Every game has stages and levels
Level designers understand what makes good gameplay. They design the game – but only a portion of it, commonly referred to as a ‘level’.They take the specification defined by the gameplay designer, and get into the detail - the actions, events, objects and environment. They also design the characters and the ways they behave.
This is a planning role which works together with designers and game play storyline editors to develop an experience and stage of difficulty for a particular role in a game.
The level designer first sketches ideas on paper or using 2D drawing software. They imagine the playing experience, putting themselves in the position of the player, mapping out all the possibilities. They need to think about the logic and flow of events and actions, the conditions that need to be met for certain things to happen and the challenges the player will encounter.
Making the game challenging, and develop the tasks and concept of the game making each level increase in difficulty and progress the player to the next level.
You need to be skilled at:
Creativity: come up with new challenges and missions
Knowledge of gameplay: imagine the game, see it visually and develop the gameplay mechanics
Knowledge of programming: understand programming, have some scripting language competence
Physics: understand how objects respond according to the laws of physics
Art: have a strong spatial awareness with 2D and 3D design skills
Communication: work with other artists and the design team and share the vision with games developers
You need a good understanding of:
Game Engines (Unity, Unreal Engine)
Programming languages (C#, C++, Python)
Graphics software (Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Illustrator, Dreamweaver)
2D and 3D animation software (Blender, Maya, 3DS Max)