Playground Levels in Video Games

[@jackcimino8822]

Doom's Mt. Erebus is another excellent playground level that stands out from all of Doom 1's maps. Halls of the Damned gets a shoutout too.

[@GermanPeter]

Sorry for the lack of narration of the content warning, I forgot it initially and was SUPER sick afterwards. Still am, but I didn't want to make you wait even longer just for the intro :P

[@mariocamspam72]

its alright!

[@eugeniaamariei8626]

I'm sick too. Whooping Cough. Good Luck.

[@nousheensyed8679]

Video released: 1 min ago Comment: 5 days ago Wtf

[@teanott5073]

​@@nousheensyed8679the beauty of patreons and unlisted videod

[@eugeniaamariei8626]

@@nousheensyed8679 It's a membership thing.

[@AmyStrikesBack]

Something about doomguy on a horsy makes me Really happy

[@Dumba55]

He gets his well deserved break

[@OfficialEpicPixel]

Tony hawk games are the pinnacle of what you described.

[@lil_thang]

yeah absolutely this i didnt scroll down before writing my comment lul, Tony Hawks games are perfect example of this concept to me

[@henrystickminfan2]

both literally and figuratively.

[@WAFFENFABRIK]

Structurally, a good THPS level might as well be a rollercoaster ride, but there is a LOT of playground areas throughout the series now that I think about it THPS1's School map has a playground area THPS2's Skate Heaven map has playground areas THPS4 has a carnival map THUG's New Jersey has a playground THAW's story revolves around building your own jury-rigged amusement park to skate in aaaand Project 8 has a literal amusement park level along with playground areas being scattered around the highschool map. (Oh yeah, and Tony Hawk's RIDE had a really crappy on-rails rollercoaster level)

[@CamerTheDragon]

The concept of playground levels reminds me of test levels, since they're built to test the game there are usually a lot of small areas based around different things in the game, which can present a small challenge of sorts for many different aspects of the game. (Although test levels are often not actually in the final game)

[@GermanPeter]

Oh, absolutely! Even in my own games, I had little playgrounds, where I had to walk from one thing to the next. I could have made a new room for each new thing, but this was more convenient!

[@Scypek]

I recently player A Short Hike, and that fits really well. One simple goal and lots of simple quests and challenges that help reach it, way more than you actually need to make it to the end. The challenges are all pretty seamlessly combined with the main gameplay mechanics, too. No level select, just people who say they wanna do a thing, and letting you join or leave them at any time.

[@Grease-Goblin]

A Short Hike is wonderful, and for fans of that game, I suggest checking out Lil Gator Game.

[@oddishsmile7368]

I feel like Banjo Kazooie is the best example of a playground game. Every challenge feels disconnected thematically but they all tie into your moveset in some way.

[@CangoFango]

Agreed!

[@Loch_Ness_Lachster]

I feel like DOOM II’s ‘The Courtyard’ should have been mentioned, as the yellow key of the map isn’t even hidden, instead being in a corner of the courtyard and you spend most of the map going around rooms with unique challenges, it’s quite a fun map in my opinion.

[@GermanPeter]

Oh yeah, for sure. I think all of Sandy's maps fall under the umbrella, some more than others. That's why I like them so much :)

[@UtopicTahu]

The playground level design is a main part of the immersive genre

[@AmyStrikesBack]

My favorite example of this video definitly is tricks and traps, i wish more megawads did Something like this, a selection of short combat puzzles that you can do at any other you like

[@majamystic256]

I played a level in a megawad not too long ago (i think it was a doomworld mega project wad) and it had a level that was kinda like tricks and traps and had way more doors to choose from than even tricks and traps edit: I think it is Map12 of Doomworld Mega Project 2013 - Boom Section

[@rbstat6946]

Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights! Has a Tutorial level right at the beginning of the game, that's also technically a playground level. A ridiculously tiny level that lets you get your feet wet with most of the basic mechanics. (not all of the mechanics, but basically all the early game ones) And you can come back to it again when you get a power up and screw around for awhile!!! The funniest part though, is that it's an ACTUAL PLAYGROUND!!! Like with a slide and a tire swing and everything. They also put an absolute bop in that level so it's def supposed to be a place to just chill out in!

[@durtypan]

That was on my mind the whole video

[@phorchybug3286]

My favorite playgrounds are the different theme parks of Crash Tag Team Racing. The cozy atmosphere of Mystery Island, the uncanny maze of Tomb Town, just all sorts of fun little worlds to goof off in.

[@theopoldthegamer4284]

Baba Is You is kinda like The Talos Principle in that there's a lot of challenges to beat, but you can beat them at any order

[@twinboo529]

Wow! Pikmin, Doom and Mario 64 in one video! It’s like a dream come true!

[@ShallowVA]

Duke Nukem Forever's brothel level can be completed in about a minute, or if you do all the optional stuff it takes like an hour. Either way its awful though. Theres a lot of optional routes through the middle section of Cave Story, and its great for replayability! You can go for collecting all the items, or pick only the optional paths you need for the ending you want, or pick up different weapons you dont normally use to mix things up a bit... For a relatively linear metroidvania it has a decent amount of optional unmarked sidequests branching off from the main hub!

[@ToastaToast]

Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga had a playground level in the form of "Lego City" - admittedly, there wasn't much you could do, but they were simple, amusing games on their own.

[@lil_thang]

i dont know if this fits the brief, but i feel like the original Tony Hawks games, probably up until Tony Hawks Underground very much gave me the feeling of 'playground levels' that you describe. You are given a list of challenges and collectibles for any given level, there are secrets and things that arent exactly challenges that are fun to do, and you are given almost total freedom to choose to play for any of the objectives once you're dropped into the level, OR you could also just ignore all objectives and skate around doing nothing, trying to get a huge combo or practising a specific jump move, etc...

[@d00gz_]

When I think of Playground Levels I think of stuff like Bob Omb Battlefield in Mario 64, or Sapienza in Hitman. Early game levels that have a central objective, but are very open-ended in how you approach them and give you plenty of space to experiment with game mechanics or just generally goof off, plus side challenges.

[@GermanPeter]

Hitman is an amazing example! You have so much freedom in regards to how you want to kill your targets, and even which side objectives you wanna do. No two playthroughs are the same!

[@jclark7978]

She german on my peter till i find the quirks

[@muhammedazat4489]

bro what

[@coffee0093]

I feel like Bioshock or Prey 2017 came to mind. a lot of objectives are like 'do this' but it's up to the player on how they approach them. I've always described immersive sim level design as 'semi-open world' since most maps are literally playgrounds

[@GermanPeter]

Immersive Sims could fit that bill, but I think a big part is the random gimmicks. Dishonored too gives you tons of ways to complete the objective, but it doesn't really have a place where you can just mess around for a bit. There's side objectives, but where's doing stuff just for the sake of doing it?

[@Bakedbeans780]

“Zum Glück gibt es einen Familienmenschen.” - German Peter

[@Player-10]

Underrated channel. Just thought you should know that your content does, in fact, rock. Doom 2 is an interesting one to include in this topic, but I never really thought much of that, aside from Tricks and Traps. I find you do a good job at making me think a little more about certain subjects, in a new light. I usually think platformers, collectathons, and puzzle games first, but yeah, FPS fits that sometimes.

[@azordash_games]

I’m convinced you suggested this video just so I would have to re-live Downtown again 😆 In all seriousness great video, I agree with all of your examples and good to see TTP2 getting some love!

[@josaicmosaic]

postal 2 is a pretty good example of this, the whole game is a playground level (except apocalypse weekend) also a postal 2 video would be cool

[@GermanPeter]

Postal 2 definitely fits, yes. Also no on the video.

[@josaicmosaic]

@@GermanPeter wow hes alive

[@Grease-Goblin]

@@GermanPeter Out of curiosity, what is your reasoning for not doing a Postal 2 video?

[@GermanPeter]

I'm not doing a video because I am not 15 anymore lol

[@josaicmosaic]

QUICK WE NEED TO MAKE A TIME MACHINE TO 2013

[@aukondk]

That fixed Doom ][ title pic weirded me out because I couldn't work out what was different at first. Never thought about how the original art was mirrored.

