Archive: 12 posts

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So I've tried making several levels in LBP2, but have never finished them due to a big problem: I have no idea how to do clever or engaging level design. I have some cool ideas for story and presentation in my levels, but their actual layouts are totally blah. Has anyone else ever suffered from this problem, and found a way to address it? I'm thinking about going through several of my favorite levels in both the story and DLC packs as well as user-made stuff and taking notes on elements that I really like for inspiration, as well as finishing one of these levels and taking all the criticism and advice I get for it to heart for refinements and future work, but if anyone else has advice regarding this matter, I'm all ears.

2012-01-10 23:55:00 Author: Behonkiss Posts: 229

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I suffer from this faaar too much. To the point where I spend dozens of hours making a level and then end up trashing it and crying myself to sleep because I'm not satisfied with it. I rarely publish or even show my friends most of the stuff I create, because half the time it gets deleted before you know it. But, my advice is you should only start on a project when you're REALLY inspired. Sometimes just fooling around in create mode bouncing around ideas isn't enough. You should go out and try to find something that gets you to say "wow, this will be perfect for LBP". The best levels I've made start from an idea that just "come to me" during the day. Let ideas come naturally, and when you have an idea, stick with it. Don't work on other projects that might distract you from getting it done. Make it the focus of all your LBP time. Perfect it and marvel at the masterpiece you have made. Rinse, wash repeat.

2012-01-11 00:41:00 Author: comishguy67 Posts: 849

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I have some cool ideas for story and presentation in my levels, but their actual layouts are totally blah. make a movie... 0% gameplay and you can still tell your story

2012-01-11 01:04:00 Author: ForgottenEnigma Posts: 1414

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Well, first off, I think your on the right track. Play some levels for inspiration and looking at "what makes them work". I definitely know what you mean. I've always struggled with design myself. I think in my early LBP1 levels, I made up for my lack of design skills by just putting a lot of heart into it. I think, when you put a lot of time into your level, no matter what your skill level, or type of game you create, people appreciate it. They can see it. So, that I think is your first priority. Take the time to do your best. So, my biggest two pieces of advice: Don't be afraid to start over. If its not good enough, scrap it and start over. Keep trying to make it better. 90% of creating is trying again and again til you find something that works. Just do the best you can do. There are tons of creators out there better than me. They are better at design, better at logic, better at costumes... I can't compete with them, so I don't try to. I just make what I like, and no matter what I make, even if its just a costume level, I put in a lot of time making it the best I can. Hope that helps in some small way. Best of luck!

2012-01-11 02:52:00 Author: CYMBOL Posts: 1230

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I can almost guarantee you that the most famous levels you have played are from creators who have spend ages creating them and whose moons are full of unfinished stuff the world will never see. That is how it works. It is practice material that once started out as an ambitious project but ended up being a learning case. And that is how I like to look at it: enjoy it for the thing it is, a process of creativity. Then you can never be disappointed when you decide to abandon a project. However, if you have the strong desire to see a project to the end it becomes important to maintain that desire: take regular breaks from creating so you won't get bored. When you do get bored, do something else to regain motivation. Spend time offline browsing the web for inspiration or making sketches; stuff that makes you want to pick up that controller again later. And also, be realistic; know your weaknesses and find the right moment to publish.

2012-01-11 07:29:00 Author: Antikris Posts: 1340

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If you have a setting and atmosphere for your story, you can use Google image search to get inspiration. I usually create a level on my moon specifically for trying out the level style. They start out with a number of materials that fit the theme. Then I make the image inspirations into some set pieces using those materials. All this is just experimenting, so they don't have to be perfect, I build most things from scratch in the final level anyway. It's also a good idea to build your actual level in parts, so that it's easy to rearrange them or remove/replace parts you're not happy with. I work on the assumption that I can and will redo things anyway, that way I don't feel as pressured to make it perfect. When it's finished I usually find it wasn't as bad as I feared, and I'll keep it anyway.

