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Author Topic:   More Level Design Tips From The Master
LagothZanta
Junior Member

Posts: 2
From:Here
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 12-21-2001 07:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LagothZanta     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Okay kiddies, you asked for more, and being the kind soul that I am, I’ll give you more. Here be some more Tips From The Master to help bring your levels to life. This time, I’ve given you some play-value tips, as opposed to technical hints. Enjoy!

1. Red-Herrings: Create a few really difficult places to reach, and then provide no reward for having reached them. We all expect to be greatly rewarded after traversing a treacherous path, so picture the surprise on the player’s face when they find a dead end! Better yet, have some unexpected spikes spring up and kill the player instantly after they spent hours trying to reach that point.

2. Lighting: Often overlooked, but how you light your level can make all the difference. Everyone loves using flares, right? So douse your level in endless shadows and use dark textures, forcing to player to either find some more flares, or wander through eternal darkness, listening to Miss Croft say “Ooof” every five seconds as she bumps her pretty little head against a wall… now that’s what I call fun!

3. Jumping Puzzles: Ah, how could we forget these? We all love struggling with the same annoying difficult jumping sequence ad nauseum, right? So why not add a twist and make some invisible ledges for Lara to grab hold of? Nothing spells fun like loading/reloading a game countless times as you try to solve a purely illogical puzzle!

Okay, that ought to be enough to get you started. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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KrisGR
Member

Posts: 322
From:Athens-Greece
Registered: Oct 2001

posted 12-21-2001 07:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KrisGR   Click Here to Email KrisGR     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
lol i am guessing this is your way to complain for all those times that you got frustrated while playing custom levels.

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LagothZanta
Junior Member

Posts: 2
From:Here
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 12-21-2001 12:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for LagothZanta     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Actually, not really. I've liked the custom levels I've played. I just felt like writing a stupid post-- last time I did it, people thought I was being serious, and I was curious to see how far I could push it.

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qbg
Member

Posts: 135
From:Newtown, Powys, Wales
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 12-21-2001 12:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for qbg   Click Here to Email qbg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by LagothZanta:

1. Red-Herrings: Create a few really difficult places to reach, and then provide no reward for having reached them. We all expect to be greatly rewarded after traversing a treacherous path, so picture the surprise on the player’s face when they find a dead end! Better yet, have some unexpected spikes spring up and kill the player instantly after they spent hours trying to reach that point.


You know, I really like that. I guess It's because it's just... evil.


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Nigel1985
Member

Posts: 767
From:England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 12-21-2001 02:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Nigel1985   Click Here to Email Nigel1985     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
no offence but those tips are useless, most of them are commone sense (the 1 that made sense) but the other two are kinda off beat.

You make really hard/impossible places to reach because it can add depth to your level. If you saw a room or opening far off its makes the world seem more real (ie Miria levels)

2) this one was fine

3) puzzles are fun and obviously needed

sorry if im harsh, really im not trying to be an ***

------------------

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TRoosevelt_26
Member

Posts: 92
From:The Temple at Karnak, Egypt
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 12-21-2001 07:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TRoosevelt_26   Click Here to Email TRoosevelt_26     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Think "tongue-in-cheek". "Sarcasm" works, too.

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psiko
Member

Posts: 774
From:unconsciousness
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 12-22-2001 04:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for psiko   Click Here to Email psiko     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
actually I like places you see since the beginning but you need a little bit to reach: both for the time, either for effort and hard jumps, expecially if it is shown all there to you but you must collect all before than to understand how. I think it is very challenging for the players, and I think that you should play TR3 before than to be that sarcastic as people who started playing TR with tr4 or 5 don't know exactly the actual game playing of tr games, which are, most of all, good 3D platform games....

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the_last_frustration
Member

Posts: 2411
From: Northern Alliance... I mean Northern Ireland
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 12-22-2001 06:47 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for the_last_frustration   Click Here to Email the_last_frustration     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
One extremely evil trick I'm fond of is a huge obstacle course, with spikes and trap doors everywhere, and Lara has to consantly keep moving in order to have any hope of survival, and once you reach the end... "Wait a sec, how do I get back? Why are there skulls on the walls??"

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qbg
Member

Posts: 135
From:Newtown, Powys, Wales
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 12-22-2001 07:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for qbg   Click Here to Email qbg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
...and that might be why you are known as "the_last_frustration"

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