Introduction:

What makes a good level for a multiplayer game? It's quite easy to answer that, but hard to elaborate with specifics. A good level has longevity. It looks and sounds good. It makes sense and has consistency. The inventory is balanced. It doesn't encourage unbalanced gameplay. It has z-axis. Above all, a good level "flows". What is flow though? Is it simply the geometry of a level? Connectivity? Size? What makes a map fun to play? If level design is as much an "art" as a "science", how can a level be judged "good" without subjective values intruding? Is that actually a problem? How can aesthetic value or gameplay be judged, when there is no objective measure?

I believe the qualities of a good level can be distilled into distinct elements (rather than concretely defined, as a whole), which can then form the basis of a syntax for successful construction with aesthetic quality and playability in mind. The first, and most general, levels of this syntax are player behaviour and level structure. Of course, syntax is inherently limiting, and level design involves much more than a syntactical "lego" or "place meshes by numbers" approach. So while this will be somewhat formalistic, I will avoid limiting it with specifics wherever possible, so that it it can serve as a general foundation rather than a rule book.

The relationship between structure and behaviour is a complex one that reaches far beyond discrete elements of design. Possible behaviours are defined in advance by the nature and rules of the game, and this must inform your design process. However, your eventual design will also modify or limit possible behaviour.

In considering this, I will begin by looking into general player behaviour in multiplayer games, then gradually move into relevant aspects of level structure, finishing with architecture and aesthetics. While level structure does influence player behaviour, it does not wholly determine it. I consider physical structure as the solid form that contains the game, and dynamic aspects as a conceptual form; a fluid that moves within the vessel.

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