An Interview with our Level Design Department

awesome! Thanks for taking the time and for all the great work!

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Bex_GGG wrote:

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IchiMorghulis wrote:

Thanks Bex, interesting read, could you do one with the arts team?

I can look into it. Are there any specific topics or job roles you'd be interested in hearing about?

I'd be very interested in this as well. Specifically the concept artists. I had emailed you guys before about wanting to know more about the general process from concept to something that's actually in-game. It'd be amazing if you guys could show us some first sketches and let us follow its process to the finished product! :D

Love you GGG <3

EDIT: Furthermore I +1 the snow/mountain idea and a snow themed hideout. There should also be lots of new decoration tiles for us now that the lab is out, which would be cool to use in our hideouts. :o
I'd really love to create a really cold snowy hideout.... now that we have the snow decoration and snow crystals.. All we need is actual snow-floor and snow themed trees.

They seem really happy with themselves..

Shame the majority of the community hated the lab.. maybe think a little before saying you're going to add more of those elements to the game so many seemed to dislike.

Maybe these guys could go back and fix some of the previous SHIT level designs.

Like how in docks there is something blocking you every 2 pixels.
Or how in dungeon/sewer/spider lair/etc levels you spend more time backtracking than actually playing the map.
Or how in big wide open maps you cant tell which parts you have explored, because the map is just a giant fucking empty nothing.

Diablo 3 knows level design. The map is easy to read, and they don't obstruct you with random impassable obstacles all over the bloody place.

Having doodads and entities that give the map character and story are important! Just do it in a way that doesn't impede play.... please.

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NeroNoah wrote:

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joachimbond wrote:

I want to know which one of these knobs is responsible for the Lab, so I can fantasize about his punishment in hell.

Edit to add: specifically, I want to know who it was who said, "I know! Let's put platformer-style mechanics into this game! Everyone loves platformers, right?". He gets to be my happy wheels avatar.

It's people like you the reason GGG will put more traps in the game.

You really think so? I hope that's not true, because i'm in the income bracket and lifestyle that can afford to put money into the game. And my opinion, though extreme as I expressed it here, is generally shared among people who used to play this game.

Some high level maps like overgrown ruin have really low number of mobs. Even with double pack size it feels really unrewarding running them.
I would mention the t3 drops from t12+ maps too but that is not their department...

I have a question.

Is it technically possible to connect each areas seamlessly thus making it to load the data gradually?

Currently PoE lacks the continuity of areas, which old titles had.

To enter each area, the area loading is mandatory and which make me feel sometimes as if playing the game would be a task, and interfere with the feeling of submerging into the game.

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harddaysnight wrote:

More interactive content? I assume that means things like traps. Fuck that. GGG needs to decide what genre of game they are making and stick with it. Traps suck badly and should be eliminated from the game, or at least seriously toned down.

Or they should be optional,like a roll on maps "area has traps" or something.
For a game that lags so bad having permanent traps in areas in parties with all the effects and stuff is too much.
I agree that this genre mix is annoying.
Fix the damn lags,it will be like a new game then.

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TrichocereusSP wrote:

I have a question.

Is it technically possible to connect each areas seamlessly thus making it to load the data gradually?

Currently PoE lacks the continuity of areas, which old titles had.

To enter each area, the area loading is mandatory and which make me feel sometimes as if playing the game would be a task, and interfere with the feeling of submerging into the game.

In that case you would have a great loading time at game start,because all the areas and random stuff in it would have to be loaded. If you are fine while drinking a coffee and waiting 1 hour at game launch...
The problem imo is that stuff like boxes are not preloaded and you lag and die while they load when you open them.
This and the fact that ground effects is like turning on x16 AA for our gpu.

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joachimbond wrote:

You really think so? I hope that's not true, because i'm in the income bracket and lifestyle that can afford to put money into the game. And my opinion, though extreme as I expressed it here, is generally shared among people who used to play this game.

Money can't buy class.

I'd rather make the game that I want to do than whore myself for people that think money buys influence, even if that makes me less money.