Posted by Blue Ghost on March 21, 1998 at 04:25:48:
In Reply to: Re: JK levels verse levels in other games posted by Dak on March 20, 1998 at 20:23:48:
> You're on the right track for sure... A linear level is a poor level, especially when you can tell the level author understood that he was making a linear level, wasn't sure how to make it more interesting... so he made the entrance to the next part of the level really hard to find, or guarded by thirteen Dark Troopers... or At-sts... or Dark Jedi statues and stupid stupid vornskrs.. :-)
I remember the Dark Trooper syndrome from some of the original DF levels. I always considered that another flaw for level authors; i.e. "Fight the Big Guy at the End" syndrome after following a predetermined path.
> The third level of Mots (second asteroid level where you start on top of the pipe after jumping off the ledge) is awesome in my opinion for it's non-linear scope. I was lost and confused for a long time... I loved it!!!!
Yeah, you're right about that one. That's why I liked the MOTS levels a bit more than the original JK levels because there was more than one path to a particular goal some of the time.
> Also, make neat places that would really exist in the world you are creating, even if they aren't important or necesary... I could do without another bathroom ... so don't over do it... and my main complaint it game design today is the fact that there are impossible to reach places that just happen to have a full compliment of storm troopers or other badies... good thing all those troopers had force jump so they could get up to that control room huh? Good luck!
Another foible in the art of level design. I'll keep this in mind too. One of the gripes I had with custom DF levels were the neat looking places (populated and otherwise) that required a cheat or two to get to. And, yeah, I'm having a mental debate with myself about how many floors, offices, bathrooms, cafe's and the like I should detail. Ideally I'd like to have a fully explorable environment, but there is a limit as to how much I can throw in and how much any player can take in terms of having to find a key in say a downtown area with ten and twenty story office buildings with a parking garages....:-)
> -Dak
Thanks Dak for some good feedback. It helped reaffirm some notions I had. BG