[@ZoopsMind]

Black & White had a great one, literally caled "The Gods' Playground." Just a nice fun little island unconnected to the story, with no enemies, where you can get to grips with the mechanics of the game and piss around to your heart's content.

[@Cottonmouth0309]

As soon as I heard funfair levels, I immediately thought of the dark carnival level from blood.

[@Grease-Goblin]

Blood is such a good game.

[@Vectoris-ud8el]

Sometimes I boot up Mario odyssey ,go to the metro kingdom and just maybe play balloon world ,maybe recollect moons ,maybe try to do some glitches or maybe just hop around.

[@Scorbunnymilitant]

I think that Toy Story 2 game needs to categorized as playground game as it was basically a Mario 64 on ps1

[@Evil_Moo]

One that comes to mind for me is the Black Mesa Hazard Course from Half-Life 1. Technically it is quite linear, tutorialising you on various mechanics , so it doesn't fit your definition too well, but I often enjoyed playing through it, seeing if I could break it, testing various interactions, killing friendly NPCs and then having to survive the security gun turrets that popped out of the ceiling etc. I guess the intro segment of the main game also had that feel to an extent. You could just rush to the suit and then to the test chamber, or you could mess around with equipment, explode the microwave, use the vending machine, bother everyone you encounter for no reason. It doesn't matter if you do those things or not, but having them there adds a playful richness to the world. Good times.

[@GermanPeter]

Definitely doesn't fit my definition, but just messing around in a level because you want to could also count.

[@rukifellth2]

One example that comes to mind is Goldeneye007 and Tmesplitters 2. both games are more thought out and built like Mario 64 levels where objectives are strewn about a bit everywhere and can be sorted out in all manner of silly ways. Aaaaand if you feel like just messing with the game? YOU CAN, mission aint over (even should you fail) until you quit! It's baffling how no other games actually follow in their footsteps. Kinda like how Swedish film trail after Ingmar Bergman without ever understanding what made his films good. XD

[@itsmegoat2]

Your channel is what makes me happy in my saddest times

[@GermanPeter]

Thank you, that means a lot!!!

[@clairofmemories]

honestly one of my favorite games with this structure is Wario Land 3! it’s structured somewhat like Mario 64 but it’s in 2d and is more like a metroidvania without the big open map, it’s a lot of fun and I highly recommend it (and the other wario land games for that matter, despite them having a much more linear structure than 3 does)

[@dotcomgamingd5564]

TALOS PRINCIPLE MENTIONED WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO it is also MY favorite puzzle game of all time. haven't played 2 yet though!

[@GermanPeter]

Oh, TP2 is pretty great. It expands a lot on the mechanics from the first game, but gets rid of the annoying things (no more recording puzzles or mines). However, there's a lot more walking, and A LOT more dialogue. I personally prefer the quiet loneliness of the first game. Still, 2 is pretty darn great. And WAY more challenging near the end, it's on the same level as Gehenna.

[@dotcomgamingd5564]

@@GermanPeter awesome, thanks for letting me know!!! great video btw

[@Grease-Goblin]

@@GermanPeter The constant dialogue made it so I barely scratched the surface of the game. I loved having the option to approach the lore at my own pace (or not at all) in the first game, but having so much of it always happening whether I choose to interact with it or not made me kind of lose interest. It's a shame, because it looks like they poured so much love into the game, and I just don't love it back. I will say that, while I won't be missing the mines, I am a little sad to hear that there's no more recording puzzles. I really liked that mechanic.

[@GermanPeter]

There's something better than the recording puzzles, actually. It's essentially the same mechanic, having to be in two places at once, but it's MUCH more fun. They were actually some of my favorite puzzles in Talos 2. Seriously, the puzzle design is a million times better. It's just the story I don't particularly care for as much.

[@ohkey]

PIKMIN MENTIONED!! I LOVE PIKMIN!!

