What Is Level Design?

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Level design is like a game of Tetris, but with a computer and more freedom. Level design is creating video game levels, environments, missions, or stages, using a level editor software used in game development to create digital environments. In addition to being included in games to allow players to get creative and make their levels and scenarios, level editors may also be included in released games. Level design is a technical and artistic profession. The level designer's job is to create a fun environment for the player to play with and, ideally, challenge. The level designer also decides on how many players there will be at once, what kind of objective each player needs to achieve to win or advance through the stage, how many enemies (if any) there are at any given time and what kinds of things they'll do when they spot you (or you spot them). A good level designer should always keep the player's experience in mind: what obstacles will they encounter? What type of movement options do they have? How much health do they start with? What kinds of weapons can they pick up along the way? Where can they find these things? Level design is the art of creating game environments that are not only fun but also believable. It's about creating a world that players will want to live in and interact with, and it's also about making sure that the world is as realistic as possible. Level designers start with a conceptual design of the level, which may include sketches, renderings, and even physical models. Once they've finalized this design, they'll document it extensively, including everything from environmental lighting to narrative elements and then model it digitally. This process can take a few weeks to several months, depending on the project's scope and how much detail is required. The goal of level design is to create life-like interactive game environments that feel like they could exist.

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Related Terms by Gaming Technology

Elastic Block Store

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Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

When you think of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, you probably picture a bunch of geeks in hoodies with computers. That's because you're right. The EFF is a nonprofit organization in the United States that supports civil liberties and other legal issues about digital rights. It is an advocacy group dedicated to protecting the First Amendment in telecommunications and computer technology. The EFF defends civil rights mainly in the courts and mobilizes people through its informative action center. The EFF was formed in 1990 by Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Software, and John Perry Barlow, one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). They aimed to ensure everyone had equal access to technology resources, regardless of income level or social status. The EFF fights for technology users' rights by filing lawsuits against companies that are infringing on these rights. They also research ways to protect privacy on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter by helping users understand how they can control their data while still enjoying the benefits of these platforms. The EFF's mission is to defend your rights and help you use technology that empowers you. Their nonprofit organization has been around since 1990 and is dedicated to ensuring your rights are protected online. They have a lot of different projects going on right now, but one of their most important things is to ensure that Internet service providers have little power over what information they can see. For example, imagine if your Internet provider decided they didn't want to allow content from Facebook, Twitter or YouTube anymore—that would be a massive problem for anyone who uses those services regularly! That's why the EFF works so hard to keep ISPs from censoring the internet. Another big project for the EFF is copyright protection: they want to ensure that creative people aren't being ripped off by people who steal their work without paying for it.

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