Level design was structured in two parts - one regarding the design of the tutorial level and one related to designing the more "advanced" levels (Mall, Hospital) in the game. One of the main ideas we had when designing the levels, was that, being a Flash game targeted at people with a couple of minutes to spare, each level should be available from the outset. Furthermore, each should follow, more or less, the same level of difficulty.
Tutorial (Cemetery)
When designing the tutorial level, we wanted to communicate the controls in the most elegant and intuitive way possible. Preferably, we didn't want the player to go through many screens of info prior to the game, explaining the controls in detail. Instead we wanted to communicate the controls while playing, learning on the fly, which is why we came up with the idea of having visual cues integrated in the tutorial level aesthetics, giving away the controls for the corresponding mechanic. In that way, we didn't require the player to memorize the whole control scheme, instead becoming familiar with it by having mechanics introduced one at a time. In practice this means that the player will get a sense of progression when playing the tutorial, learning one mechanic at a time, yet building upon the already learned ones - thus enhancing the familiarization of both controls and available mechanics.
Another central problem while designing the tutorial was how to balance the learning curve. Striking the perfect balance between easy, yet engaging and interesting challenges took some getting used to, which is why we used paper mock-ups as a prototyping tool for creating levels before going into digital production (See the Prototyping section).
Mall
For the Mall level we took a different approach when designing. Having experienced the difficulty of balancing the tutorial level, we decided taking a more systematized approach. That is why we created the Mall-level as a fully working analogue version prior to implementation - roughly detailing the different elements to be found.
The Mall level was intended, gameplay-wise, as a more open level with space for toying around with the eye mechanic. Three main puzzles were implemented: the escalator, chandelier and hole puzzle - respectively found at the beginning, the middle and the end of the level. The three puzzles provided useful as fix-points from which to elaborate, determining where the level needed more "designed experiences" or space for simple play.
Gry takes her crayons very seriously, as the mall level begins to take shape:
Screenshots from the Mall level
Hospital
With the Hospital level we pretty much reused the Mall-method, designing an closely resembling analogue version before implementation. The analogue version this time was, down to minor details, an exact copy of how it were going to look in the digital version, complete with correct distances and ratios. This decision eased the process when going from analogue to digital version even more.
Being a hospital we wanted the level to feel more claustrophobic, as a contrast to the openness found in the previous level. Doors and buttons entered the picture, providing means of parting the Hospital into rooms, hindering the player from progressing without solving the puzzle. As a result, the Hospital spots five main puzzles: The security console, hallway, operating table, hallway2 and mortuary puzzle. The Hospital level was the most popular during the playtesting session. (Elaborated in Playtesting)
The first digital draft of the hospital level is created:
