Originally presented at GDC China 2012, this workshop covered level design fundamentals such as layout, pacing and storytelling. It was presented by Joel Burgess (Bethesda Game Studios), Matthew Scott (Valve Software), and Steven Gaynor (The Fullbright Company)

1. Level Design Workshop 2012
Matthew Scott
Valve Software
Joel Burgess
Bethesda Game Studios
Steve Gaynor
The Fullbright Company

2. Meet the Presenters
•Steve Gaynor, The Fullbright Company

4. Meet the Presenters
•Matthew Scott, Valve Software

6. Meet the Presenters
•Joel Burgess, Bethesda Game Studios

8. About Our Backgrounds
• Our Experience is primarily with:
– First Person Games
– Exploration Focus
– Narrative Techniques
– Shooters and Role-playing Games
• We do not have Experience With:
– Free-to-Play Games/Services
– Mobile Games
– RTS/Puzzle/other Genres of game

9. What to Expect Today
• Applicable Concepts & Techniques
– How?
• Seek Common Level Design Ground
• Share Insights from Our Experience
• Present Lessons w/Broad Usefulness

10. General Structure
• Core Concepts We’ll Focus On
– Broad Definition of Level Design
• Define a Common Language
– Layout Techniques
• Guide for Physical Playspaces
– Pacing & Encounter Design
• Populating Levels
– Narrative & Environmental Storytelling
• Achieving Deeper Meaning

11. Workshop Schedule
9:30-9:45 Speaker Introductions, Overview of the Day
9:45-10:30 Section I: Components of Level Design
10:30-11:30 Section II: Layout Primer & Best practice tips
11:30-12:00 Pre-lunch Q&A
Lunch Break
1:30-1:45 Reconvene and afternoon overview
1:45-2:45 Section III: Level Population. Encounters, Pickups, Puzzles, Reveals, etc.
2:45-3:15 Section IV: Pacing, Balance, Flow - Next step of Population
3:15-3:30 Afternoon Q&A
Coffee Break
4:00-4:15 Reconvene, Final session overview
4:15-4:45 Section V: Narrative Overview - Role of LD as storyteller
4:45-5:45 Section VI: Narrative without words, Environmental storytelling.
5:45-6:00 Wrap-up and Final Q&A

12. Level Design Workshop 2012
Section One: Components of Level Design

13. DEFINING LEVEL DESIGN

14. Defining Level Design
• Broadly defined discipline
• Needs change per studio/project/genre
– Often one face of a multi-role job
– Not a universally agreed-upon term

15. ?
Level Design
Single-player
?
?

16. Single-player

17. One Language, Many Dialects
• Discuss Level Design in Broad Terms
– Seek Common Ground
– Extrapolate from Specifics to Generalities
– Find Lessons We Can Apply to Our Work
• So – What is a Level, really?

18. Defining Level Design
Levels are the space in which player
actions happen
• By this definition, every* game has levels
• Role of Level Designer varies by:
– Game/Genre/Perspective
– Technology
– Team Culture
– Designer Skillset
*Probably

29. Level Design is…
• Level Design is defined by your game
• Your level design can define your game
• Your role? Whatever it needs to be.

30. ROLE OF A LEVEL DESIGNER

31. Level Design Job #1
Create Circumstances which invite players to
engage in the activities the game models well
• Showcase the art, code and systems
– Duty to the Team and Game
• Build Player Trust
– Duty to the Player

32. Universal Design Concerns
• Concerned with physical space
– Aesthetic Component
• Conduit between Player and Mechanics
– Psychological Component

33. Level Design Aesthetics
• Level Design != Creating Art Assets
– Though it is tied up very much with this!
– Level Designers Can be Non-Artist Developers
• Level Design Thrives on Visual Composition
– As Opposed to Visual Finish
• Levels are Art In Motion
– Gameplay is rarely visually static

34. Level Design Psychology
• Understanding Player Emotional State
– Catering to Play Styles
– Meeting Expectations
• Gameplay As Active Expression
• Level Design As Player Collaboration
• A Predictive Discipline
– Building Systems And Circumstances
– Designer/Player Authorship Relationship

35. CORE CONCEPTS

36. Core Concepts
• Layout – Morning Session (Joel)
– Understanding How We React to Space
– The Many Approaches to Layout

37. Core Concepts
• Gameplay & Pacing – Afternoon (Matt)
– Defining Gameplay Goals
– Understanding and Use of Pacing

38. Core Concepts
• Narrative – Late Afternoon (Steve)
– The Many ways Level Design Tells Stories
– Explicit, Implied and Environmental

39. Level Design Workshop 2012
Section Two: Layout Fundamentals

40. THE ROLE OF LAYOUT

41. Layout & Mechanics
• Mechanics: Player’s Verb Set
• Layout: Space Conducive to those Verbs
A sandbox is a very
Simple layout for
Playing w/Sand

42. Do Games Require Layout?
• Some Mechanics-Driven Games Do Not

43. When Does Layout Matter?
• Any game in which physical space impacts the
player activity

44. Layout As Gameplay Rule

45. More Than “Just A Map”

46. Layout is a Statement
• Invite and Encourage Player Behavior
• Layout is a powerful statement about what
your game is, and how you suggest players
best enjoy it.

47. Standing Cover
Crouching Cover

48. Level Flow
• Flow: The Rhythm at which a player moves
through and experiences a level
• This is very much tied up with Layout and
Pacing
• Flow will underscore and enforce overall pace
of the game

51. Layout As Teacher
• Layout can be an effective, natural tutorial
• Create scenarios in which player must use a
specific, core technique to advance

53. Too High To Jump
Dead End
Too Small To Fit

54. Must Use Morph Ball

55. Locked Door
Weighted Cubes
Pressure Plate Button

56. Weighted Cube
+ Pressure Plate
Door Opens!

57. Layering
• Introduce Rules/Mechanics in Isolation
– Remove Distractions
– Remove Challenges
• Layering Duress
– Physical Circumstance (Layout)
– Combine w/Mechanics (Such as Enemies)
– Time Pressure (Use Sparingly)

58. Requires Two

60. Layout as Preview
• Show currently-inaccessible areas
• Telegraph Gameplay Expectations
• Draw on Desire to explore

61. Playable Area

62. Playable Route

63. Playable Area

64. Layout as Composition
• Good Level Designers can be terrible at
painting a picture…
• But great at composing one.
• Rules of Visual Composition Apply to Level
Design

65. Rule of Thirds
• In Visual Art, it’s a guide for framing
elements within a composition
• In layout, serves as a loose guideline
• Useful for composing reveals
• Emphasize Planes of Play
• Tool for avoiding symmetry

67. Fibonacci Sequence
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…

68. Applications of Fibonacci
• Visual Reveals
• Planes of Play
• Potential Pacing Usefulness
– Handy Yardstick for analysis
– Less so as a planning tool

69. APPROACHES TO LAYOUT

70. Paper Planning

72. Paper Planning
+ Familiar & Comfortable
+ Rapid and Flexible
- Difficult to Express 3D space
- Disposable

73. Graybox Blockout

75. Graybox Blockout
+ Playable Fast
+ Minimize Distracting Context
- Tech Heavy

76. Kit Roughing

79. Kit Roughing
+ 1:1 relationship w/Final Space
+ Very Quickly Playable
- Requires Art
- Rigidity

80. Iteration is Key
• No Matter What Your Preferred Approach:
– Keep yourself Flexible
– Constantly Re-evaluate layout
– Test, Observe, Test, Observe, Change
• Layout is the Bedrock of your Level
– So take time to get it right

81. LAYOUT TEMPLATES

82. Straight-On
Enter
Exit

84. Straight-On
- Little Player Choice Available
- Handkerchief Design
+ High Level of Authorship

85. Re-Tread
Enter
Exit
Climax

87. Re-Tread
+ “The Oblivion Problem”
+ Difficult to make Re-Tread Interesting
- Few Reusable Options/State Changes

88. One-Way Loopback
Enter
Exit
Climax

90. One-Way Loopback
• Minimizes the Re-Tread Problem
• Choosing Meet Point is Tricky
• Can Seem Contrived

91. Branching Chokepoint

93. Branching Chokepoint
• Good Emphasis on Player Choice
• Scope Control: Chokepoint & Edge Cases
• Choices can feel Illusory

94. Swiss-Cheese Approach

96. Swiss-Cheese Approach
• High Emphasis on Player Choice
• Less Design Control of early experience
• Scope Bloat: Handling multiple Paths

97. Branching Fractal

98. Hub and Spoke

100. Hub and Spoke
• Efficient: Highly Reused Hub Space
• Hub Can Become Dull/Repetitive
• Spokes Not Reusable

101. Gated Hub

 


104. Pass-Through and Return

105. EVERYDAY LAYOUT TIPS

106. Decision Stacking
?
?
?
? 

107. Pickups & Flow Disruption
--


108. T-Intersections & Spillout
? ?

109. Mixing Bowls

?


110. Changed Perspective
!

?

111. Consistent Incline/Decline

112. Level Design Workshop 2012
Section Three: Pacing

113. PART I: A primer on
pacing

114. How can we use pacing in
game development?
• Pacing is a tool for keeping the player
interested in your game. It can be used
to convey certain emotions to players,
and also helps control impact of events
to the player.
3

115. How can we use pacing in
game development?
• Pacing goes by many names: flow,
rhythm, tempo, groove, etc.
3

116. How can we use pacing in
game development?
• Useful to visualize pacing in graph form.
3

117. Pacing for the scope of this talk
4

118. PACING & MOTIVATION

119. Pacing and Player Motivation
•The carrot and stick.
•Static carrot positioning vs dynamic.
7

120. Pacing and Player Motivation
• To entice players to continue playing, they
need certain incentives. These can be
items, story elements, shiny stuff, some
little nugget to keep them going.
6

121. Pacing and Player Motivation
6

122. Pacing and Player Motivation
6

123. WHERE TO BEGIN:
SIMPLIFY THE PROBLEM

124. Where do we start?
• Breaking down pacing into its
components.
10

125. Breaking down the problem
• In animation, shots and story moments are
broken down into smaller units called
"beats". These beats are useful in timing
out important story or character
development points.
11

126. Breaking down the problem
• Should the beats happen too frequently,
viewers can get overwhelmed and lose
track of whats going on. Too infrequently
and they get bored.
12

127. Breaking down the problem
• You can draw in the viewers by changing
the type and frequency of these beats.
13

128. Breaking down the problem
•In games we can use this methodology to
design interesting gameplay
experiences. For us, these beats can range
from things as simple as a small health
boost to something as big as a boss fight.
14

129. 14

130. LOOKING AT IT DIFFERENTLY

131. Another way of approaching the problem
• pacing in musical terms.
15

132. Another way of approaching the problem
• The Jaws theme is a great example of the
power of pacing.
17

134. Another way of approaching the problem
• It is conceptually simple, a pattern of
notes that repeats.
18

135. Another way of approaching the problem
•What makes piece so powerful is the way
that pattern repeats. The increased tempo,
added flourishes, these all add to increase
tension in the listener.
19

136. Another way of approaching the problem
19

137. Another way of approaching the problem
• Examples in video games
20

140. HOW TO BEGIN:
SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE

141. The importance of developing a
shared vocabulary:
• When working with a team, it can be
difficult to communicate clearly to each
other.
25

142. The importance of developing a
shared vocabulary:
• The more people, the more possibility for
divergent ideas of what you're talking
about.
25

143. The importance of developing a
shared vocabulary:
• To unify the group's vision, develop a
shared language for elements of your
level/game.
25

144. The importance of developing a
shared vocabulary:
•During HL2's development, the team had a
way of talking about pacing where they
were able to generalize the entire game
into a few basic components: Combat,
Puzzle, Exploration, Choreography, and
Vista.
26

145. The importance of developing a
shared vocabulary:
•Developing this shared vocabulary meant
they were able to describe fairly abstract
gameplay scenarios in very concrete ways.
27

146. The importance of developing a
shared vocabulary:
•This has become common practice at Valve
and has allowed us to have more grounded
discussions on how to design and iterate
our levels as well discuss the game at
large.
28

147. CASE STUDY:
HALF-LIFE 2

148. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
Here are the elements the Half Life 2 team
used to describe their game:
– Combat
– Puzzle
– Exploration
– Choreography
– Vista
29

149. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
• Combat - describes any time a player is
engaged in a fight.
30

150. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
• Exploration - a term for the player
traversing the environment, not actively
engaged in solving a puzzle and not in
combat.
31

151. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
•Puzzle - player is faced with a challenge
they must overcome before they can
progress.
32

152. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
•Puzzles are a great way to introduce new
gameplay mechanics because they allow
the player to learn in a pressure-free
environment.
32

153. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
•In Half-Life 2, the teeter-totter teaches
players to think of physics as a game
mechanic, not just a visual flourish.
32

155. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
• Choreo - short for choreography. These
encompass animated scenes ranging from
the interactive scenes in Eli's lab to
completely animated scenes like Dog v
Strider. We mainly use Choreo for story
exposition.
34

157. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
• Vista - a Vista is an area of visual interest
to the player. We expect players to stop
and check this area out.
36

159. Defining HL2's pacing elements.
• I really like these generalizations because
you can simplify almost any game using
these elements.
• Its all about thinking of these elements in
context.
55

160. ANATOMY OF A LEVEL:
HL2: Episode 2

161. Anatomy of a level: White Forest Inn
• HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
38

162. Anatomy of a level: White Forest Inn
•When planning a new level, one of the first
questions we try to answer is: Where does
this fit in relation to the previous and prior
maps?
39

163. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
•The White Forest Inn map serves to give
the player a break from driving.
40

164. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
• We could have solved "driving-fatigue" by
shortening the trip to the White Forest
base, but that would have reduced the
anticipation and importance of the
dangerous journey to the Base.
41

165. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
•Pacing your level is a balancing act.
42

166. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
•If a combat section is too long it can
become stagnant and boring.
43

167. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
• We observed new players going through
our content every week and began to see
patterns as to what keeps the player
engaged and motivated to progress
through the game.
44

168. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
• Since we had so much data we were able
to tightly iterate on the game's pacing.
45

169. Level Deconstruction
• To analyze levels that you think “work”,
break them down into smaller pieces. Try
to find the unique components and identify
why and when they are used.
46

170. Level Deconstruction
• In this example we will analyze this level's
pacing by breaking down the level into the
individual elements I mentioned earlier.
47

171. 48

172. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
• Now lets take a closer look and categorize
whats going on.
49

173. 48

174. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
• Look at it a different way, breaking
the level into its individual elements on a
timeline representing % of level makeup or
% of time spent in level.
50

175. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
51

176. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
51

177. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
51

178. Anatomy of a level: HL2: Ep2: White Forest Inn
51

179. TUNING THE PACE OF YOUR LEVEL

180. Getting down to details
• Now that we've talked about some of the
main elements of pacing a Half-Life level,
lets talk about the moment to moment
gameplay within those elements.
72

181. Getting down to details
• I like to think of pacing as a graph of
frequency vs intensity.
73

182. Using Item placement as "beats"
• Items can be used as "beats" in your level.
80

183. Using Item placement as "beats"
• Item importance can be influenced by
pacing.
80

184. PLAYTEST!

185. A note on playtesting:
• During Episode 2's development, every
week we brought in a random volunteer
from outside the company to play the
game while we observed.
76

186. A note on playtesting:
• Observing a playtest is a very direct way
to collect data on payer engagement
within each part of your level. We'd
observe player behavior, take notes, and
interview the player afterward.
77

187. A note on playtesting:
• Playtesting isn't just a useful for finding
bugs, it is critical to tuning the pacing of
your game.
78

188. A note on playtesting:
• When self-testing, play as a new player.
• We tend to naturally get bored and either
screw around or shift our attention to other
things.
79

189. TRANSITIONING BETWEEN ELEMENTS

190. Transitioning between elements
• Combat
• Choreo/cinematic
• Exploration
• Puzzles.
81

191. Transitioning between elements
• Combat is one of the most intense in
regards to player engagement.
82

192. Transitioning between elements
• Choreographed scenes/cinematics -
depending on their placement, they're a
good bridge between other types.
83

193. Transitioning between elements
• Exploration - usually more less intense
than combat scenarios
84

194. Transitioning between elements
• Puzzles - mentally taxing.
85

195. TROUBLESHOOTING

196. Battling player fatigue
• Combat sequences
• Introduce a new method of fighting: new
enemy type, new weapon type, traps,
remove weapons, change enemy
composition, change AI behavior, interrupt
the fight with a beat of a different type (
puzzle, choreo, vista, etc)
86

197. Battling player fatigue
• Exploration
• Introduce small combat segment! (hl2
would use manhacks, spy cameras, etc.)
• new method of traversing through
previously traversed levels ( dishonored,
shadow complex )
87