[@TheJamesM]

I think SM64 kicking you out of the level after each star is really key to its particular feeling of play and exploration. I did enjoy Odyssey, but it didn't recapture the magic in part for that reason. In Odyssey, none of the moons felt distinctly impactful to me; I was just kind of wandering around finding stuff. In 64, each star feels like a little adventure with a beginning, middle and end, and will often involve discovering something new about the level. That constant rediscovery - seeing a familiar space in a new light - is really enjoyable; I think it's part of the appeal of Metroidvania type games, too. Sweeping up all the stars in one efficient pass would undercut the whole experience.

[@Jenkinsmum]

0:40 I think those are called coil spring animals. The closest to a playground level I can think of is the Lara Croft's House in the first Tomb Raider trilogy, since you can challenge yourself to do a timed obstacle course or play at your own pace. You can also find the secret rooms using the moves you've learned. Certainly levels have their own gimmick like Madabu Gorge which revolves around a kayak and platforming without falling in the rapids. Wreck of the Mario Doria's gimmick is platforming upsiide-down. You get the idea, tomb raider has playground levels, combat-heavy levels, and others.

[@BenAkenobi]

Oh yeah, the Croft Manor, and it's also in newer games, TR:Legend onwards, too

[@mortalkonquest2948]

What if instead of germanpeter he was called freakypeter

[@Ensign_games]

apparently my current project's levels are all playground levels But I will keep the hub being a playground level though as I like the concept of them

[@somnvm37]

edit: oh alr, ig i needed to wait 30 seconds to hear this lol btw, from what I've heard, most of these experimental interactive levels, esp those in doom 2, were made by sandy petersen, and not romero or someone else. Pretty fun. Also sandy has a youtube channel and responds to people, so it's pretty interesting.

[@KernelLeak]

I'm not sure if it fits your definition of Playground Levels, but Baba Is You lets you (re-)play every world's stages in about any order, plus they're a challenge a screen each. I would have said the same goes for Deadly Rooms Of Death (DROD), but I guess that's too linear to be a playground - but with literally hundreds to thousands of mapsets to choose from, you could call that a hub...

[@Skrippnlo5]

I had heard people saying DOOM 2's city levels sucked before i played the game, but when i finally got to them, the first thing that came to my mind was Mario 64! (which is funny because i've never actually played it) Honestly, i ended kinda liking DOOM 2 twice as much as i liked DOOM or even more. That *might* be related to how i used to think i was bad at games and could only play on easy... or the fact i wasn't really into game design at the time. (which is probably the reason why nowadays i end up liking pretty much everything i play) But i feel like this is mainly because of the levels. There's just an uniqueness to DOOM 2's maps that i never really felt with the first one. (even though there probably was) I can't really think of a level without at least one memorable aspect making it different to the rest, they all really manage to have their own identity, it never feels like they're following a template.

[@BenAkenobi]

For a while i launched GTA IV just to reach the minigame called cub3d and just play that instead of causing ruckus with police or bikers or whatever

[@chips_lol9537]

Ah yes my favorite german

[@scheddoc]

I remember putting a lot of time into "Portal Playground" as a kid.

[@r.g.thesecond]

happy to see Sandy get more credit these days

[@rejectfalseicons]

Jerma clips spotted. also, my first thought when hearing the description for a playground level was it takes two :-)

[@shinyagumon7015]

Would you count other 3D Collecathons as Playground Levels too? Because I love Banjo Kazooie, but it's doesn't really fit your definition because a lot of the Jiggies require you to learn new moves and use items.

[@GermanPeter]

I haven't played any other ones unfortunately :P

[@eatthebana]

yakuza is kind of an example, in premium adventure anyway, the yakuza minigames are so fun

[@GermanPeter]

The original script mentioned how Yakuza doesn't really apply. I mean, I never played much of it, but the mini-games I played were more in the vein of Coin Game, in the sense that they were just real-life arcade games they specifically recreated for the game. They didn't really play around with the engine or anything, you just enter a room and play the claw game for a few minutes and then leave.

