There are levels you love and long to play over and over because they make you feel good and are enjoyable. Then there are levels that you avoid because they are impossibly hard and make you frustrated because you can't get them to work. Then there are levels which are intensely challenging, yet you work at them over and over until you get it and the feeling of accomplishment is huge when you get good enough to make it through.

So how do you make your own levels into blockbusters? Everything is easy once you know how; it is just a matter of learning the guidelines, using them in your levels and having lots of game testers. Everyone building levels wants to give the player an unforgettable experience with gorgeous architecture, stellar views and exciting gameplay with unexpected challenges and rewards that make you come back for more. There are some principles that will help you build great levels; and with good game testers, you can rework them until they are great.

The purpose of a level is to teach a skill. Then to reward the player for learning it.
Just like learning everything else, you start easy and gradually ramp up the difficulty.

THE BIGGEST HINDRANCE TO LEARNING IS STRESS. The brain is wired that way. When you are relaxed, you learn easily. When you are stressed, you don't have the physical ability to learn and remember. Your brain releases chemicals to inhibit your memory. When teaching your player something new, make them feel safe. They will be able to learn it better. Once they have mastered it, then you can test it in a more challenging environment.

A player should never have to die in order to learn a lesson or new skill in a game. Always give the player a second chance like stairs to get back up or a floor to catch them when first teaching a new skill or an advanced version of an old skill. Dying over and over is discouraging and hinders creativity.

Introduce a skill; allow time to practice it in a safe environment; reward accomplishments; gradually add more complexity; add bigger rewards and then test for mastery at the end.

Too many level designers start off a level with really difficult obstacles. This frustrates the player right away and they give up because they have not had a chance to become invested in the level. Start with easy puzzles to encourage the player and give them a chance to like your level enough to continue. Exploration is a great starter activity, provided you floor isn't made of swiss cheese.

The beginning of a level needs to contain a hook to get the player to make a commitment to playing the level all the way through. This is why so many of the Qbeh-1 levels start off by leaving the entry and jumping down into the next area; that is a point of no return that makes the player feel like they must finish what they have started. But don't begin with tricky jumping through thin air. That is an advanced activity that belongs much later in a level.

By carefully choosing only one main activity. Level designers get in trouble when they throw too many things at the player at one time. That overwhelms the player and makes them give up. Choose only one main activity at a time – for example, navigating through the level. The goal should be clearly visible so the player can focus on the jumping and building and not have to worry about looking around at the same time. But if the activity is searching, then it should be really safe and easy to get around so you can focus your energy on just looking for your goal and not worry that you will fall to your death.

If the main activity of an area is a navigational challenge, don't combine it with exploration or puzzle solving; too many activities at once will frustrate the player and make them give up. Make the area clean and simple, make the goal clearly visible and don't supply any distractions. The players will thank you.

Different gameplay activities include searching, building, traveling/jumping, and operating puzzles. A masterful level chooses one main activity and has a progression through the level of easy to hard.

To make the player feel smart. If a puzzle makes the player feel stupid, you did it wrong. If the puzzle frustrates the player, they give up. A good puzzle is like a well written movie; you give the player 2+2 and allow them to arrive at 4 on their own. It is an art, but it can be learned. It is all about teaching. For more details on this, see my guide about teaching a skill in Qbeh 1:
http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=551246826

Pacing. Give them one thing at a time and start out easy. Then add a little bit at a time until just before the end. The very end should be a little easier to reward the player. It is like studying for a test, then getting an easy extra credit question at the end.

If you want to throw something hard at the player, please give them a nice save stone before and after. They will say nicer things about your level in the comments, and might play it to the end. The number one reason I give up on perfectly lovely levels is the fact that the gameplay is too hard and there aren't enough save stones. It is so frustrating to have to repeat parts of the level you already accomplished because there is too much space between save points. So err on the side of too many rather than too few. The rule is to save after one hard thing or 2-3 easy things, and definitely at the end of each area or when traveling from one area to another.

If the player feels lost, they get discouraged and give up. There needs to be a series of clear goals throughout the level with one area leading only to the next area. Linear progression doesn't mean a straight line; but it does mean a clear path that can be easily followed from beginning to end. There can be secret areas and shortcuts, but the main path and the current goal must be clear and plain, even if it is a challenge to reach the goal. It should never be a challenge to FIND the path, just to navigate the path. There is a huge difference. Always give clear direction of where to go next and what to do when you get there.

