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Yifan Li
Level Design
Prospect and Refuge : Modulating Level Pacing Through Spatial Composition
The artifact level “ After Dark ” is a Left 4 Dead 2 campaign made in Hammer Editor consisting of three chapters . In this campaign , the four survivors must go through a zombie-infested shopping mall . Many areas are initially locked or dark , requiring the player to unlock gates or turn on power switches to proceed .
My thesis examined the concepts of prospect space and refuge space in video games and their influences on game pace . Based on the assumption that a prospect space increases pacing while a refuge space decreases pacing , I created a custom level using both space types to achieve an ideal pacing curve .
By analyzing the playtesters ’ experiences , I was able to understand the influence of spaces on pacing and to formulate a set of best practices to help game designers modulate pacing through spatial composition .
This project took about a year to complete from the planning phase to completion . It was a challenging yet satisfying learning experience for me as I gradually learned more about scripting , layout , and combat encounter design in Left 4 Dead 2 . I hope that my research on spatial composition and level pacing will provide other level designers with new tools to craft wellpaced levels .
36 LEVEL DESIGN