EdX

Shooters and Game Engines in Level Design (edX)

Offered by LaSalle College, LaSalleX,
Shooters and Game Engines in Level Design (edX)

Shooter games have been and continue to be the dominant genre in video games. Learn about this important genre in game design. Do you want to learn more about game genres and subgenres? This course continues your exploration of level design by introducing you to an important genre: the shooter. The shooter genre is huge in the game world, containing a wide variety of subgenres with their own gameplay needs.

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This course outlines some of these subgenres and identifies common shooter mechanics, level design considerations, and examples to help you understand how these concepts are applied. This course also provides you with the development tools that video game level designers use to build their levels.
No matter what genre of game you are designing for, the process of creating a level is similar. It requires planning, forethought, and constant testing and iteration. To ensure you’re on the right track, we finish off by reviewing all the key concepts you have learned throughout the three courses for the Level Design Professional Certificate, including the principles and terminology of good level design, specific considerations for certain genres, and the level design process.
This course is part of the Introduction to Level Design XSeries.

What you'll learn

  • What we mean by shooter games and the common shooter mechanics, elements, and level design considerations
  • The level design concepts and tools commonly found in single-player shooters and their specific level design considerations, such as level progression and pacing
  • How to evaluate whether a given shooter map is well designed
  • The function of a game engine and how level designers work with them

Syllabus

Module 1: Introduction to shooters

  • Ranged combat mechanics
  • Ranged combat level design
  • Level analysis

Module 2: Single player shooters

  • What are single-player shooters?
  • Progression
  • Sample levels

Module 3: Roundup and game engines

  • Game engines and level design
  • Core concepts review
  • Level design by genre
Go to Class
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