The level I made to work on Dishonored 2 at Arkane Studios

[@lucasgarcezxyz]

The internet is awesome, Dishonored is one of my favorite games because of the level design and now I'm here, learning from the man himself.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

❤️(I was obviously only responsible for a small chunk of all the LD in Dishonored 2, but thanks!)

[@MrXBJonte]

This is one of the best level design videos I have ever seen

[@stevelee_gamedev]

😎 Cheers Jonatan, glad you likey

[@SoldatDuChristChannel]

I have alot of respect for Designers in the industry that make themselves vulnerable by thoroughly explaining the LD process step by step. I salute you sir

[@stevelee_gamedev]

:) Cheers!

[@noises4978]

a lot is two words. designers is not a proper noun.

[@chocolate_maned_wolf]

no wonder I love that game so much lmfao, your first level portfolio item was my favorite game, half life

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You have good taste :)

[@chocolate_maned_wolf]

u too :3 @@stevelee_gamedev

[@OldYozhik]

When passing the turret bridge, don’t forget about the 3rd option where you can command your ally to rush first right in front of you, and use him as a meat shield. This is more cruel yet working solution

[@robertshaer6603]

An absolute Masterclass dude - really nicely presented/discussed. The level looks ace too! :-).

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers Rob :) I'm happy with how this one turned out, and hope people find it useful

[@dormin1850]

Love hearing about your thought process and how you prioritized certain aspect of the level. It was especially helpful to hear about the things you didn't worry about. It can be so easy to get hung up on creating the perfect level, and polishing the things that don't matter. Also side note I recently landed my first level design position at a AAA studio with a Half-Life Alyx level. As I've been working on making this transition your videos have been a huge help and inspiration! Really appreciate how elegant and detailed your videos are. There are lots of high level (no pun intended) videos on level design, but they lack examples. You do a great job of giving a broad overview, and then supporting the lessons with specifics which I can then apply to my own work. Always a treat to see a new video from you, we all benefit when people generously share knowledge like this.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hi there - thanks a lot for this, it's super nice to hear to that these videos and my approach are helpful. And congrats on your new job 👍

[@hlep16]

Steve, you are a legend. Your channel is a gold mine for people like me who like Arkane's levels and games and aim to learn to create similar experiences and eventually turn that into a job. Keep it up!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers Milos, that's lovely to hear. Will do what I can :)

[@reggieisnotadog4841]

RIP Arx Fatalis not being in the list you made at the 05:00. I'm not saying you weren't aware of it (after all, you worked there), and I completely understand why you wouldn't use it in that quick list; but I do feel for Arkane's forgotten stepchild always being hidden under the stairs in discussions about immersive sims. Jokes aside: great video, and thanks for the excellent insight!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hehe, I thought more people would be shouting at me for not mentioning Ultima Underworld ;) Cheers, glad you liked the video!

[@willkosan]

Perfect explanations Steve. I work professionally on the Level Art side for games, but I'm working on getting a holistic grasp on making engaging levels from both the design and visual needs. This was invaluable for me.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Great to hear, cheers :)

[@muzboz]

Excellent, thanks for this Steve. Great to see a real design test, as it's rare one gets the chance to see them. And to have you explain it all in great detail, with takeaways is just super! :D

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers! And yeah I'm trying to think of more ways to show / talk about design tests / interviews etc... we'll see

[@Wet-Milk]

Man, this was super interesting to watch! I have 0 plans to ever get into any kind of game design, but it was still fascinating to watch, great work!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

That’s lovely to hear, cheers - glad you enjoyed it :)

[@angelo0005]

Thank you for taking the time to make this!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You're welcome Adam, glad you like it 👍

[@shinjinanahara]

Great work. It was really interesting to see how you approached and met the brief using a non-stealth based game and how you even managed to work some small stealth-like elements in (e.g. placing guards with their backs turned). Was good to hear you feedback some self-critism about a mistake you made with the possibility of the player hitting the switch before they see the locked door too and how you were honest with Arkane about it. Thanks for the video.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Good to hear, cheers!👍

[@Szederp]

Looking Glass all the way. You are a legend.

[@CB66941]

I'm glad to see an immersive sim level done with Half Life 2's game mechanics. Also nice to know my experience with Doom mapping can still be useful for making immersive sim levels.

[@zyapguy]

This is perhaps one of the best videos I have ever watched about level design. Thank you for making this, it helped me a lot with my own thinking process.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Lovely to hear and glad you like it, cheers :)

[@MagnetismR]

Really inspiring. The depth you go into is very compelling. I hope one day to be lucky enough to make something fun to play at this level.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Great to hear, cheers - and good luck with your own stuff :)

[@RM-bg5cd]

Played Deathloop recently and so it felt really great watching the video and putting two and two together, absolute jewel of a video actually, thanks!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Lovely to hear, thanks :)

[@s1vispacem424]

it's 5:23 in the morning, and I'm making notes really good video, thank you for that

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Great to hear, cheers! (Now sleeeeeeep)

[@frostfeed2848]

One of the most powerfull video about level design i have seen

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers, glad you like it 👍

[@JoshMarshain]

Would love a talk about more recent design tests as well

[@stevelee_gamedev]

More recent ones are hard, because most studios don't want to be public about them (especially if they're time limited, etc). I'm giving it a think, though 👍

[@nasuhero629]

Thanks for making these

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You're welcome - glad you likey 👍

[@justsomedribrats1143]

Oh, man. Your videos have been a tremendous help, especially in terms of design theory. Call me technologically illiterate, but the scripting you’ve implemented in this level makes it feels like lightyears away for someone who hopped into Hammer/SDK to make a room for fun! Hope to see more helpful vids in the future.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Good to hear it's helpful James - and I'm planning on following this up with a second video that shows you the map in the editor, with me talking about it from more of a building and implementation perspective. (These videos take a lot of time to make though, so I won't promise when :P)

[@zebrasprite]

The Dust District was one of the finest levels in D2. I remember finding the bloodfly keeper’s lair above the Crone’s Hand, and thinking how fucking cool it was to stash it that high. Rewards the exploration that D2 players no doubt undertake. This was great. Thoroughly feel as though I’ve learned something :)

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Lovely to hear, thanks :)

[@TheWholeF]

I'm moving my first steps into level design and this video helps a lot! Hope I'll be able to put out something this cool some day

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Glad it's useful, cheers!

[@LDLearning]

Great video Steve! Comprehensive and thoughtful as always.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers Patrick! :)

[@GamePhysics]

This is extremely insightful! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge of level design! :D

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You’re welcome, glad you like the video :)

[@TheBlooLight]

Thanks Steve!!! Your video series is top notch! You gifted me a great video, I'm a Junior level designer working on a stealth non-linear vr game. I'm taking down notes. :-)

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey Patrick, cheers - glad to hear they're useful 👍

[@SyonBroadcast]

Awesome vid, Steve. An in depth explanation of level design right there :) Thanks for sharing it (makes me wanna go play H-L 2 all over again :D ).

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Haha, good / cheers 👍

[@mikesalmond]

Fantastic content , I’m going to show this to my students in my Video Game 1 class as this is exactly what they should be doing (the brief is to spend 6 weeks creating 10-15 mins of engaging game play) - they always suffer from scope issues. This is exactly how they should be thinking, thanks as always for these insights!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cool, cheers Mike. I'm obviously missing a lot of context, but my kneejerk reaction is to wonder if 10-15 mins of engaging gameplay could quite a lot for students in that timeframe? 5 minutes could be meaty enough, and help them reduce scope and focus on quality, etc

[@mikesalmond]

@@stevelee_gamedev the students are using tools like game creator and unity assets so they have a leg up. And they have a lot of help with focused tutorials. 10-15 mins is the upper limit, it can be less but not more (sometimes it's less as it's combat focused, sometimes it's 10-15 because it's an RPG with cut scenes/audio/reading in it). Even a senior project game won't be more than 15 minutes usually, but is more polished. It is very much learning about scope and working within constraints. :-)

[@ilcanalechenonce]

Thank you so much for sharing this design process, it's incredibly valuable!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You're welcome, glad you find it useful 👍

[@dreamernawid]

your videos are some of the best resources I've found on level design, thank you!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

That's super nice to hear, cheers :) Will try and keep making useful stuff.

[@JackChapmanDesign]

Amazing work as always Steve. You are a fantastic part of the LD community.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers Jack :)

[@mrbananoid]

this was fascinating, thank you so much for sharing!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Good to hear, cheers Mr Banana 👍

[@edwardnewtonLA]

Really enjoyable breakdown. I'm subbed. 😁

[@JackBurrows-c6g]

Having so much of your level showcase blurred out was frustrating. But still extremely valuable information.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Not sure how much of the video you watched - the whole level is shown and deconstructed starting from 9:20! (It's a long intro though, I know)

[@markbangug469]

@Steve Lee I Learned a lot from this video bro. Thanks a lot!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Good stuff - you're welcome Mark 👍

[@my_noname_channel]

That's a great explanation! Thank you!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Glad you liked it, cheers :)

[@mandalora5325]

this is so cool!!! thank you so much for sharing, incredibly informative and useful :)

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Thanks - glad you found it useful :)

[@RydhwnnSbdhhwkknxbd]

Thank you so much for the video!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You’re welcome - glad you find it interesting :)

[@GG01011]

20:11 I have faced like a ton of these situations in dishonored ( especially DOTO ) where I solve the puzzle pr do the side mission before even being submitted to me

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Yeah, like I say in the video it’s easy to do / hard to completely avoid, when the game empowers the player to traverse the level in very non-linear ways (especially with stealth)

[@zzzzac3819]

Awesome content!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers Zac :)

[@nathanburgett1599]

I miss the old arkane. Some of the best games ever made. Plenty of games that were decent that I have started and never finished. Dishonored and prey I played every last drop out of them. It seems to me the esg centric laws and push, are ruining the industry and once great studios. Maybe I'm wrong but it definitely feels like less and less games are being made by people who love games, and more by people who love money and have an agenda to push. Hopefully more gamers wake up so these companies can go under, and the market can produce companies run by people who love games again.

[@VinceLee888]

dat black and white flashback

[@christopherlin1129]

Thank you so much for this

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You’re welcome Chris, glad you like it 👍

[@QuinnKuslich]

This was so awesome

[@Vax93UE]

Thanks, that's a really interesting talk! I'm having an issue identifying what needs to go in a level design document and I understand that it's something that studios look at when applying for level design jobs. I wasn't able to find anyone to give me feedback on my attempt at a level design document. Can you please tell me what should a level design document be, and most importantly what should it contain and how do you go about creating one? do you do it before the level/layout creaton or after? If nothing else consider it as an idea for a future video :) Thanks again for the talk, your videos help a lot and I will be looking forward to future ones.

[@markbangug469]

Same here bro. I'm wondering also what comes with LDD and what does not.

[@Vax93UE]

@@markbangug469 Hopefully we get a response, i dont know if Steve is active in his comment sections :D

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey. Level design documents vary a lot from game to game, because what is important / useful to communicate about the level to help people understand it is usually quite specific to a project. So there's not really any template for it, it's just whatever it needs to be to help convey the design (how it works, and why it's cool / fun interesting) to whoever you're writing it for. Will definitely give this a think for a future video. Oh and you definitely do them before you make the level, not after! :) A level designer does it either to help them figure out what they're doing, or communicate the idea to other people (e.g. their lead, or other people working on the level, etc). Sorry the main answer is a bit vague, but I hope this helps.

