A rich family has contracted a company to build their brand new house. After the initial meeting they discuss a three story house on a plot of land. What they got back was by no means what they expected. As the two sides went their separate ways, the company thought the expectations were clear and started construction. The family goes home and begins to design their new home. They decide on how many stairwells they want, where the fireplaces should go, and how many sinks they want in their bathrooms! As the two sides come together they realize the extent of the communication break down. The family comes with their designs. The construction company, concerned about their timeline had already started on the house, and it hardly matched the goals of the family. The lack of constant communication by both parties resulted wasted time and effort.
This analogy may be exaggerated, but the moral is very much relevant. As games get more complicated, communication between design departments is at risk of being brushed aside for seemingly more important tasks. However with Level Design's responsibility ever growing, its important now more then ever that both Game Design and Level Design work directly with each other to explain their goals and direction.
Each of the design departments have a unique role. However, they are entirely dependent on each other for success.The Game Design department creates documents describing how different game systems will intertwine. Game Designers worry about the Core of the game. They decide on a feature that builds upon the Core. Features are constructed by many systems that Level Designers use in their environments. These systems make the level feel alive, interactive, and rewarding. Brenda Brathwaite has a nice blog post that goes deeper into that.
Level Design is where the tire hits the road. They take their own goals and create an environment that promotes Game Design's systems. They are also responsible for creating environments with the Art Department, promoting story elements, and other random scripting. With all their responsibilities, it is imperative that Level Designers always understand 100% of Game Design's decisions. The customer see only the environment in the video game. He does not read the game design documents that were also meticulously created. If Level Designers do not understand the goals of the systems, they can not create environments that emphasize those systems.
Gears of War offers a nice example. Their core is combating enemies. They use their “cover” feature to emphasize intelligent combat. To allow the player to use the cover, they created a system for Level Designers to place nodes in the environment. These nodes define how the player is able to act when he is on the node. The relationship between the Design departments must be symbiotic. If one department fails, the other will inevitably fail. Level Design must understand this system to use it effectively in their levels. How dense should the nodes be? How far apart should they be spaced? What is the goal of this feature?
I recently worked with a Game Designer closely on a system that would be used by the rest of the Level Design Department. Because of clear communication, we were able to quickly assemble a prototype level that proved the goal of the new system. Both Level Design and Game Design were able to communicate concerns and offer solutions. We ended up with a system that was understood by Level Design and enhanced the feature Game Design was concerned about. The game became more fun!
When questions arose or direction was questioned we quickly met face to face. If the issue involved more than one person, we gathered a quick meeting. Gearbox's communication process helps employees use their time to maximize productivity. Better communication between design departments results in more quality work and more time to iterate on ideas. Working together will make a stronger product, and stronger products make for happier customers!
