Archive: 16 posts

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I haven't made a full level in a long long time cause I just can't stick to one idea. How do you guys succeed? I begin with the intro but then I just get another idea and start doing that, then I get another idea and it goes like that forever...

2010-01-06 17:23:00 Author: blizzard_cool Posts: 752

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Keep all your ideas, and then eventually you will have enough things to make a full level with one theme! It's usually pretty simple for me, I just go along with the theme...

2010-01-06 17:25:00 Author: Fredrik94 Posts: 342

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This is because you go along instead of planning. Also, when I make levels, I DO have plenty of ideas at the same time. It's just that you need to not be attached to them and keep those than can fit your decided theme. More often than not, ideas also can be "translated" from a theme to another. .

2010-01-06 17:51:00 Author: RangerZero Posts: 3901

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Well spoken, RangerZero. My first question to you, Blizzard_Cool, is how are you defining theme? Theme could be a collection of materials, objects, color, artistic styling, or gameplay elements. For me, environmental theme is the first thing that I figure out before I build anything. Sure, maybe I've designed a gadget or two that I want to incorporate but usually I plan what type of environment I'm going to create. For example, in my upcoming level "Fireball Island" I began with a theme of "tropical island with a big volcano" Next, I started planning out a few different environments I wanted to capture with this theme. A good level should keep things visually fresh, and that usually means that the beginning of your level should look different from the middle, and those different from the end. I decided that I would start the level off on a beach, then introduce the rocky terrain that are the island's mountains. On top of that, I wanted to include an underwater section. Accordingly, I picked out the materials that would comprise the majority of each of these sections. Finally, I start roughing out my terrain. I build my levels in sections, focusing on the more important parts (i.e. rooms) first. Then I start experimenting with placing them within the appropriate section of the level. Doing so helps me make environmental transitions at the necessary time, so I avoid ending up dragging on a particular subtheme (i.e. beach) too far through the level. If you're having trouble sticking to one idea (i.e. city vs. island vs. zombies), you can try thematic crossovers (i.e. zombies on an island, or city on an island). But sometimes conflicting ideas should simply reside in different levels. Perhaps the problem is that once you start with one theme, you run out of ideas and quickly lose interest? If that's the case, it's time to scour the internet and community pages for some inspiration. Watch movies, look up photos, take a pencil and sketch on paper, or go tinker with machinery. Sometimes all it takes is a small idea, which you can grow into a full centerpiece to which you can design your level around. This can be a room puzzle or even a contraption or enemy. You can even try stripping away all the materials from your level - go back to cardboard and dark matter until your rough out the terrain, and then pick a theme and start redecorating to fit. Build it to be interesting first and then worry about what it looks like. Hope this gives you some inspiration!

2010-01-06 19:14:00 Author: Thegide Posts: 1465

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Stick to three materials, then listen to lots of music while you create.

2010-01-06 20:06:00 Author: KoRnDawwg Posts: 1424

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Majority of my levels i tend to make out of one material, the key is I use stickers to paint the entire level. This basically gives you the ability to make what ever objects you want and just paint them to match the existing theme. Also making a few copies of objects and having them pop up here and there in the level helps as well. Good luck, hope it helps!

2010-01-06 20:19:00 Author: EviLPaNda Posts: 51

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Majority of my levels i tend to make out of one material, the key is I use stickers to paint the entire level. This basically gives you the ability to make what ever objects you want and just paint them to match the existing theme. Also making a few copies of objects and having them pop up here and there in the level helps as well. Good luck, hope it helps! I've tried that before, it also works when you select a material with the right texture. I mean, it's a little better than cardboard xD

2010-01-06 20:29:00 Author: KoRnDawwg Posts: 1424

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Maybe try to create multiple themes in the level. I mean, it's certainly possible and you can easily figure out a way to use as few materials as you can. I've tried before and the level went quite well. It was a time traveling level that incorporated 4 themes that were very different from each other. A cave, a futuristic city, the ice age and an abstract world. (the level got the failed to load error gosh darnit!) What I'm trying to say is, if you ever wanted to, you can mix the ideas. ----- Otherwise, I basically stick to a specific theme by not thinking too much about the other ideas or trying to somehow incorporate them into my current level. This is quite difficult to do most of the time, but under the right circumstances, anything can happen.

