You’ve Got the Beat
Now look at all the useful tools you have to help you: character, character actions, story, level themes, a world map. These tools are all you need to build an entire universe! To help organize my thoughts, I like to create a beat chart (remember these from Level 4?). A beat chart is a tool Hollywood writers and directors often use to help them organize and plan their movie’s production. Creating a beat chart helps the designer determine gaps and clumping in your game. You can reorganize the game elements to spread things out and make the game feel more organic. Pretend you are making a game called Relic Raider. Your hero, Jake Hunter, travels the globe looking for lost treasure. You’ve developed the story and have brainstormed the gameplay and the game’s environments and enemies.
Take a look at this sample beat chart and see if you spot any problems:
Relic Raider beat chart
Did you spot all the issues the beat chart exposed?
- Level naming...