How Mega Man 11's Levels Do More With Less

After looking at level design in Mario, Donkey Kong, and Rayman, it’s time to see how the blue bomber’s stages work - by taking a look at the levels in Mega Man 11.

Games shown in this episode (in order of appearance)

Mega Man 11 (Capcom, 2018)
Rayman Legends (Ubisoft Montpellier, 2013)
New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo, 2012)
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Retro Studios, 2014)
Mega Man 6 (Capcom, 1993)
Mega Man 5 (Capcom, 1992)
Mega Man 9 ( Capcom / Inti Creates, 2008)
Mega Man 3 (Capcom, 1990)
Mega Man 10 ( Capcom / Inti Creates, 2010)
Mega Man 2 (Capcom, 1988)
Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games, 2014)

Music used in this episode

Mega Man 11 soundtrack
k. Part 2 - 01 untitled 1, animeistrash

[oops]

Fun fact, the drills are actually Impact Man himself. Apparently, according to the enemy list in Mega Man 11, he can split himself into the three drills, and they each have their own personalities as well. So when the drills appear throughout the level, its Impact Man taking potshots at you, and when they appear in the boss fight, its him assembling himself to fight you.

[chaosmiles]

Those graphics for the room layout designs... Those are going to be the next useful chart!

[DarylTalksGames]

Torch man's level is almost like a mini class. The earlier rooms teach you how to deal with each problem individually, and then room 14 is like a final exam, where you have to deal with each problem interchangeably. I genuinely think good teachers would make good game designers.

[newmono]

The graphics in these videos get better with each one

[ivory]

Thank you Mark for this. For me, as a developer of a platformer myself, I'm constantly worried about how much variety I need in my levels so they won't feel stale or boring. This helped me to see that smarter, more throughout design helps to alleviate some of the issues. Thanks again for this video and have a good day.

[ZackBellGames]

Mark, this is easily some of your best work. Both the content and editing are phenomenal! Coming from a developer who has several moderate to successful games on both Steam and console(s), you are doing some amazing and worthwhile work. This helps gamers of all backgrounds, thank you :)

[danielleanderson]

This game looks like what Mighty No. 9 was trying, but failed, to look like. The art style is just really good.

[AIandGames]

Having just recently worked my way through the first Mega Man Legacy Collection, it's nice to see this layered level design is being upheld. Also, thanks for the Halo 3 vid shoutout!

[_Gaming]

Your editing never ceases to amaze me. Have you ever considered doing an effects breakdown? It'd be awesome to see how you make things like the Level breakdown j this game, or the dependancy graphs in Boss Keys. As always, awesome work! Keep it up!

[SonofMrPeanut]

"fight a reanimated mammoth skeleton."

I love video games.

[MrASK]

I was able to identify a few moments, like the checkpoint rooms for quick breaks after fighting the mini-bosses, where I went "ah, I see why that's there" when I played the game. However, this video covered a lot of design patterns that I never noticed before, like how the moving platforms and flying pile drivers in Impact Man's stage are introduced separately and repeatedly before they all come together in one room. Level design can clearly do wonders to tell players what to anticipate when it's done right.

[newmono]

Would you ever do a sereies on _bad_ game design?

[LL-iwgk]

The level design on this series is MEGA.

[DADA-ytpt]

There's a fan game called Mega Man Maker and I've been having fun making levels in that game, but looking back, I wished that I've watched this video sooner. I wasn't at all the best level creator. But this is REALLY good insight on what makes a good stage. And it's something I think a lot of people designing levels can learn from.

[haridojamaru]

Megaman 11 wouldn’t have been a thing if previous megaman games didn’t exist I can really feel that this game combines every idea from the megaman games into one solid game which might be the last megaman game that we’ll ever get

[yvendous]

5:50 I THOUGHT RUSH WAS THE ONLY WAY




Wow, I'm a dummy

[vikramb]

I really love how you not only provide really well thought out and insightful content, but also use really good animations and design to convey everything in a clear manner. The editing is really good! Keep it up!

[brandonmartin-moore]

Another game that I can think of that does something similar is Tearaway. It has huge level design variation and introduces different mechanics slowly, focusing on one mechanic at a time while intuitively combining them in later stages.

[joaorobalo]

Video idea: How boardgames have influenced video-game design and vice-versa.

[subprogram]

this is exactly the kinda thing i like seeing in a GMTK vid! first you breaking down the basic room structures of acid man's level, then the mechanical elements of Impact Man's levels, then doing a comprehensive breakdown of Torch Man's level was really very engaging for me. And i'm not even really a fan of Mega Man either! :P