Architectural Approach to Level Design

Second edition

Christopher W. Totten (American University, Washington, DC, USA)

$273

Hardback

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English

A K Peters
23 May 2019

The Arts: General & Reference; Digital animation; Games development & programming

Written by a game developer and professor trained in architecture, An Architectural Approach to Level Design is one of the first books to integrate architectural and spatial design theory with the field of level design. It explores the principles of level design through the context and history of architecture.

Now in its second edition, An Architectural Approach to Level Design presents architectural techniques and theories for you to use in your own work. The author connects architecture and level design in different ways that address the practical elements of how designers construct space and the experiential elements of how and why humans interact with that space. It also addresses industry issues like how to build interesting tutorial levels and how to use computer-generated level design systems without losing the player-focused design of handmade levels. Throughout the text, you will learn skills for spatial layout, evoking emotion through gamespaces, and creating better levels through architectural theory.

FEATURES

Presents case studies that offer insight on modern level design practices, methods, and tools

Presents perspectives from industry designers, independent game developers, scientists, psychologists, and academics

Explores how historical structures can teach us about good level design

Shows how to use space to guide or elicit emotion from players

Includes chapter exercises that encourage you to use principles from the chapter in digital prototypes, playtesting sessions, paper mock-ups, and design journals

Bringing together topics in game design and architecture, this book helps you create better spaces for your games. Software independent, the book discusses tools and techniques that you can use in crafting your interactive worlds.

By: Christopher W. Totten (American University Washington DC USA)
Imprint: A K Peters
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 2nd edition
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 1.320kg
ISBN: 9780815361374
ISBN 10: 0815361378
Pages: 579
Publication Date: 23 May 2019
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Chapter 1 A Brief History of Architecture and Level Design. Chapter 2 Drawing for Level Designers. Chapter 3 Level Design Workflows. Chapter 4 Basic Gamespaces. Chapter 5 Communicating through Environment Art. Chapter 6 Building exciting levels with dangerous architecture. Chapter 7 Rewards in Gamespaces. Chapter 8 Level 1-1: The Tutorial Level . Chapter 9 Storytelling in Gamespaces. Chapter 10 Possibility Spaces and Worldbuilding. Chapter 11 Working with Procedurally Generated Levels. Chapter 12 Influencing Social Interaction with Level Design. Chapter 13 Sound and Music in Level Design .

Chris Totten is Game Artist in Residence at American University. He has contributed to several independent game productions as an artist, animator, level designer, game designer, and project manager. Totten is also an active writer in the game industry, with articles featured on VideoGameWriters.com, GameCareerGuide, and Gamasutra. He has also published a book entitled Game Character Creation with Blender and Unity. Totten's writings on interdisciplinary approaches to game design have earned him guest speaking appearances at GDC China, Dakota State University's Workshop on Integrated Design in Games, and East Coast Game Conference.