198. Battling player fatigue
• Puzzle
• Give the player a break, transition to another
element.
• Introduce time pressure ( stop the bomb!)
• Combat - use sparingly. Introducing combat is
adding another layer of complexity for the
player. Sometimes it becomes too frustrating,
and the player quits.
88

199. Battling player fatigue
• Choreo
• Combat - this is a powerful combination due
to the players expectations to let their guard
down during choreo/cutscenes.
• Break up your story points and place in
shorter sequences.
88

200. CASE STUDY: LEFT 4 DEAD

201. Pacing Left 4 Dead
• Since the Left 4 Dead franchise is largely
devoid of puzzles, choreo, and designed
to be infinitely re-playable, trying to pace
the game became a challenge.
63

202. Pacing Left 4 Dead
• The elements Left 4 Dead succeeds at are
Exploration and Combat.
64

203. LEFT 4 DICTIONARY
Develop a shared vocabulary

204. Develop a common vocabulary
• In the early days of Left 4 Dead 2, a group
of us played the original L4D, logging our
"awesome" or "fun" moments during
playtests.
• We made notes of both the level's
geometry and the Director's behavior.
60

205. The Left 4 Dictionary
• Through our notes, we saw patterns of fun
environmental segments and Director
behaviors. We developed terms like
Zombie Rain, Funnel-In, Finales,
Crescendo Event, Death Closet.
66

206. The Left 4 Dictionary
• We would find interesting combinations
and use a sentence like "Wide Open Top
to Funnel-In to Single-File with Open Top"
to describe something as conceptually
simple as a parking lot leading to an alley
that is between tall buildings.
67

207. The Left 4 Dictionary
69

208. The Left 4 Dictionary
69

209. Additional Level Terminology
• "The Flow" - main route from starting safe
room to the exit.
70

210. Additional Level Terminology
• Capillaries - side paths off the main flow.
• Useful for item placement
70

211. Additional Level Terminology
• Crescendo Event - high intensity combat
challenge.
• Highest impact event in level.
70

212. Additional Level Terminology
• Finale - highest intensity combat challenge
in the entire campaign.
70

213. LEFT 4 DEAD
PACING FOR REPLAYABILITY

214. Pacing Left 4 Dead
• Replayability - why should we design
games to be replayable?
• "static" games vs "dynamic" games.
64

215. Pacing Left 4 Dead
• What should we change per play session?
64

216. What did we change?
• Enemy spawning - variable positions,
variable types
• Item spawning - fixed positions, variable
type
64

217. What we didn't change
• Map layout
• Basic campaign events like crescendo
events and finales
64

218. LEFT 4 DEAD:
THE DIRECTOR

219. The Director
• Dynamically influences the pace of the
game by analyzing and responding to
player behavior
64

220. The Director
• Micromanages enemy and item spawning
to tailor this specific play experience for
this specific group of players.
64

221. The Director
64

222. Impact of The Director
• The Director has been personified by
players.
• A main "character" in the franchise.
64

223. QUESTIONS?

224. Level Design Workshop 2012
Section Five: Level Designer As Storyteller

225. LEVEL DESIGNER
AS STORYTELLER

226. Player Stories
• Every time a level is played, a story is told.
• The player's experience of playing through the
level-- what happened to THEM-- is that story.

227. Super Metroid Intro

228. Inherent Storytelling
• The story is told through a variety of means
– player's interactions with the game's mechanics
– exploration of the environment
– observation of the scripted story elements.
• But each player's experience of this level's
story is different.

229. Inherent Storytelling
• It is the level designer's job to define the
possibilities of what a level's story might be.
• In some games, most players' stories will be
nearly identical; in others all will be very
different.
• But in each case it's up to the level designer to
determine the bounds of the experience.

230. YOUR TOOLSET

231. What tools does a level designer
have at their disposal to define the
possibilities of the level's story?
• Layout/flow
• Mechanical population
• Environment art
• In-world scripting/voice
• Cutscenes

232. Storytelling Tools
• All of the above can play important roles in
telling the story of a level. However:
– What kind of story does your level need to tell?
– Which of these tools will provide the most
efficient way of telling this story?
• This will determine the level's scope.

233. Types of Story
• Gameplay story
• Environmental story
• Scripted story
• Super Metroid Example
Contains All Three

234. GAMEPLAY STORIES

235. Super Metroid – Gameplay Story
“I navigated by running, jumping and shooting,
then encountered a huge monster and fought
against it, but it was too powerful for me. I then
rushed through hazards to escape the space
station before it exploded.”

