Contents
Engine-independent guidance
Level design: from layout to playable blockout
Test a level layout with playable blockouts, movement metrics, and route choices before committing to detail.
On this page
Use this when: You are building a first level or revising one that looks convincing but feels wrong to play.
You will leave with: A short test route, a record of its assumptions, and a focused revision.
Keep in mind: Rough geometry cannot answer every visual or atmospheric question. Keep essential cues, and do not assume all levels need branching paths.
Further reading: The Level Design Book, whose practical chapters informed the linked principles. See each principle’s source trail for specific pages.
Step 1
Choose what the connections should do
Write the decision a player should face. Draw only the spaces and passages needed to test it. Mark anything that changes after a gate opens.
Read the full principle and its exceptions: Choose route connections for the decisions and movement they create →Step 2
Check scale with a playable test
Try the important passages and jumps with your controller and camera. Record the settings so future changes have a clear retest list.
Read the full principle and its exceptions: Calibrate level dimensions against the playable character and camera →Step 3
Observe the route under player constraints
Build the short route. Record where play diverges from your expectation, then revise one suspected cause and test again.
Read the full principle and its exceptions: Validate level blockouts in play, not only in plan views →An example
Suppose a balcony is meant to let players choose a cautious approach. Test whether they can see both options before entering combat. If the choice is invisible, adding more rooms does not solve that question.
Illustrative scenario, not a report of a tested project.
Try this next
Write one expected behavior and one observation that would contradict it. Save both beside the next blockout revision.
Explore the wider handbook →This guide is an editorial companion to the linked principles. Their full conditions, disagreements, and source trails remain authoritative.