[@caladan18ph]

Awesome level design breakdown, thank you! By the way, would just like to ask do you do any sort of pre-planning before doing these levels( like paper maps). Also do you also start out with doing blockouts first? Would be interested to know more about your thought process when making your levels, like where do you get your inspiration, or maybe how you start making levels before iterating on them.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey Tristan, yep good questions - I'm planning on working on a second / follow-up video to this one, where I jump into the editor and talk more about my creative process, where I started with the layout, and the kind of scripting I did to make things work. Don't hold your breath for it, but it's in the works :)

[@ty-xq7bl]

Ty for sharing the knowledge

[@stevelee_gamedev]

You're welcome - glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@m0zidesigner]

Well said I know I failed one design test cause I did more than I could handle in the time frame wasn't polished. Over scoped my self badly

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Yeah, happens to everyone at some point - tests (and designing he tests) are hard!

[@TheObjectionable]

Thank you very much! This might be the best level design video I ever saw. I was wondering though if you have any images of the process - especially before the in-engine work. Did you do layout sketches, etc or did you prototype directly using the Source assets?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey Pedro - great to hear that you like the video, cheers 👍 I probably did some really simple sketches in the early stages, to help me think about the layout. But I very rarely do detailed drawings of the whole thing. I tend to alternate lots between quick sketches, imagining things as I want them to look and feel, thinking logically about elements or events that need to happen in a particular sequence, and rough blocking out in 3D in the editor. Just so you know, I'm planning on working on a second / follow-up video to this one, where I jump into this map in the editor, and talk more about my creative process, how I started with the layout and extrapolated from there, and the kind of scripting I did to make things work. Don't hold your breath for it, but it's in the works :)

[@abdulbanglee]

I potentially might be having a level design test come up for an interview and I can't thank you enough for uploading this. It makes the thought process so much easier for me Even though your level was made for a single-player game, how would you go about doing a level design test for a multiplayer map? It would be a small Quake-style arena map meant for deathmatches. How could I potentially playtest the map for balancing issues when I only have a couple weeks to create, test, refine it?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey Abdul, sorry about the slow reply to this. Testing multiplayer maps / games can definitely be a challenge - and consequently I think the expectations for and way of critiquing multiplayer maps is different. Even if you're unable to test them, if you can finish a map and present it alongside some (succinct) explanation of the thought and intentions behind its design, it should help!

[@chyra451]

Commenting so the youtube algorithm potentially gives this video more views.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Haha I appreciate it - glad you like the vid, cheers!

[@stevemakesgames23]

Really great video, highly appreciated as an aspiring level designer. To ask a really picky question: at the very beginning, where the player exits the starting room, and you were trying to draw their attention to Alyx being taken away, would it not have been better to place the ladder to the left, at the end of the walkway? It would seem to me that, by putting the ladder on the right, the player might potentially miss Alyx by focusing on the the ladder. I understand there's an audio cue to draw your attention, but still. Again, I'm probably being too picky.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Cheers Steven! Yeah I've thought about this too - in hindsight, I think it would've been better, and I can't really think of any drawbacks. I'm guessing it was a result of me working quickly under time pressure - maybe I put the ladder there early on or something - and for whatever reason it just made sense to leave it, haha. Good observation 👍

[@zip2kx]

great video i regurarly return to for inspiration. Did you actually send the level or a video just like you're showing us now?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Yeah I mention it near the start of the vid that sent the level itself, knowing they would actually play it - a step up in terms of needing to make things robust enough to come across well

[@zip2kx]

@@stevelee_gamedev ah yes, i should have asked if you sent a companion video too. showing different routes etc. A worry i would have would be that they would miss things i have put in but then that could be argued its bad design if it's too obtuse.

[@Omar-Asim]

I was expecting more alternate paths, like vents, which the Deus Ex HR & MD teams loved to have very noticeably. Edit: So would a path that skipped combat altogether be bad design for a Half-Life 2 level?

[@elepunto.]

I watched this and I was wondering, could you use the gravity gun to pile some stuff and go over the force field instead of going over the bridge? thank you!