236. Super Metroid – Environmental
Story
“The base was deserted, all the scientists were
dead, and the dangerous specimen was missing
from its containment unit.”

237. Super Metroid – Scripted Story
“The monster stole the specimen and flew away
with it, causing the space station to enter
destruct mode. I escaped in my spaceship just in
the nick of time, moments before the space
station exploded.”

238. Gameplay Story
• Most important story to get across
– (from design perspective)
• Teach Player What Abilities Exist
• Consistency = Trust
• If any player completes this level without
understanding this story, they also walk away
with an incomplete understanding of their
role as the player of the game.

239. Gating
• Mandatory mechanical elements must be
gated.
– Running solves itself
– Jumping is similarly straightforward
– Shooting is slightly more complex
Can't rely on player shooting during boss fight.
Doors only open when shot.

240. Beyond Tutorials
• But this is only one very limited type of
Gameplay story: the tutorial.
• Gameplay stories can be highly varied and
expressive, allowing the player to shape their
own experience based on the opportunities
provided by the designer.

241. Deus Ex 3: Multiple Paths

242. Varying Gameplay Stories
• “I used cover and explosives sweep through
the room, killing all of the enemies.”
• “I hacked security to fight for me, then snuck
away while the enemies were distracted.”
• “I used my abilities and cover to sneak through
the room without anyone knowing I had been
there at all.”

243. By carefully managing the level's layout and the arrangement of
gameplay elements within it, the designer can guide the player
through one very specific Gameplay story, or present them with
a number of possibilities out of which to build their own.

244. SCRIPTED STORIES

245. Scripted Story
• But often a level designer is responsible for
presenting a scripted story as well.
• This story most often comes from the writer
of the game, and is considered “THE STORY”
from a reviewer's standpoint.
• It is the level designer's job in this case to
present the Scripted story as clearly and
compellingly as possible.

246. Scripted Story
• Scripted story can quickly become very
expensive
– Cutscenes are the most reliable, and most
expensive, method.
• Any way in which the designer can express
more of the Scripted story in the level itself
will benefit the project, and the player
experience, as a whole.

247. What elements of Scripted story
can live in the level itself?
• Voice-over
• Character animation
• Environment events

248. Scripted Story
• Any of these is better integrated into the
gameplay-- and less expensive-- than a
cutscene
• Must be managed along with all the other
gameplay elements that the player encounters

249. SCRIPTED STORY
TECHNIQUES

250. • Framing
– funneling the player's attention via layout
• Gameplay mechanics
– or lack thereof/minimizing distraction
• Staging & lighting
– focusing attention visually
• Gating
– keeping the player from skipping the sequence, if
necessary

251. Framing
• FRAMING: Using layout to ensure the player is
facing the event when it begins, and is able to
see it clearly as it proceeds.
• Should always occur in the center of the
player's screen.
• Dog Leg or S-Lock to funnel the player's view

252. Dishonored: “Plague Train”

253. Mechanics
• Any interactive elements will draw attention
away from the Scripted story sequence.
• If interactive objects cannot be removed, any
effects that highlight them (special effects,
particles) should be disabled.

254. STAGING/LIGHTING
• Scripted Story is a stageplay.
• Lighting and blocking draw the player's
attention to the most important elements of
the sequence.
Spotlighting highlights specific elements
Silhouetting isolates specific elements from
the surrounding scene.

256. Optional or Non-Optional?
• If the player must not be able to skip the
sequence, some form of gating is required.
• Ideally the resolution of the sequence itself
should clear the blockage, allowing the player
to move on
• Allowing the player to skip the sequence
requires additional planning, but allows the
player to interact to the game more naturally.

257. Level Design Workshop 2012
Section Six: Environmental Narrative

258. ENVIRONMENTAL
STORYTELLING

259. Environmental Storytelling
• Exists in the conceptual space between
Gameplay and Scripted story
• The story that the player deduces from the
gameworld itself

260. Environmental Story
• Gameplay stories- “what the player does”
• Scripted stories - “what the player watches”
• Environmental stories - “where the player is”

262. Environmental Meaning
• The game's environment constantly surrounds
the player.
• It communicates meaning, whether the
designer intends it to or not.
• An environment that has not been carefully
considered only communicates its most basic
properties

263. * But the environment CAN communicate
much more
* The cost to do so is generally much lower
than Scripted story, and in many cases
compared to the Gameplay story.

