Welcome! I’m GoodGus, and I’ve been working on a bee-themed, DOS-style metroidvania game called Dewdrop Dynasty. If you’ve been following the project, you might have noticed a lack of recent updates. The reason is that I’ve been tackling one of the game’s core challenges: level design.
In any game, the world is a crucial element, but it’s especially vital in a metroidvania, where exploration is the primary goal. You can have engaging dialogue and mechanics, but without a well-designed world to explore, it doesn’t truly capture the essence of a metroidvania. Consider the difference between Mega Man and Super Metroid: both feature shooting bosses and upgrades, but Mega Man offers a linear experience, while Metroid emphasizes exploration and backtracking.
Creating your own metroidvania can be daunting, as I discovered during my development process. Even with basic systems like menus, mini-maps, character movement, abilities, and combat in place, the challenge lies in assembling these components into a cohesive experience. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of level design, which often constitutes 80% of the work in game development.
After much trial and error, I developed a system to overcome my level design challenges, drawing inspiration from experienced level designers. Here are the steps I followed:
Begin by sketching out your entire world, not just individual areas or rooms. This helps you visualize the player’s journey and create unique locations. For example, in Hollow Knight, the City of Tears is a distinct, rainy location beneath a lake, which explains the constant rain.
This step involves planning the sequence of keys, items, and bosses necessary for progression. In Cave Story, players must find a key in a reservoir to unlock a door, which enhances the world-building and emotional connection to the game.
Integrate your character’s abilities with the timeline, as these abilities often unlock new areas. In Majora’s Mask, for instance, the Deku ability is essential for jumping across pits. Understanding your character’s capabilities is crucial for designing comfortable and engaging spaces.
With a clear idea of items and locations, create mini-maps for each area, focusing on how rooms connect to form a cohesive world. This is where you place key items and bosses, ensuring a logical flow throughout the game.
Finally, flesh out each room, ensuring they align with the overall world design. This stage involves constant testing to ensure rooms feel right and puzzles are logical. Level design is an iterative process, so don’t hesitate to revisit previous steps if needed.
While this approach may seem like over-planning, it significantly speeds up the development process by ensuring everything is interconnected and meaningful. Level design is an ongoing journey, so stay flexible and open to adjustments.
I’d love to hear your level design tips and approaches to world-building. If you’re interested in Dewdrop Dynasty, consider wishlisting the game on Steam. For early access, join us on Patreon to play the latest build.
Thank you to my Patreon supporters for making these videos possible. Stay tuned for our next discussion on the creative process behind the music for Dewdrop Dynasty. See you next time!
Engage in a hands-on workshop where you draft a map for a hypothetical metroidvania game. Use graph paper or digital tools to sketch out the entire world, focusing on creating unique and interconnected locations. Share your drafts with peers for feedback and discussion.
Work in groups to develop a timeline for a metroidvania game. Plan the sequence of keys, items, and bosses necessary for player progression. Present your timeline to the class, explaining how it enhances world-building and player engagement.
Design a set of character abilities and brainstorm how these abilities can unlock new areas in a game. Create scenarios where these abilities are essential for progression, and discuss how they influence level design and player experience.
Individually or in pairs, map out a series of rooms for a metroidvania game. Focus on how these rooms connect to form a cohesive world. Present your mini-maps, highlighting key items and bosses, and discuss the logical flow of your design.
Participate in a playtesting session where you test each other’s room designs. Provide constructive feedback on the design, flow, and logic of the puzzles. Use the feedback to iterate and improve your designs, embracing the iterative nature of level design.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Hi there, I’m GoodGus, and for the last year or so, I’ve been working on a bee-themed, DOS-style metroidvania called Dewdrop Dynasty. For those who have been following along with the project, you may have noticed that I haven’t posted an update in quite some time. Between managing a Kickstarter and handling YouTube, there are many reasons for this, but the quick answer is that I was stumped with one of the core features of the game: level design.
A world is a crucial part of any game, but especially in a metroidvania where the main goal is exploration. You can have all the dialogue and mechanics you want, but if you don’t have a good level or world to explore, can you really call it a metroidvania? Both Mega Man and Super Metroid feature shooting bosses and upgrades, but the difference is that Mega Man has a continuous linear world, while Metroid requires exploration and sometimes backtracking to progress.
