A terrific disquisition on the art of creating compelling levels in single-player video games. Even for a confirmed non-gamer like myself, the author’s thoughtful analysis is a fascinating breakdown of what goes into this particular brand of user experience. Not all of these concepts are applicable to every design problem, but every designer can learn a little something about how to think about users from these principles, I think.

“‘Pacing’ is a word bandied around a lot when talking about level design, but it is actually a very complex concept to pin down. Just how does the pace affect the player’s perception of the level and what is it that sets a well paced level apart from a poorly paced one?

“With these questions ringing in my ears I was determined to try and delve a little deeper into just what constitutes level pacing, but I found very little literature on the subject. Instead I decided to focus my efforts on breaking down the core elements of what determines pace itself. In doing so I identified several key aspects of game pace: movement impetus: the will of the player to move through the level; threat: the notion of danger; tension: the atmosphere and mood of the level or perceived danger which is reflected in the player; tempo: the level of actual action currently being experienced by the player.”

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