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hehe maybe... although I'm not sure there is enough stuff in the level to pile up. Good thinking though 👍

[@w0nnafight]

Thanks for an informative video, I have one question. As far as I understood there is no guarantee that the player will look at the bridge at the start of the game, lets say for 95% of the players the bridge did catch their eye and they saw the cutscene happening, but 5% of the players just instantly looked for a way down and missed the cutscene. Wouldn't be better in this case to script the player looking at the bridge? since seeing the cutscene is very important for understanding what is going on.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey, glad you liked the video. Hmm I think the answer depends on the way we look at it: 1. Given that this is an LD test for Arkane, I think scripting the level to take control away from the player arbitrarily to force them to look at the scene would seem risky to me - I'm not keen on games doing that, and neither are they (it's an immersive design values thing). Maybe it would be ok if it was scripted to happen as soon as the player wakes up somehow, rather than during gameplay (where there's nothing to justify it). 2. I agree that the way I've set it up in the level, some players could miss it - I also agree that it's important for them to see it, and for a real game the solution would need to be better / different. But basically I would say that for a test done in 2 weeks, it's fine. It shows the intent to show the player what they need to know in a natural way, that doesn't take control away from the player in an unjustified way, and shows a few creative decisions taken to make it work. As I mention in the video, they shouldn't expect anything perfect made in 2 weeks, and I think what I did is more than enough :) Cheers for the good question!

[@w0nnafight]

​@@stevelee_gamedev Got it. Thanks for the long and clear answer

[@maplesnag2721]

Hi @steveLee I loved this video, it gave me a few ideas of my own, one thing i am struggling though getting started as a level designer is how i can get access to and manipulate different engines like you have in this video, do you have another video explaining the tools available to start to construct levels like the one in your video. I'm not well versed in modding and digging up program files to manipulate existing games, what would you recomend to start my search?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey there - great to hear you loved the vid! I made this level for Half Life 2, using the level editor that it comes free with (which is the same one that Valve used to make the game), called Hammer. As I say in the video (or if not in this one, one of my others), I still recommend HL2 as one of the best options for making real levels, if you like single-player FPS games. Along with other Valve games like Portal 2, Counterstrike, Team Fortress 2, and Left 4 Dead. Portal 2 in particular, also comes with a built-in, super streamlined level editor that you can start making real, legit levels with really quicky - I like it so much that I made a video about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaqahWOaoM6XfKM I have a very work-in-progress guide to starting to make levels for HL2 here: docs.google.com/document/d/1tBv3FNjZeZ_DY5WBMw73Tthgmm9eFp1FxtQkUylaVuA/edit#heading=h.rbcse5xhj2o And the closest thing I have to a tutorial for HL2 level design is my series where I make a Half Life 2 level from scratch, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6amfph-bMaSe9U Hope this helps!

[@maplesnag2721]

@@stevelee_gamedev Wow thankyou for replying to my comment! Yes i am currently deconstructing your videos :) Any other tips for an up and coming level designer?

[@TheLevelDesigner02]

Do you use your own 3D or already provided? Nice vid! 🎉

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Oh, this is all made using Half Life 2's Hammer level editor, and the existing content from Half Life 2. I never make my own models (don't even know how) :)

[@TheLevelDesigner02]

As an intermediate level designer myself, I still try to argue with many companies that the level designer is not a 3D artist! Just wanted to confirm that I am not crazy, I do understand that there ARE, but It's not necessarily the case, thank you for answering Steve!@@stevelee_gamedev

[@iwantagoodnameplease]

Did you just provide the level as-is and they play it, or do you send any kind of video/document that describes your thinking in the way you've done here?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

I sent it as is, because they didn't ask for any accompanying documentation. The time limit meant that it was really important for me to try and make the level be robust enough to be played by someone else with no introduction (other than familiarity with HL2), and hope that the level holds up and speaks for itself.

