Best Practices: A Framework for Modulating Melee and Ranged Combat Styles
Aidi“ Edrian”
Aidi“ Edrian” HU
Level Design
Best Practices: A Framework for Modulating Melee and Ranged Combat Styles
My thesis project identified best practices for encouraging players to switch between melee and ranged combat by investigating environmental design, resource abundance, and fault tolerance through a custom Dying Light level,“ Dam Escape.” This level was created with Developer Tools to collect quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback.
I chose this topic because modern action games offer multiple combat styles but lack clear, data‐driven guidelines that maintain player choice.
By quantifying spatial factors alongside resource availability and fault tolerance, I developed a regression‐based Weighted Combat Tendency model to predict and influence player behavior. Over 12 months, I researched level design theories, built and refined nine distinct
rooms providing 30 minutes of gameplay, and conducted and analyzed data to test my hypotheses.
This process honed my skills in environmental layout quantification, data analysis, playtest facilitation, and statistical modeling, deepening my understanding of balancing design intent with agency. Insights into iterative level creation, player behavior, and statistical validation were invaluable for my growth as a level designer.
The resulting framework offers the industry a practical toolset to craft levels that support multiple combat styles while preserving player autonomy, enhancing engagement, and empowering designers with methods applicable to future projects.
26 LEVEL DESIGN