1st Edition

Fundamental Level Design and Analysis A to B

By Michael Beardwood Copyright 2025
    188 Pages 111 Color Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    188 Pages 111 Color Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    This book provides a starting point for anyone interested in level and game design with zero prior knowledge. By analysing existing games and levels, it introduces good design ideas and works towards communicating them in either design or practical methods. The book covers a multitude of design standards and showcases relatively easy methods of communicating ideas to an industry standard.

    This book uses step-by-step discussion to show how and why certain methodologies work, and covers the key topics needed to understand level design, including mapping, blockouts, flow maps, critical paths, and affordance.

    This book will be suitable for undergraduate students studying game design courses, as well as those looking to learn the basics of level design.

    Acknowledgements
    Introduction

    1. Identifying the Key Features of Level Design
    2. Abstraction of Level Analysis and Creation
    3. Methods of Deconstruction and Construction
    4. Advancing Designs
    5. Tricks of the Trade
    6. Let's Design – Side Scroller 
    7. Let's Design – FPS
    8. Let's Design – Open World
    Index

    Biography

    Michael Beardwood is the course leader for Computer Games Design at Staffordshire University, one of the biggest games design courses in the United Kingdom, and has been teaching games design and technology for over a decade.