1. A brief history of architecture and level design : Breaking the rules of level design -- An experiential history of architecture : Elements of architecture and level design : Functional requirements; Usability; Delight ; The beginnings of architectural sight lines ; Architecture as representation in ancient Mesopotamia ; Architecture as statement in ancient Egypt ; Spatial and symbolic relationships in Greek architecture ; Indian, Southeast Asian, and Asian representational architecture ; Linear experiences in Roman architecture ; Medieval Christian and Islamic symbolic architecture ; The Renaissance return to human-centered architecture ; Ornamental reformations and material revolutions -- The history of gamespace : Physical gamespaces and architecture ; Digital gamespaces -- Ways of seeing for level design -- 2. Tools and techniques for level design : Level design goals for creating game experiences : Adjustment of behavior ; Transmission of meaning ; Augmentation of space -- Non-digital level design tools : Basic drawing techniques : How to draw a line; Contours and line weights; Drawing with references; Shading; Hierarchical drawing ; Types of architectural drawings : Plan; Section; Elevation; Axonometric; Perspective ; Sketching and journal writing ; Designing on paper -- Digital level design tools : CAD programs ; Digital art programs ; Engine primitives and placeholder art ; 3D modeling programs -- Level design workflows : Form follows core mechanics ; Level design parti ; Pacing your level with the Nintendo power method ; Iterative design with playtesting ; Non-digital prototypes ; Digital prototypes with whiteblocking ; Modular level design -- Engine-specific methodologies : Game maker ; Unreal Development Kit (UDK) ; Source's hammer level edition ; Unity -- 3. Basic gamespaces : Architectural spatial arrangements : Figure-ground ; Form-void ; Arrivals ; Genius loci -- Historical gamespace structures : Labyrinth ; Maze ; Rhizome -- Spatial size types : Narrow space ; Intimate space ; Prospect space -- Molecule level spaces : The basics of molecule design ; Spatial types as molecule nodes and edges -- Form follows gameplay with proximity -- Diagrams -- Hub spaces -- Sandbox gamespaces : Pathfinding with architectural weenies ; Organizing the sandbox: Kevin Lynch's image of the city : Landmarks; Paths; Nodes; Edges; Districts -- Considerations of camera : 3D views : First person; Third person ; 2D views : Side-scrolling space; Top-down space ; Axonometric/isometric views -- Enemies as alternative architecture -- 4. Teaching in levels through visual communication : Teaching theories for game levels : Behavior theory and operant conditioning ; Montessori method ; Constructivism -- Symbols and visual design in games : Implementing symbols in games ; Teaching with symbols in games : Introducing symbols in first levels; Symbols as guides ; Designing and placing symbols for effective communication : Basic color theory; Contrast; Framing; Rule of thirds -- Architectural forms and types -- Teaching gameplay through advertising methods : Demonstrative advertising with scripted events and triggers ; Illustrative advertising through environmental narrative ; Associative advertising as deconstruction -- Controlling information in memory palaces : Certainty ; Uncertainty ; Risk --
5. Introducing emotional level design through survival instincts : Survival instincts and player avatars : Maslow's hierarchy of needs ; The problem of the protagonist : Problem of the protagonist as a game structure; Problem of the protagonist in individual game challenges -- Prospect and refuge spatial design : Creating paths with refuges, prospects, and secondary refuges ; Prospects and refuges in architecture ; Prospects and refuges in video games -- Shade, shadow, and survival : Shade ; Shadow ; Negative space -- Loving and hating height -- 6. Enticing players with reward spaces : The purpose of rewards : Incentivizing in-game behaviors ; Enticing exploration ; Creating a sense of curiosity -- The types fo rewards in gamespaces : Reward vaults ; Rewarding vistas ; Meditative space ; Narrative stages -- Making rewards exciting through denial : Zen views ; Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House ; Religious structures and Eastern garden design ; Layered walls ; Oku -- Goals and reward schedules : Long- and short-term goals ; The rod of many parts ; Reward schedules -- 7. Storytelling in gamespace : Expressive design : Narrative design and worldbuilding ; Narrative worldbuilding in games -- Mechanics vs. motif : Narrative as a generator of design ; Mechanics vs. story narrative ; Mechanics vs. gameplay narrative -- Narrative spaces : Evocative spaces ; Staging spaces ; Embedded spaces ; Resource-providing spaces -- Environment art storytelling : Storytelling with modular assets ; Environment art and cinematography -- Materiality and the hero's journey -- Pacing and narrative rewards : The dramatic arc as a pacing tool ; Rewarding exploration with embedded narrative ; Rewarding exploration with optional narrative and Easter eggs -- 8. Possibility spaces and worldbuilding : Understanding immersion and player individuality : The immersive fallacy ; Player personalities -- Architectural phenomenology and play -- Emergent spaces : Emergence ; Possibility spaces -- Miniature garden aesthetic : Overviews : Overviews in historic games; Overviews in 3D ; Tours ; Possibility space and procedural literacy -- Japanese garden design and worldbuilding : Points of view in Japanese gardens ; Scenic effects ; Sensory effects -- Offering experiential choice : Introducing choice ; Intelligible choice ; Shaping choice, risk, and reward ; Reward-possibility mazes -- Degenerative design -- 9. Influencing social interaction with level design : Emergence and social interaction -- Learning from urban emergence : Modernism and non-emergent cities ; Jane Jacobs and mixed-use emergent neighborhoods ; Integrating urban design into multiplayer gamespace -- The importance of spawn points and quest hubs : Shaping with spawn points ; Shaping player interaction with quest hubs ; Enticing exploration with side quests -- Houses, homes, and hometowns in games -- 10. Enhancing level design with music and sounds : The role of rhythm in games and buildings : Mood and music ; Rhythm and interactive sound ; Rhythmic entrainment in games and spaces ; Varying structural rhythms -- Complementing level design with ambient sound : 2D sound ; 3D sound -- Enhancing gameplay experiences with sound design : Sound as gameplay feedback ; Sound as reward ; Sound as narrative indicators -- 11. Real-world adaptive level design : When magic circles collide : Magic circles colliding through history ; Games with new contexts ; Device as Dungeon master ; Magic circle game typology : Pervasive games; Augmented reality games; Alternate reality games; Low-tech public games -- Adaptive game reuse goals : Adapting level design goals ; Real-world level design goals : Games that enhance; Games that pervade; Games that rehabilitate -- Analysis for adaptive core mechanics ; Rules for social intervention.
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