[@decarrioden3445]

Do you think game engines such as Fortnite unreal engine and Roblox can be used for level design projects?

[@puzzledpuddle9778]

Amazing. Do you have any experience with "minimalist" horror level design like PT or Devotion?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

I can't say I do, unfortunately - even though I do love the idea of working on a good horror game someday 🤞

[@WCCXtra]

If you happen upon a key without knowing it's a key and only putting two and two together after you run into the door, is that first encounter still considered a 'key' encounter?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hmm interesting question - I'm guessing it might vary depending on the specifics of a game. But overall I'd say that the most important thing is that the experience and thought process that the player goes through in their head is interesting. So if the experience of putting two and two together after finding the door is a cool / interesting moment of realisation, and it feels like a satisfying solving of a problem, rather than weird / confusing / random, then why not :)

[@WCCXtra]

@@stevelee_gamedev, thanks for your reply. The question arose from the part in the level where the player had to go back downstairs to power the door. My mind raced to layer different lessons for the player (machines like this are interactive - keep and eye or ear out for them, the other wires from the machine power this and that). I was trying to bend that key rule a bit. But yeah, it all comes down to what's best for the player experience.

[@danielmokobia106]

Did you code every think or did they send you items (Like the AI, building, and small items) to use for your test?

[@stevelee_gamedev]

No no no, this was made using Hammer, the level editor for Half Life 2 :) So I’m using the tools and all the assets (AI, tools, textures, gameplay objects etc) from the real game, ready to go. The ideal way to work as a level designer 👍

[@Dhieen]

Were you paid for working 2 weeks for a test for them??? I did an environment art test for them for one week, didnt get paid for that, i had a negative answer 1 month after i send them the render, with a very little feedback, the brief was very abstract for me, it was super hard and frustrating But its art and not level design

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Nope I wasn't paid - as far as I know payment for tests in general, but maybe especially in AAA, is rare. Although my experience might be slightly out of date - I'd love that to be improving more recently, but I have no idea. Sorry to hear that you found the brief abstract and frustrating - I definitely know how it goes when it comes to feeling like a test just didn't gel with you, and what you submit / how it comes across doesn't end up representing you well. This is how tests go unfortunately - different every time, never perfect, not always "fair". Good luck with future applications!

[@dominikbiaczyk3647]

The whole video - as in what it's conveying, the amount and quality of information is top class, but the video playing under the white text and the calm voice is making me itch inside, that's a very uncomfortable feeling of dissonance. Should i be watching the footage? Probably, thats what I want to see. Is the narrator describing the footage? Maybe? A little bit? There are some bits that fit the monologue, but some are not relevant. I want to see what's going on, why is everything blurred? Should i just minimize the window and only listen to what you're saying? Possibly, but will I miss out on something - I'd bet I would! So I am stuck in this dissonance trying to multitask, one eye on the text, the other eye on the video, one ear listening to sound effects and the other listening to your voice with a completely different pacing than the video. While you level design is awesome, your video design is leaving me irritated and exhausted trying to focus on two different things at the same time.

[@dominikbiaczyk3647]

At 7:30 you go so far as to play a video embedded inside a video, both showing some narrative, some design, you look at one, you lose the track of the other.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Hey Dominik. I used blurred and darkened the gameplay footage while I talked about the brief, hoping it would be clear that it’s just a background while I have things displayed on top of it. Maybe I should’ve blurred it more to make it clearer that it’s not meant to be watched - will bear this in mind for future videos. Hope you found it useful 👍

[@TheCharlesFr]

I watched this video to compare it with tabletop RPG scenario design. above all it occurs to me that video game level design is much easier and simpler, if simply doors and keys are the most important thing! And especially because the players choices in a video game are harshly limited.

[@stevelee_gamedev]

...Not exactly the conclusion I would take away from this video, but you do you

[@Bee_Mavrick]

This gives off fallout vibes. Just the look not the gameplay nice prototype

[@stevelee_gamedev]

Interesting :)