Spatial Communication in Level Design

This is a talk I gave at Develop Digital in 2020. It tried to dig into what a layout is silently communicating to a player and how we, as designers, can take control of this conversation to make sure players get the experience we intend.

The level was built in Dreams on a Playstation 4.

[gamesbygodwai]

Probably the best level design guide I've ever seen

[sealsharp]

Whenever i find a video like this, with tremendous wisdom and low views, i wonder how many other hidden gems are out there that i may never find.

[fahimfaysal]

This is the level design crash course you never knew you needed.

[LoneTech]

7:48 This example bad communication reminded me of Antichamber. The whole concept there was bad communication. Release comes when you walk away, whether you've stuck through it all or abandoned it. The author was very proud of himself.

[JoeyFoxtrot]

One of the best presentations I've heard on Level Design. I constantly find myself rewatching this lecture and feel like I learn something new each time. Thank you for sharing!

[superkaboose]

How did I only just find this, this is golden, thanks for all the wisdom! Very well done

[whalics]

This talk legitimately made me feel robbed that I didn't get to play this level... ! The effort you put into the space to aid in this explanation is much appreciated! Fantastic communication on such a complex topic.

[SpencerYonce]

This is seriously the best level design videos I’ve ever seen. I can’t thank you enough!! Much love ❤

[sbboh-kcin]

so i was sorting through my "youtube watch later" backlog, and i skimmed through this briefly, to see if it was valuable keeping in the "to be watched" playlist. just listening for like 20 seconds hinted that I was looking at a Level Design GOLD MINE. so here i am watching it for real. This is, like many have voiced, the one of the best level design videos I have ever seen. I plan on this never leaving my Watch Later playlist now in hopes I rewatch and fully absorb this video.

[CrashingThunder]

This is some really great, condensed information. The live demo is super cool and well-done!

[SpiderElm]

Wow what a treasure trove of design principles, thanks for sharing

[lhmsc]

Amazing video! A lot of great info in there!
But two situations confused me.
- In the first room, seeing the lighthouse in the distance and with the blinders waving with the wind dragging my attention and telling me that the window is open, it was much more obvious to me that the way forward was jumping out of the window instead of over the crates.
- The locked gate that you need to interact to knock down the crate also felt strange. From a medium distance the gate looks blocked because the padlock is pretty obvious. On the other hand it's impossible to know that you need to interact with it first to knock down the crate and open the path forward. The crate and the gate are not logically connected with each other, so might be a situation where the player looks at the gate, realizes it's locked and start to roam around without a way to find the key just because they didn't interact with the gate first.
Just my 2 cents. Again, thank you! Awesome talk!

[flow]

"presentable blockout" could be an interesting aesthetic for a game. it looks pretty cool

[matthewgustafson]

Great talk! I really like the toggle you have to show different iterations of the space, it adds a lot to the walkthrough.

[richbuilds_com]

From start to finish, this is a fantastic dive into level design. Not a wasted inch of your viewing time.

[chyra]

This was an excellent and creatively presented design talk, amazing work!

[joshh.]

Amazing presentation! The interactive format is very well-used. It's a pleasure to find such a high quality educational video!

[BM-ptsy]

Easily the best tutorial and best presentation I've seen in my life. Kept me engaged the entire time and every second was crammed with genuinely useful information that was straight-forward and logical.

[tinyredkite]

Thank you very much for this talk! It's amazing how many pieces of knowledge you've integrated in relatively short video. Great job!

[boraurkmez]

This video is an absolute gem. I will rewatch it over and over again in the future, that's for sure. Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge Peter 💎