[@jokerofspades-xt3bs]

I'm not 100% sure if these count but the levels in Bomb Rush Cyberfunk are very playground like in nature

[@xFluing]

Since you're such a fan of Talos, have you tried Talos 2? It's even more visually stunning than the first one

[@GermanPeter]

Yes, it's wonderful, but I prefer TP1 :P

[@AnonymousBoy64]

Patchy The Pirate going through the playground be like:

[@Tulemasin]

I think Spyro the Dragon original trilogy fits well with your definition of Playground gameplay. They also have remake versions on modern platforms if PS1 isn't an option.

[@GermanPeter]

Collectathons work really well with playground level design, yeah!

[@BRNG2042]

People sleep on the manmelter. Though i personally prefer the detonator for its crowd control capabilities, the support which turns into instant damage is incredible, mostly because i can't hit 2 flares in a row and i like rhe phlog

[@GermanPeter]

Wrong video, my friend.

[@angelofthedead1886]

You should do a video about Signalis, it’s a pretty fantastic German horror indie game ever.

[@dimoniysh5075]

can't belive you didn't mentined ravenholm, it's probably the best "playground" level in fps genre or games in general

[@GermanPeter]

Oh, definitely!

[@BasCPU]

Black and white had a interesting feature called God's Playground. You could start more tutorials here and play with actual toys as well!

[@BasementDweller_]

The best levels.

[@MrTramMan]

Goat simulator is a great example of Playground levels

[@Sykxezn]

There's a level labeled on the developer options on the ds version of lego star wars the complete saga calledrd lvl_playground, when selected the game crashes, beyond me what it is

[@kitkatrina1337]

great video! i always loved sm64's design, this sort of makes me want to make my own game a little more open-ended („• ֊ •„)

[@tinpot64]

*cough cough* goat simulator *cough cough*

[@Clonetrooper0130]

I genuinely thought that my yt progress bar turned yellow at first :P

[@r.l.r.7550]

Excuse me, I can swing for days, with only minor thigh pain.

[@Saver310]

5:33 aaaaaa flipped titlepic

[@BenAkenobi]

Gave some more thought about the topic and i'd disagree about Talos Principle as your concept of "playground" simply because Talos has all of its mechanics working exactly for their purpose within the story and nearly all player's actions, while can be freely interrupted and attempted in almost any order, are getting player closer to the game's goal. I mean that in particular the Talos Principle has such world building that you aren't really getting free from game story anytime within the game. Even though it's a great game, no denying that.

[@GermanPeter]

I clarified in the video that you still need to do all the (main) puzzles, but the order you do them in doesn't really matter for the most part. However, the puzzles themselves are very gimmicky. The mines for instance receive a new purpose in just about every single one of them. Sometimes they're obstacles to avoid, other times they're meant to blow up turrets or even serve as platforms.

[@Vermilleno]

I'd love dedicated video to The Talos Principle.

[@GermanPeter]

Has been planned for about a year :)

[@Fefe-vp9yk]

Mega man is actually a playground game?!?!?!?

[@averagefearoftheocean3005]

0:47 how did they make the stock image sand look so yummy 😋

[@arekrekas213]

honestly i just clicked to see peter talk about Pikmin

[@GermanPeter]

Stay tuned then, because I'd like to talk about Pikmin in depth in the future ;)

[@arekrekas213]

@@GermanPeter omg, really?? thank you!!

[@Protoman3]

where did you get that doom 2 title screen?

[@GermanPeter]

Shallow made it

[@Matt-md5yt]

Sweet

[@kevinbrodacki]

Was the SM64 captured on a GBA? Don't remember it being that pixelated lol

[@GermanPeter]

No, I think it was emulated. It's not my footage, link is in the description.

[@ferdinand12390]

so Toy Story 2 would count as a playground game?

