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Game Design Level Design Narrative Design

Boundary Conditions.

In any simulated system there are boundaries, points at which the model being used breaks down, where player behaviour is no longer accounted for. The most obvious of these are the physical boundaries of the game space, the chasm too wide to cross or the wall too high to climb. To a large extent the methods for […]

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Game Design Interfaces Level Design

Ninja Skills.

So many of the elements prone to cause frustration in a stealth game are not present in Mark Of The Ninja, the clarity and consistency of feedback is some of the best I’ve seen in the genre. The straightforward manner in which visibility, audibility and even memory (Both of the player character and non-player characters) is visually […]

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Game Design Level Design Narrative Design

The polite horror game.

Dead Space: Extraction is a game that knows what it wants to be. Within a series that wears its horror film influences on its sleeve Extraction is the most direct translation of those influences to the video game form. As an on-rails shooter the cinematography and pacing are an obvious point of comparison sharing as they do […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 7.

“To serve the nobility is the highest privilege in life of course but slavery is just so… distasteful.” Annotated Walkthrough, 6: Without the option to read the books sitting upon the shelves there is little to determine if the library of Angelwatch was created to serve a functional purpose or whether it exists merely as […]

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Level Design

Design on the Brink.

To coincide with QuakeCon, last week saw a number of Bethesda published games receiving discounts on Steam, part of that promotion was a ‘Free Weekend’ for Brink. Having heard mixed things about Splash Damage’s “mingleplayer” title, I took this opportunity to investigate for myself. I play Team Fortress 2 and occasionally Halo Reach when the […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 6.

“Take some time to appreciate our gallery…” Annotated Walkthrough, 5: Mounting the stairs of Angelwatch is an ascent into light. Climbing out of the basement like claustrophobia of the second floor the gas lamps are replaced with electric lights, the bare brickwork hidden behind paint and paper while small balconies, extending into the incongruously well […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 5.

“The front doors are locked. Looks like Karras wants a captive audience.” Annotated Walkthrough, 4: Your entry to Angelwatch is through a hatch on the eastern side of the second floor. The air ducts you find yourself in branch after several feet where a ladder provides access to the higher floors. The safest way forward […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 4.

“No need for alarm ladies, just passing through.” Annotated Walkthrough, 3: From the roof outside Sir Cullen’s Keep there is still some distance to go before reaching the Mechanist tower at the heart of Dayport. From here at least two buildings need to be traversed before you can gain entry to Angelwatch itself, the Dayport […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 3.

“Well well… housebreakers. How quaint.” Annotated Walkthrough, 2: Offering a more circuitous route than that found by heading through the Shemenov Estate, the area of Dayport to the west of Grandmauden Road provides a look at the range of different buildings, both commercial and residential, to be found within this section of the City. It […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 2.

“Hey, the City looks almost bearable from up here.” Annotated Walkthrough, 1: From the moment it starts Life Of The Party feels different from the rest of Thief II. Everything is brighter, the surrounding walls no longer tower above you, even the sky seems closer. Some familiar elements remain, the constant industrial drone that pervades […]