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Thief Week – Level Designs Feature
Chris Leyton
09/06/2004
The final part of our discussion with Ion Storm focuses on level designs & the troubles faced creating them…
With the eagerly awaited release of Thief: Deadly Shadows only days away, TVG has teamed up with Eidos and Ion Storm to bring you a whole ātaffingā load of information on the latest and last title in the acclaimed stealth genre.
Today itās the turn of Jeremy Graves Designer Ion Storm, to discuss how the intricate levels featured within Deadly Shadows were created from the ground-up.
Level Design. Start of lame italicized subtitlesā¦
I feel one of the most critical aspects of any 1st and/or 3rd person game is the level design. It can have such a significant impact on the overall gameplay and immersive value of any given experience. Level designers have long been the single element that brings everyoneās talented work into a focused, playable environment which then becomes the world the game will take place in. Itās like building a Ferrari; everything is hand crafted, but if you donāt put it together correctly, your game is going to be the equivalent of a lowered Ford Festiva LX with nos (NO2) tanks in the back -- some cool components, but youāll hit the wall for sure.
Still with me?
In Thief: Deadly Shadows there were a lot of obstacles to overcome when designing the levels, from engine and memory limitations, to design and time constraints. Failure to balance the trade-offs is going to limit the scope you would otherwise be able to achieve. Constraint breeds creativity.
A good level is going to draw the player through it, but also allow the player to find his or her own way through multiple branching routes, that hopefully will take you where you ultimately need to go. Connectivity and spatial interest (two of level designās prime directives) can go a long way towards achieving both visually appealing environments as well as solid gameplay spaces. The goals are far from mutually exclusive. They were the foundation on which our levels were built.
What is Thief? You have to see it for yourselfā¦
Thief, at its core, is about moving through 3D space.
One thing that sets levels in Thief apart from most other first-person shooters is that the emphasis is on stealth as a primary gameplay mechanic. The preferred play style is moving along the edges of a room, as opposed to running straight down the middle (not to say you canāt play any other way, mind you). Not only do we have to meet the expectations of todayās cutting-edge graphics, but we also have to fulfill the fantasy of being there.
We want to give you the feeling of breaking into a place that really exists somewhere. Thus, we spent most of our time trying to create that boundary of tension for the player. It should feel different on the outside of a building versus being on the inside, especially when you arenāt welcome there. This can be achieved through lighting, texturing, architecture, and sound. All of these things ensure that the environments are compelling and challenging, but also forgiving. Itās all about consistency and balance. That said, I want to expose just a few of the level building guidelines we constantly referenced during the development of Thief: DS.
Got Connectivity? - Front, back and side to siiiide!
How many ways can you get from point A to point B? Is it easy or hard to get to the Quad Damage? Waitā¦ wrong game.
I think the best way to describe connectivity in Thief: DS is to actually use an example from the game itself.
For this instance Iāll take a situation from the Museum map. There is a massive central atrium in the heart of the map, where a valuable gemstone has been set in a scepter held by a large statue. Does the player decide to take the tall flight of stairs in order to reach the balcony on the 2nd floor? Or do they loop around back outside and climb the courtyard wall? Maybe they traverse across the bottom floor of the atrium to the elevator on the other side. By having a high degree of connectivity we allow the player to formulate their own routes. We use things like loot, lighting and A.I. placement to encourage meaningful choices that are influenced by the playerās resource usage and level of caution. Overall, it feels less heavy-handed and more player driven; YOU are choosing your path - not the designer. This only adds to the replay value.
Besides, getting caught by a guard and running into a dead end isnāt going to be very fun in most cases; itās kind of an inadvertent way of slapping the player on the wrist. Itās much better to run down a hall, climb up the wall, vault over some railing and drop down behind the guard - feeling like a cool-ass ninja as you administer āthe Fearā to him.
After all, you play Garrett and he is ten ninjas.
Room Layouts - Nobody likes a squareā¦Deep thoughts.
Square rooms were never cool (okay, maybe back in the era of Wolf3D but thatās it!). In Thief: DS, visibility and scouting are important aspects of the overall game. That means room shapes are invariably going to play into how well the core gameplay is supported. The more creative we can be here, the more variations on stealth gameplay we can create. Thatās more chocolate for all of us. As a level designer on Thief: DS, balancing the amount of hard cover versus open space is really important when trying to support things like scouting and escape options without trivializing the experience.
That said, more interesting room shapes are going to generate more compelling shadow spaces. They are also going to challenge the player to move through them in less linear, more rewarding ways.
In Thief: DS vertical movement is an important aspect of the game. You can often wall climb or mantle to get yourself into hard-to-reach areas. This empowers you in many ways, from stealthy entrances & exits to awesome ambushes and swift escapes; a highly connected level is going to emphasize these two mechanics well. Vaulting over a railing to the floor below while the AI has to run all the way down the stairs (into your conveniently-placed mine) is when Thief really starts to shine.
Lastly, things need to be believable. You want to feel like you are breaking into Lord Shoelaceās Manor to rob the last of his inheritance, not collecting ammo in an abstract Quake 2 map. Things need to be scaled and decorated accordingly. Sometimes the shape of a room will define how well that area plays. It should be noted that real world architecture, if chosen and executed correctly, can make surprisingly fun-to-play levels. Sometimes, however, you have to make a trade-off for the sake of gameplay tuning. I think a great level does a little of both.
Lighting - a.k.a. Deadly Shadowsā¦
Of course one of the largest gameplay aspects of Thief: DS is the lighting. Not only does it serve aesthetics, but itās also a primary gameplay mechanic. In order to be stealthy, you need shadows to sneak through. This is where our dynamic shadow technology comes in.
When lighting environments in Thief: DS, we try to create what I like to call narrative shadows. We train players to analyze a scene and read the shadow space - mentally plot out their path and then act on it. We had to balance bright areas (threat zones) with shadowed areas (safe zones). We try to light in patches because itās more engaging to move from one safezone through a threatzone into another safe zone. Of course we empower the player to alter this basic system with a plethora of tools.
In addition, because Thief: DS supports a fully dynamic shadow engine, doing things like moving objects to block off light sources, closing doors and shutting windows all allow the player to create and modify their own shadow space as needed. Thief was designed from the ground up to take advantage of this feature, as it is the primary focus of gameplay.
We strove to create a more active, engaging stealth model this go-around. Realtime lighting is just one of the ways in which we can accomplish this design goal. We have things like torch-wielding guards, which create an interesting spin on any given situation. By illuminating their surroundings as they move, they pose a more dynamic threat. All guards cast shadows as well. So by placing light sources in smart locations, weāve enabled you to spot a guard standing around a corner because his shadow falls on the wall in front of him.
The Thief titles have always been a special, innovative series of games. It should be noted that the level design and lighting are only two aspects of the vast effort to bring you Thief: Deadly Shadows. We hope you have as much fun playing it as we did making it.
BOOM!
TVG will be back tomorrow with an extensive review of the game in action; remember to stick with us for a chance to win a copy of the game on Friday
