But at the same time, the designer can’t simply throw random challenges into the level the level needs to feel coherent from challenge to challenge. The level has to get more difficult, or else it will be boring.
#LEVEL METHOD MAP PDF HOW TO#
It’s not enough to know what challenges are a good designer also has to know how to fill a level with them. The principle is still the same, however. For example, some challenges in a Sonic the Hedgehog game are much wider than those in a Mario game, because Sonic is usually moving much faster and the player needs the extra space to slow down, stop, or change direction. Challenges and their boundaries are different in different kinds of games. For this challenge, the boundaries are still the solid ground on either side, but now the player has to jump across two kinds of platforms in order to make it safely through.Įven though this challenge is larger, it’s still one challenge, because the player has to get through the two moving platforms in one action, before arriving at the safe challenge boundary on the right.Ĭhallenges can be quite large, but you must always remember that they are bounded by periods of safety where the player can (in a sense) “rest” for a moment before beginning the next challenge. In this next challenge I have added a second moving platform of a different type. Let’s take a look at something more complex. Thus, the challenge begins and ends on the safe, stationary ground to the left and right of the moving platform. Once on the platform, however, the player has to be careful not to fall into the bottomless pit and lose a life. On either side of the moving platform, the player can basically wait around without being in any danger. Take a look at the example below, where Mario must jump on and off a moving platform above a bottomless pit. A challenge is a short task, surrounded by periods of relative safety, which the player must complete all at once.
The first step lies in understanding and identifying challenges. With practice, you will be able to identify these things in some of your favorite games, so that you can bring a greater level of organization and depth to your game’s content. However, I have seen use of the CCST structure in Mega Man, Metroid, Portal, Half-Life, Super Meat Boy, and many other games. I’m going to use examples from Super Mario Maker to explain the fundamental parts of the CCST structure because it’s a very convenient example. The actual name for the framework we’re looking at is “challenge, cadence, skill-theme” or CCST for short. "Challenge Crossing" Super Mario Maker level
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