As you can imagine, this can be daunting when creating your own metroidvania, which is why I personally felt stuck for a couple of months. You might think that having all your basic systems down—like menus, mini-maps, character movement, abilities, and combat—would leave you with little left to work on, but it’s actually the opposite. So far, I’ve essentially created a Mario Maker-like setup. I have all the components necessary to make a fun, playable game; now it’s just about figuring out how to put them all together to create a complete experience.
As developers, we sometimes forget that level design is really 80% of the work that goes into a game. After much trial and error, I finally developed a system to help me solve my level design problem. By “developed,” I mean borrowing ideas from level designers who have been doing this for years.
**Step 1:** Draft out your map. I’m not just talking about one area or a couple of rooms; I’m talking about your entire world. To properly flesh out your game and know where your player is going, you need to visualize the entirety of your world. For example, in Hollow Knight, you have the City of Tears, which is a rainy, moody location beneath a lake, explaining the rain. The key is to create locations that feel unique.
**Step 2:** Develop your game’s timeline. This isn’t about lore; it’s about the keys, items, and bosses you need to face to progress. A good example is Cave Story, where you explore to find a key in a reservoir to unlock a door. This builds out the world and helps players connect emotionally with the locations and characters.
**Step 3:** Develop your character’s abilities. This should be worked in with your timeline, as your abilities could be the key to unlocking something else. For instance, in Majora’s Mask, you can’t jump across pits without the Deku ability. Knowing how high and far your character can jump is essential for designing spaces that feel comfortable.
**Step 4:** Map out each room. By now, you should have a good idea of the items and locations you want. Create mini-maps of each area, focusing on how the rooms connect to form a cohesive world. Once you have this layout, you can start placing key items and bosses in the rooms you’ve created.
**Step 5:** Test, review, and adapt. Now you can flesh out each room, knowing how they correlate with everything else in the world. This is the stage where you’ll be testing constantly, ensuring rooms feel right and puzzles make sense.
For some of you, this may seem obvious or like over-planning, but I’ve found that it speeds up my process tremendously. Instead of working on arbitrary rooms, everything feels connected and has a story to tell. Level design is a continual process, so don’t feel discouraged if you have to revisit previous steps.
As always, I’d love to hear what level design tips work for you and your approach to world-building. If you’re interested in playing Dewdrop Dynasty, make sure to wishlist the game on Steam. If you can’t wait, join us on Patreon to play the latest build today.
Thanks so much to my Patreon supporters; you make these videos possible. Thanks for watching, and I’ll catch you next time when we talk about the creative process behind the music for Dewdrop Dynasty. See you then!
[Music]
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This version removes any informal language, filler words, and maintains a professional tone while preserving the core content.
Level Design – The process of creating the layout, environment, and interactive elements of a video game level. – The level design of the new game was praised for its intricate puzzles and engaging environments.
Metroidvania – A subgenre of action-adventure games focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression. – The game’s metroidvania style allowed players to explore vast interconnected areas while unlocking new abilities.
Exploration – The act of traversing and discovering new areas within a game world, often to find hidden items or complete objectives. – Exploration in open-world games can lead to discovering secret quests and rare items.
Character – A virtual persona or entity controlled by the player or AI within a game. – The main character in the game has a rich backstory and evolves as the story progresses.
Abilities – Special skills or powers that a character can use within a game, often enhancing gameplay and progression. – As the player levels up, new abilities become available, allowing for more strategic combat.
World-Building – The process of constructing a detailed and immersive universe within a game, including its history, geography, and cultures. – Effective world-building can make a game world feel alive and engaging for players.
Progression – The advancement of a player or character through a game, often marked by leveling up, acquiring new skills, or completing story arcs. – The game’s progression system rewards players with new gear and abilities as they complete challenges.
Testing – The process of evaluating a game to identify bugs, ensure functionality, and improve user experience before release. – Rigorous testing is essential to ensure that the game runs smoothly on all platforms.
Development – The process of designing, creating, and refining a video game from concept to final product. – The development of the game took over two years, involving a large team of designers and programmers.
Gameplay – The interactive elements and mechanics that define how a game is played and experienced by the player. – The gameplay of the new RPG is praised for its innovative combat system and engaging story.
