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Zhaokun Wang
Level Design
Best Practices for Co-op Puzzle Design
The goal of my thesis was to explore the best ways of collaborative puzzle design , including a deep understanding of different game design patterns , discovering their unique advantages and problems in puzzle sequences , and building up a practical design model to create interesting and engaging co-op puzzle gameplay .
I enjoy playing interesting cooperative puzzles and adventure games with friends , such as Overcooked , A Way Out , Biped , and It Takes Two . Many articles and tutorials exist that teach good puzzle design theories for single players , but there are almost zero about collaborative puzzle design . I chose this topic with a desire to fill in the gaps by collecting wisdom from others and practicing with my own understanding . It took me 6-7 months to develop this project . In the first three months , I researched different game design patterns and created short gameplay moments in Portal 2 map editor .
After playtesting , I came up with a threedesign-pattern theory for collaborative puzzle design , which includes serialization gameplay , parallelization gameplay , and separation gameplay . In the next several months , I used the Hammer editor for Portal 2 to design my final four levels that showcased these design patterns . During the production phase , I also came up with a four-stage co-op puzzle design theory , which efficiently provided methods for engaging gameplay design and smart solutions for co-op game common problems .
This project allowed me to develop a better understanding of both collaborative gameplay design and good puzzle design . As a level designer , I learned how to switch my role to a player perspective and improved my skills in generic mechanic design , gameplay balance , and problemsolving . I believe this best practice theory will also help other designers in learning co-op puzzle design .
66 LEVEL DESIGN