Well, I spent some time going through the levels made by Level 1 students…the ones who actually turned in their homework, that is. It’s never too late, and one single level is better than no levels at all. If you can do all ten, that’s great. If not, send in what you can, it’s totally ok!!! Now, then…about your games:
Of course they’re going to lack all the dressing of a finished game, but they clearly exhibit and emphasize your shortcomings as a level designer. Let’s remedy that right now:
1. Never put in a walking area unless you intend the player to walk there. Refrain from adding territory that won’t get used except by a thoroughly confused, totally disoriented player who isn’t paying any attention whatever to where they’re going. You can’t depend on that sort of luck to bring a player to the end of your game satisfied that they’ve done something.
2. Don’t use my games as examples. I deliberately made the earlier games basically environmental, not actual shooters or problem mazes, because I wanted to get through the basic needs first, which we’re doing…developing resources is vital; we currently have on tap about 45,000 images and at least as many soundbytes for audio effects.
3. You can’t just dump things anywhere at all without some reason for their existence, and some foundational physics of the consistent kind behind it. What I mean is, a wall doesn’t suddenly stop, then a bunch of air, then another wall just as suddenly springs up.
Everyone used imagination in their very first level designs, but it’s going to take some work on your part to put some class into your games. Rick came closest, I feel, to getting out of the box with level design, and it’s got a humorous Sisyphus twist to it, going back and forth, left to right and back again, with an unsual use of space and bats.
Keep going; with practice, class and understanding of space and time will come. You might want to check out these terrific very first games of folks who will, I predict, be excellent game-makers of the future!!!