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Level Design Workshop: The Level Design of 'God of War'

Rob Davis  (Lead Designer, Independent)

Date: Friday, March 19

Time: 2:40 pm - 3:40 pm

Track: Design

Format: Discussion Session

Vault Recording: TBD

This GDC 2019 talk will feature real-time interaction with the speaker through online chat messaging during its scheduled broadcast. Reinventing and reimagining the level design of 'God of War' was a huge challenge for the level design team. With 10+ years of existing design rules and 7 games in the series, the team set out to break those existing rules and create a new experience. Lead Level Designer Rob Davis will talk through the process of creating 6 new level design rules for 'God of War' and discuss best practices for taking levels from concept to completion.

Takeaway

Attendees will learn development techniques to execute each phase of level development: concept, paper design, layout, alpha and final. Attendees will also learn best practices for creating navigation metrics, puzzle flow, quests and exploration layouts. Attendees will learn techniques for rethinking design rules within an established franchise.

Intended Audience

This talk is primarily for designers and developers interested in level design, pacing, puzzles and exploration flow.