The fourth article in the series on applying the lessons of Super Mario World to your level designs. This article examines the preservation of momentum and...

In this tutorial, I'll explain how to design levels for video games, based on my experience as a designer for the Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, and...

Skill themes are collections of levels which require the same player skills to beat them. They are the highest meaningful level of content in the Super Mario...

Now that we know about the existence of the evolution and expansion challenges in Nintendo games, how can we use these concepts to design coherent,...

Fill your levels using a systematic method that was originally developed by Nintendo. Learn how Super Mario World introduced a system of specific techniques...

As level designers, we often want to direct players to their goals, build and release tension, or show off the artwork and tech in the game. My favourite...

If we want to play a game, we first need to learn the rules. But reading tutorials is boring... so how can we make sure we don't scare off the player? In...

Your players will get bored far faster than you would expect if your play spaces don't retain their attention. In this tutorial, I'll show you how you can...

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to create a simple random name generator, which you could use to give random NPCs a huge variety of unique names or give...

For many, procedural generation is a magical concept that is just out of reach. Only veteran game developers know how to build a game that can create its own...

In a previous article I discussed what goes into making a strong level in Portal 2 and what you need to consider as a level designer. In this article I am...

Portal was one of the most distinctive puzzle games of the past few years, and its sequel Portal 2 showed us that lightning can strike twice. A little less...