-single-day-which-one-would-you-pick-and-why\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.quora.com\/If-you-had-to-play-one-computer-game-for-an-hour-or-two-every-single-day-which-one-would-you-pick-and-why<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"unique-levels\">Unique levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The levels within a game should have unique qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A good level could be described easily to any player of the game and they should know which level is being described.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/270.owen.cool\/notes\/level\/Milkmanconspiracy.png\" alt=\"milkman conspiracy\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milkman_Conspiracy\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milkman_Conspiracy<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"pacing\">Pacing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A level should offer a series of challenges without ending too quickly or requiring arduous or repetitive tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/270.owen.cool\/notes\/level\/Water_Temple_map.jpg\" alt=\"water temple\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Water_Temple_(Ocarina_of_Time)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Water_Temple_(Ocarina_of_Time)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Level design principles are not rules, they are more like guidelines that will help a new designer in their process of designing. Like any other art form, level design requires its own process of discovery through practice. Guidance The first thing a level must do in a game is introduce the mechanics of the game.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/level-design-principles\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Level design principles<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2557","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2557"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2558,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2557\/revisions\/2558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp-270-spring-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}