"Game Testing Level Design" |
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Testing Bad Level Design
Level Design
In the mind of a Xbox 360 developer a level design me be a perfect concept and ideally this may be true. But when the player is set in the level there may be difficulty navigating the level, unfair level situations, or unseen player advantages. All these can be a pretty big critical downfall in the overall experience of the game. To look at a couple of examples from each type of bad level design, lets take difficulty navigating the level. A big problem developers have in Xbox 360 games is repeating textures and color schemes that make the level look all the same and hard to know whether your back tracking or making progress. As a 360 tester you will have to notice these possible problems not just for yourself (a professional gamer) but maybe for someone else who is going to play the game (a casual gamer).
Types of Bad Level Design
Unfair level situations is a not very common occurrence now and days, but in past generations it was sometimes a big deal. Unfair level design is when a levels occurrence causes unfair results, like getting hit by something that flings you into the air only to come back down and get flung again until you die. Or perhaps you are trying to jump to another platform but you are unable to grab the ledge because there is an object in your jump path (*cough Tomb Raider*).
In the mind of a Xbox 360 developer a level design me be a perfect concept and ideally this may be true. But when the player is set in the level there may be difficulty navigating the level, unfair level situations, or unseen player advantages. All these can be a pretty big critical downfall in the overall experience of the game. To look at a couple of examples from each type of bad level design, lets take difficulty navigating the level. A big problem developers have in Xbox 360 games is repeating textures and color schemes that make the level look all the same and hard to know whether your back tracking or making progress. As a 360 tester you will have to notice these possible problems not just for yourself (a professional gamer) but maybe for someone else who is going to play the game (a casual gamer).
Types of Bad Level Design
Unfair level situations is a not very common occurrence now and days, but in past generations it was sometimes a big deal. Unfair level design is when a levels occurrence causes unfair results, like getting hit by something that flings you into the air only to come back down and get flung again until you die. Or perhaps you are trying to jump to another platform but you are unable to grab the ledge because there is an object in your jump path (*cough Tomb Raider*).
It may be possible to progress to the next part of the game but you have to work around a glitch/bad programming. Testers should be critical of these mistakes and interpret what is fair and what is not, what is purposeful and what isn't.
Lastly, unseen player advantages is when a player can take steps to bypass the linear path laid before them in the game. Maybe 30 minutes of gameplay searching for a key is bypassed by climbing to a secret ledge and jumping over the wall. Although, for the gamer these glitches might be fun sometimes, it can look very unprofessional for these problems to slip by. This has to be one of the hardest things to test for, but in my opinion, one of the best parts. You may have to play in the same part of the game for an hour just trying to play the game wrong, or void of the linear path.
Lastly, unseen player advantages is when a player can take steps to bypass the linear path laid before them in the game. Maybe 30 minutes of gameplay searching for a key is bypassed by climbing to a secret ledge and jumping over the wall. Although, for the gamer these glitches might be fun sometimes, it can look very unprofessional for these problems to slip by. This has to be one of the hardest things to test for, but in my opinion, one of the best parts. You may have to play in the same part of the game for an hour just trying to play the game wrong, or void of the linear path.
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