265. Environmental storytelling is:
• Visual
• Static
• Passive
• Optional
• Instantaneous
• Scalable

266. Latent Story
• Decoration that tells a story
• The player is free to pay attention to if they
want, but is not forced to engage.
• What are the practical advantages of
Environmental storytelling?

267. Advantages of Env. Storytelling
• Inexpensive
• Time-Agnostic
• Memorable

269. Inexpensive
• Don’t require unique game mechanics or
heavy bugtesting
• Don’t require writing or voice acting or
character animation.
• Require art assets to be created and placed in
specific ways
Setup cost, memory cost, but require fewer
personnel with shorter pipeline

270. Time-Agnostic
• Scripted stories take time, usually in the form
of voiceover and animations playing out.
Not necessarily a bad thing especially for a
first-time player.
• But Scripted story is more static than
Environmental story
Will always take the same amount of time
to resolve

271. • Player has no control over duration
Can only choose to watch or not
• Half-Life 2 lock-in scripted story sequences fail
for players who are not naturally invested in
the story

273. Time-Agnostic
• Environmental stories have no set time span.
• Allow the player to expend as much attention
on them as the player desires.
• Environmental storytelling doesn't pose the
risk of pushing the player away by forcing
them to sit through content they're not
invested in. It drives player engagement.

274. Memorable
• Environmental storytelling happens as much
in the player's head as it does in the game.
Player is deeply invested when they engage
with the content.
• While all players are shown the same
cutscenes and Scripted sequences, the piece
of Environmental storytelling that the player
discovers themselves is theirs to own, and
remember.

276. THE MONTAGE EFFECT

277. The Montage Effect
• In film, the Montage Effect was pioneered by
filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein and Lev
Kuleshov. The principle states that, with any
series of images, a viewer will always assign
meaning to a given image based on the image
that precedes it.

279. The Montage Effect
• Environmental storytelling clusters concepts
together
• The player observes and imposes a framework
of relationships upon them.
• The designer works in reverse, setting up an
arrangement of elements that the player can
reconstruct into the intended story.
• Can express a simple, single moment...

280. Example:
System Shock 2

281. Example: Gone Home
• But Environmental storytelling moments can
also cover more time and say more about a
character.
• Environmental storytelling can express how a
character lives, and therefore what kind of
person they are.

282. Gone Home

283. • Environmental storytelling can convey that
builds up a character's identity over time.

284. • Lived-in, domestic spaces invite the player to
explore and discover more about the
characters that live there

285. STAGING & FRAMING

286. Staging & Framing
• Consider how the player first encounters an
Environmental storytelling scene, and how it is
lit and presented.
• Unlike a Scripted moment, some
Environmental storytelling may be off of the
critical path
Reward for players that explore and want
to find more meaning in the game

287. Front & Center

288. Hidden Example

289. Staging & Framing
• With the amount of development investment
required for Environmental storytelling, it's
much more feasible to allow some players to
completely skip some of this type of content.
• The players who do find it will feel that much
more rewarded.

290. USING LANGUAGE

291. To Graffiti or Not to Graffiti?
• One element often found in environmental
storytelling is some form of writing.
– Graffiti, handwritten notes or clippings from print.
• This use of language can be a boon, or a
crutch.
• Over-reliance on written text can explain to
the player exactly what the scene means,
instead of letting the player figure it out.

292. Telling instead of showing

293. To Graffiti or Not to Graffiti?
• But sometimes text can be applied in such a
way that it holds the scene together, giving
just enough context for the other elements to
have meaning.

294. Showing & Telling

295. Einstein’s Razor
• Environmental storytelling is primarily visual
• Language can help the effect
cohere.
• “Everything should be made as
simple as possible, but no
simpler.”

296. In Conclusion
• Environmental storytelling is all about
maximizing your ability to communicate with
players.
– Populating the environment with meaningful
imagery maximizes the impact of the space the
player navigates.
– Environmental storytelling can often be the most
efficient method of conveying authored story as
well.

297. • When faced with a section of the environment
that isn't “saying” anything, or a story element
that you need to communicate to the player,
consider how you might be able to fill the
environment with meaningful images that
allow the player to reconstruct the story in
their mind, making the player a storyteller,
instead of just a bystander.