2010-01-06 20:50:00 Author: iGotFancyPants Posts: 1355

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Maybe try to create multiple themes in the level. I mean, it's certainly possible and you can easily figure out a way to use as few materials as you can. You don't even need to limit your number of materials that much and as long as you can create a logical progression you should be fine with mixing visual themes. You can tie them together with a narrative (doesn't need to be explicit or text heavy, just make it make sense) and consistant gameplay styles. Setbacks runs through two distinct environments (industrial vs natural) and the industrial areas are actually quite varied (in terms of the materials and structure of them). The whole thing evolved naturally out of random ideas shoehorned together. A whole bunch of other stuff got dropped because I went off and designed other things that didn't fit. Half my stuff begins by being created in dark matter and neutral material until I know what I think it's going to be... after I've worked that out I apply visuals to it. Even if I kjnow what the visuals should be (as per my OC beta project where I copied grant's aesthetic ideas) I still work largely in dark matter except for occasional "center-pieces", visual focal points that I would consider to tie the area together. Maybe if you are struggling to stick to themes, just embrace that into your work ethos. You may not be someone who works well with planning so trying to force yourself into a position where you are committed to a certain theme is not the way to go.

2010-01-06 20:58:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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Don't change. Let your imagination run wild and be diverse. Just think of a McGuffin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin if you need a unifying theme for your ideas.

2010-01-06 21:11:00 Author: Ungreth Posts: 2130

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Planning is usually the key when you can't stick to one idea. Don't dive right in and start building, that's like scoffing down a chocolate bar because you can't wait to eat it. Instead start planning it, storyboard it, break it into segments, and sketch out anything you need to. That way you will want to complete it, because it's all on paper but not yet built. You won't stop half way because you know what you need to do to finish it, and if you do get another random idea that doesn't fit with this level, start planning your next level while you're building this one, that way you won't be rushing off to scoff the second chocolate bar before you've finished your first one.

2010-01-06 21:45:00 Author: TheSeraphor Posts: 73

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There are lots of tricks people will tell you - plan it, join the ideas together - etc. In the end - If you want to stick to one theme, all you need to do is Stick to one theme! Do not build things outside the theme. What you are looking for is self control.

2010-01-06 21:48:00 Author: ButterflySamurai Posts: 98

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There are lots of tricks people will tell you - plan it, join the ideas together - etc. In the end - If you want to stick to one theme, all you need to do is Stick to one theme! Do not build things outside the theme. What you are looking for is self control.No ****, he wants to know HOW he can get that self control. That's like answering: How do I ride a bike? With: You just ride a bike, DUH! Not at all helpful.

2010-01-06 22:35:00 Author: TheSeraphor Posts: 73

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No ****, he wants to know HOW he can get that self control. That's like answering: How do I ride a bike? With: You just ride a bike, DUH! Not at all helpful. Invalid comparison. Riding a bike requires physical action. Self control requires nothing more than the thought. It is like Zen. All the other answers are fingers pointing. Stop staring at the fingers. If he needs to ask, the truth is - he probably does not want to stick to a theme. The conflict is that he thinks he should be when he is not. He either needs to start wanting to or stop thinking he should.

2010-01-06 22:42:00 Author: ButterflySamurai Posts: 98

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I tihnk he is looking for more insight into other people's design methodologies and the ways they control the internal turmoil of having all manner of ideas flying around inside them and focussing on a single concept. If someone turns to you and asks how to meditate, it's a valid question. Yes we can all sit and think, but that's not meditation. Zen meditation has certain characteristics that need to be learned. If you turn around to me and say, "be zen", I don't know how. It requires knowledge, as do all things in life. One can learn self control, and self control in different scenarios require completely different skills / methods. The underlying question is how various people manage to find the self control to bring about a single theme. Your answer, whilst accurate, is not actually helpful as it does not lead to any kind of understanding. Let's get this back to answers that will actually assist in furthering peoples' understanding.

2010-01-06 23:07:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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Thanks to everyone and especially to rtm for explaining.

2010-01-06 23:15:00 Author: blizzard_cool Posts: 752

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