[@Steve.Matheus]

Wild Quake 3 doomguy spotted

[@LucyDucy1]

littlebigplanet enough said

[@Grease-Goblin]

I disagree somewhat about the Super Mario 64 vs. Super Mario Odyssey viewpoint. SM64 is more of a playground _game_ where you can decide to ignore certain worlds. SMO, while having a more direct and linear world progression, has much better playground _levels_ because they have many more challenges, no interruption of the game flow from kicking you out after a challenge, have lots of challenges that can be accomplished while doing other challenges, and many challenges have little to no required path (especially if you have a strong grasp on the movement system). As far as the video's title goes (Playground _Levels_ in Video Games), SMO beats SM64. Even if we stay on the N64, I much prefer how Rare handled the idea of playground level design in their 3D platformers. Banjo-Kazooie is, in my opinion, the best N64 3D platformer with playground level design. It does everything that SM64 did, but the levels were better at doing the playground style. Also, the Tony Hawk series is peak playground level design. I'm undecided on whether the THPS 1-3 timed level formula is better at this versus the THPS4 and onward approach to having untimed levels with dozens of timed challenges, but in either case, few games come close to achieving the splendor of Tony Hawk playground level design. Fun fact: Doom 2016 (and Doom Eternal, by extension) used Tony Hawk level design as a reference for designing combat arenas.

[@GermanPeter]

I get what you mean in regards to Super Mario Odyssey giving you more freedom and options, but I still think 64 applies more. I mean, we're just arguing semantics here, and yeah, 64 would be more a playground GAME, but the fact you can completely omit certain stages beats out Odyssey for me. Plus, while it has a ton more challenges, many of them have to be beaten in a certain way, usually by capturing something. You can't get over the massive pits without the flying squids, you need to be a lava bubble to cross the lava, and so on. In 64, you can do the challenges in pretty much any way you want to. I'm not saying 64 is the better game overall because of this, I just think it captures the spirit of "playground levels" better.

[@Grease-Goblin]

I'll agree to disagree.

[@majamystic256]

I find the THPS4 and onwards format more fun and somewhat RPGlike in a sense

[@soepicnes8153]

im sad there was no WALLIE game mentioned...

[@stasuwa9169]

Last level of postal ?

[@MuteTheGuy]

Would you consider Pizza Tower one of those games with Playground levels? Because in a way, I can see it just as what you've described But only in a way

[@GermanPeter]

I've never played it, but maybe?

[@MuteTheGuy]

@@GermanPeter Oh! Well to summarize why it could be the case, Pizza Tower sees you playing as Peppino (an Italian with a very extensive set of skills and moves) in various levels each with their own gimmick. You can also play the levels in any order you want! The only requirement is to complete all of the levels on the floor you are on to go to the next set of levels in the other floors, which once more you can play in any order you want to (Kinda similar to Mario 64 with the later sets of worlds). In any case this is a very brief summary of Pizza Tower that also serves as my reasoning to why it could be considered one of those games with playground levels. Hope to not have bothered too much and wish you a great day!

[@GermanPeter]

Ah yeah, that could be considered a playground game.

[@zzyy1934]

After watching this whole entire video, I still don't understand wtf "Playground Levels" are.

[@GermanPeter]

Then practice your listening and comprehension skills, I don't know how much easier to describe it lol

[@chobies5383]

​@@GermanPeterWhat did you expect from a can of Campbell's soup?

[@insertusername9755]

Actual playgrounds or conceptual? What, not a list of every game that has physical playground in it :(?

[@GermanPeter]

The only ones I can think of are Half-Life 2, Half-Life: Alyx, and Majora's Mask.

[@chobies5383]

Teardown (Mentioned in the video) has some playgrounds, the one I can think of off the top of my head is the one at the Evertides mall

[@gooeydude574]

Anyone else actually enjoy Wet Dry World?

[@GermanPeter]

I do! I've actually come around to enjoying it, with its mysterious aura. The gameplay is not my favorite, but I do enjoy the aesthetics.

[@NotMyNick97]

Postal 1: 💀

[@reallyman6502]

1:57 oh you don't know ANYTHING about gta players

[@VanguardAlexkio]

0/10 no 500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ mention

[@bungler433]

sandbox level

[@stopmotionadventures4812]

1 day ago

[@stopmotionadventures4812]

does brain age count?

[@muzeruzer6431]

Sq

[@nousheensyed8679]

46 seconds, 1 view, bro fell off

[@GermanPeter]

Find a new joke

[@jammygeez]

​@@GermanPeter 🥶🥶

[@Olflix]

@@GermanPeter based

[@tessaPMpro]

So basically every level in Banjo-Kazooie lol