To start us off, here is a similar article to the topic I shall be discussing:
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DanTaylor/20130929/196791/Ten_Principles_of_Good_Level_Design_Part_1.php
I hope to not repeat this article too much but I do agree with a lot of what it speaks about.
Last year I blogged about the purpose of Environmental Design and aesthetics of gaming, however people often misconceive Level Design as being the same thing, which is very far from the truth. Level design is the creation of a layout and how the environment will sit in engine, where objects will go. It is also how people will interact with objects in their surroundings and the different ways in which the game can be played.
I realize I will probably use these references a lot but lets take a look at Dishonored and Thief.
Dishonored :
Thief:
Here are two street maps for both games. Dishonored has a very linear map that is easy to read, Thief has a much more complex layout which is much harder to read (well, its fine when in game, but just from seeing it here its quite unclear.) The point I am making here is that although Dishonored's map is very linear, when playing there are many different ways to get from point A to point B, those paths are easy to follow and are interesting even though simple, there is always something going on no matter which part of town you are in.
In comparison, Thief has a large ground map but very little exploration outside of these paths and honestly? very little reason to explore outside of those paths. There aren't any surprises, interesting characters to meet... Maybe a few collectibles to find but overall its much easier to just run along the street rather than stop and explore.
This is down to level design and planning of the level. Complex is not always the solution, a simple map can be just as interesting by chucking in a few extra goodies that make you want to explore.
As a player you want to get the full experience out of your game. You want that opportunity to research the town, city or building you are in and by adding those intractable items outside of the main path is what I find to be exciting in a game. The art work doesn't even need to be there! simple place holders in the world won't make me lose that incentive to explore, just because its all white, un-textured or a simple white box in place.
It's the little extras that make the game so much more interesting, rather than just "go get the mission done" I want to see "Go get the mi.. or whats this over here? and this! Oh this looks interesting too.. Ok the mission can wait." In my eyes that would make it a much more enjoyable game to play.
When designing a level you have to take into account what NPCs will be in the scene and where, the layout of the map, how easy it is to navigate and other ideas such as how the player should feel when playing, what do you want the player to be thinking? This takes planning and research, but can also be achieved by releasing pre-alphas to get feedback on how the world feels, then it can be edited to fit with the companies ideal outcome - so no, it has nothing to do with the art of the game, but more so on how the game will play and how a company wants the player to react and feel throughout.
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