Through clear visual and physical direction. Light, pathways, use of color, visible cubes and the lines of the architecture all tell the player where to go and what to do. If they get lost, miss the path or aren't sure where to go or what to do next, things aren't clear enough. Make sure that only the next goal is visible; if too many things can be seen at one time, the player doesn't know what is next. If you want to give the player a large view, make sure that only the next goal is visible and that the path is clear. The player is encouraged when they go through a series of steadily increasing challenges, building on their previous successes.

Clear goals; uncluttered views; use of light to direct the player's attention and mood; clearly designed pathways so the player doesn't get lost or miss things and closing off the back trail are all ways to direct the player.

In this photo, you can see that a red cube is visible - this guides the player and shows them the next goal.

Adopt architectural standards. Learn how far green cubes travel, how far you can jump with a purple cube, how fast platforms travel. That tells you how high to make walls, ceilings, overhangs, etc. to prevent unauthorized usage of cubes. Spread out levels are not as prone to level breaking shortcuts as vertically stacked areas. And watch every one of Limboh's videos. Trust me, he broke my first level over and over because it was too small and stacked. He is a gifted, creative game player.

It is a good idea to lay out a level with the bare minimum of architecture in order to make the gameplay work. Spread out the different areas as much as you can. Then, after the gameplay is tested and working, add in only enough architecture to make the path through the level clear, hiding from the player everything but what he is currently doing. Start with the gameplay and have the architecture follow it. You don't want to start with the architecture or you can get boxed in or end up with a whole lot of work moving things if the gameplay doesn't work.

This is the artistry of building a level. Dark and cramped is no fun. The proportions of spaces in games need to be larger, and especially taller, than in real life in order to look right to the eye. Remember that light leads the eye, so light is your best friend. It gives the most clarity to a game if used correctly. There should be adequate contrast between light areas and shadowed areas, and goals and gameplay should be lit and visible. Use light blocks that are concealed but light changes like turns and gaps in the floor to warn the player.

There is psychology in how you lay out your level. Most people go to the right (in the main game, though, usually you have to go to the left; are the developers southpaws?) and going up gives you a feeling of accomplishment. Seeing a ways ahead is reassuring. Cramped quarters are stressful, as are exposed areas that are too big. Heights are stressful unless there are walls or railings.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT FOR LEVEL BUILDING. Keep the main path clear and safe.

The main path must be easy to navigate. Puzzles and challenges belong on loops and spurs, but not on the main path. The only time you put a navigational challenge like a jump or climb on a main path is when you are transitioning from one area to another and you won't be going back. It is so important to allow the player to look around and backtrack a little to see if they missed anything; that encourages exploration. But when it is hard or dangerous to get around in a level, the player doesn't get the reward of exploration. They cannot look around if they are always looking down.

In this screenshot, the player is going from a dark area to a much brighter one - light is an effective tool for guiding players. They are drawn to light like a moth to a candle. But don't make the light too bright or with too much color; it will overwhelm the player.

Give them a break! If you build something spectacular, give the player a chance to enjoy it. Start with a beautiful, panoramic view of the level. Reward them with a spacious, lovely coutyard or a chance to stand on top of the world and see nothing but sky for 360 degrees. Remember to give the player lots of safe places to stop, breathe, relax and take stock of what comes next.

Provide a break before the end of the level, especially if it is a challenging level. Give the player a reward for accomplishing all the things they have. It makes them feel smart and skilled to get an easier puzzle near the end.

In this screenshot, the player is rewarded with a panoramic view of one of the most beautiful levels in the game.

Play testing. Lots of play testing. It is the most important part of building a level. My daughter watched a video of Limboh break my first level and hollered “Cheater! He's CHEATING!” She didn't realize that the fault was mine in allowing a creative player to bypass part of the level because he found a better way.

There is a saying that there is no great writing; just great rewriting. The same is true of game building - there is no great game building, just great game rebuilding. After Limboh showed me 5 different ways my game was broken after I fixed it and fixed it and fixed it …

I put version numbers on my levels and play test extensively before I release them publicly. Each time my play testers break the prerelease, they get their initials and a “star” in lights on the level in a discreet place. Levels 1 and 2 both have initials in lights.

If people don't like your level, change it. If it doesn't teach, reward, encourage and entertain, what is the level's purpose? We don't play games we don't like, and we don't like things that cause stress and frustration. Get lots and lots of feedback and keep updating till it is done and it works. Or scrap it and start over. Mastery takes time.

I hope this helps to give you clear ideas for making excellent levels! There are so many talented level designers and I am just amazed at the beautiful levels you have created! Keep building!