2012-01-11 11:58:00 Author: Rogar Posts: 2284

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If you have a setting and atmosphere for your story, you can use Google image search to get inspiration. I make little sketches on my noteblock at the office all day. I wonder what my coworkers think of me with all those doodles of creepy monsters with tentacles and a dozen eyes.

2012-01-11 12:51:00 Author: Antikris Posts: 1340

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I think what others here say about playing existing levels is the best advice. What I can add though is that I find personally planning out your level before starting is good practice. I mean in a really crude way though, like draw blocks on a sheet of paper where you want rooms to be in relation to one another, know where you kinda want to end up with it. For example, for a level I'm working on involving time travel I effectively need to have the same level twice (a present and past version) within the same file, so I only have about 50% thermo to work with. That means a drastically smaller level compared to using full thermo, so this being my first restriction I knew I had to make my level with backtracking in mind. When you get new powers you can use these to do things in previous rooms that may not have been clear before, so while I only have 5 major rooms/portions in the level, these 5 portions are pretty packed with stuff to do - the first room where the first major event occurs is also where you return to fight the level's boss, for example. Working within these restrictions I was able to map out on paper what I wanted to achieve - nothing in detail - but I could then start adding more detail in thinking how I could reuse a particular area once a new power is unlocked, while not making overly confusing to the player, and how I could make the player interact with certain set pieces due to its relation to other rooms' positions etc. I AM having thermo problems as expected with my 50% restriction, but knowing what I set out to do at the very beginning has helped me tremendously. Obviously everyone works differently so this may not work for you, but hopefully it's sparked some sort of... well spark!

2012-01-12 02:22:00 Author: Xaif Posts: 365

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I'm actually going through that right now! D: With Trapped, I have a good idea of how the storyline will go, but gameplay wise, I'm stuck. And with Online Shootout 2, I have no idea how I'll structure the map. It's sad, but I'm sure it wears off.

2012-01-13 17:42:00 Author: Tmjtk Posts: 258

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Popping pickles, what have I started? Just kidding, lol. But yeah, I REALLY suffer from this. I have related to someone in another thread almost exactly like this. It seems to be a common conflict. However, like some of the fine fellows who answered before said, planning is very effective. Sometimes you just gotta go with the simple yet attractive look. Design can be a big problem. You just have to take your time and focus. Because if you start coming up with ideas you may think are better, you'll regret trashing your previous work! Believe me, I have. Don't think "complicated", it'll give you too much trouble. Brainstorm a bit and come up with a design that is easy to stick with, build, and look at. If you like it, go for it! The idea will stick. Hope it helps!

2012-01-13 17:57:00 Author: Sackpapoi Posts: 1195

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Ive more block time than I do inspiration time lol! I havent found the exact remedy yet, I can only tell you that sometimes just taking a lil break helps. Over the last 4-5 months RL has been hectic and Ive been away a lot, the time I did spend in LBP was largely tackle/learning logic. Once I had my sackbots mostly finished, I grinded to a halt for ages - did the menu for my level over a month and then a month+ gap of nothing at all before I started on the level... And yup, many times logged in, spent a hour staring at the screen waiting for something to happen ;p But randomly you can find yourself getting an idea - hopefully your near your console when it happens! (or else recorded on your phone/tab/pc/paper!).

2012-01-13 20:11:00 Author: Masseyf Posts: 226

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Design can be a big problem. You just have to take your time and focus. Because if you start coming up with ideas you may think are better, you'll regret trashing your previous work! I think it's best not to worry about trashing stuff if you thought of something better. You just have to make sure you don't put in too much effort into stuff that may be trashed later. Designing the level up front is good, but there will always be unforseen problems, or new ideas that make it even better, so I make sure it's not too hard to change things later on, by modular building and holding off the polish. One thing that helps me think up game play is writing down in one or two sentences what it is I'm trying to do with the level, what makes it different from existing levels, why I want to make it. Next I try to think of the best ways of achieving this goal, and do a little research with google/wikipedia, and convert these thoughts into game play ideas. Then it's just a matter of some prototyping and rearranging them into a level.

2012-01-14 14:33:00 Author: Rogar Posts: 2284

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