A game level design document (LDD) is used to help with the planning and design of a video game level. Level design is a foundational part of building a video game and involves a lot of collaboration between teams, in particular when working on large projects. LDDs are used to plan everything from a level’s structural layout to its interactive gameplay elements to its narrative and artistic elements. LDDs are used by the AAA industry, indie game studios, solo game designers, and even hobbyist creators. Read the guide below to learn more about what game level design documents are and what they include.
What is the definition of a game level design document?
A game level design document (LDD) is a document created to plan and direct the design of video game levels. The sections created in a level design document aren’t only used by developers, but by artists, designers, and other members of a project’s team throughout a video game’s life cycle. LDDs are designed to be comprehensive technical guides and blueprints. They’re living documents, evolving and expanding as needed over the course of the project.
Game level design documents are designed to address the full spectrum of level design requirements in comprehensive detail. Aspects of level construction included in LDDs include spatial and structural layouts, obstacles and challenges players encounter, and narrative and environmental storytelling specifics. Gameplay details are recorded in the level’s design, along with the ways players progress, such as gaining new abilities or items and completing game objectives at points during the level.
Game level design documents are living documents that evolve during a project’s life cycle, such as wireframes being transformed into high-fidelity mock-ups. Sections and details refined within an LDD vary depending on the game, such as a narrative-driven game containing in-depth storylines and scripts for the level, or a visual novel containing flow charts of player decisions at narrative junctures.
What is an example of a game level design document?
An example of a game level design document is downloadable below.
Level Design Document Template
Game level design documents include sections for planning a level’s physical layout, the flow of gameplay, level mechanics, and environmental storytelling. The project overview section contextualizes the level’s design. Level objectives specify goals players reach to advance through the level and steps to achieve them. Sections detailing enemies and characters are common in level design documents. Art and sound direction documents outline requirements for a level’s graphics, animations, and audio design. A level’s physical layout includes both the design and spatial arrangement of structures and environments, and the flow of players’ progression through the level. Level stages are tracked using documents like level stage layout diagrams. Narrative details fit the level’s story within the game. The gameplay section explains level-specific mechanics and interactions.
A project overview section contextualizes the level’s design, identifying key reference information like the name of the level, the game’s title, and the area’s layout, such as a Hub, Linear, or a Sandbox-style level. Design goals within the overview identify the outcomes for the level, such as the objectives achieved, parts of the narrative revealed to the player, new abilities mastered, and other summarizing information.
Level objectives within a level design document specify the goals that players must achieve to advance through the level and steps needed to achieve them. Completion requirements include solution items to overcome an obstacle, mandatory minimum character levels to enter a dungeon, or lists of player steps, such as interactions to find and assemble puzzle components. Supporting documents provide the necessary context and detail for level objectives and solutions, such as wireframes, level maps with locations marked, and descriptions of solution items. Including both primary and secondary objectives makes the gameplay more engaging and replayable, as players discover additional secrets and unlock achievements as rewards for exploration. Fable: The Lost Chapters’ optional quest to investigate the mayor is missable if the player fails to explore and chat with nearby NPCs.
Sections describing enemies and characters are common in level design documents. Crucial enemy details include different types or classes of enemies, abilities, damage dealt, defenses, weaknesses, and other level-specific characteristics. NPCs (non-player characters) help any level feel more fleshed-out and lived-in. Game LDDs detail the role NPCs play in relation to the player (guide, friend, etc.) along with their abilities, occupations, and backstories. Significant interactions between enemies, NPCs, and playable characters are relevant to note about a level. New playable characters being introduced or changes being made to existing ones are important to mention, too.
Art and sound direction documents detail the requirements for a video game’s level’s graphics, animation, and audio design within an LDD. Style guidelines such as line work and the palette are included. Guidelines for the level’s mood, tone, atmosphere, and themes provide direction for the level’s environmental storytelling elements. The original Super Mario Bros.’ levels reflect different tones through the area aesthetics and music. Castle levels feature dungeon-like dark walls, fiery obstacles, and frantic music to add a sense of high stakes. The outdoor levels feature cheerful, bright music and art. Underground levels have ominous music and a shadowy aesthetic that give the impression of enemies creeping up on the player. Art and sound direction documents benefit from including a checklist to track the status of a level’s art and sound assets.
The level’s physical layout includes the design and spatial arrangements of structures players navigate within a level. Blueprints and wireframes plan out the structural design, while level layout documents map out the traversable spaces, obstacles, and gameplay stages. Designers mark players’ progression flow through the level using lines that trace the paths traversed to reach the end.
Narrative sections detail the level’s story. Context refers to where the story fits within the game, while the setting is where the story takes place. Super Mario Bros.’ castle levels fit within the context of the journey to rescue Princess Peach (it makes sense to find a princess in an extravagant castle). Mario’s journey always leads to the next castle; if there’s no princess to be found, the mission continues through new terrain. Narrative themes describe concepts and messages that persist throughout the story. The Secret of Monkey Island has a pirate theme reinforced throughout each level, whether the protagonist is hunting for treasure, assembling a crew, or sailing to a deserted island. Narrative details include the level’s tone and points of interest, like the emotional significance of first reentering the once-destroyed hometown of Fable’s hero.
Level stages are tracked through a level stage layout diagram in a level design document. Designers are able to map out stages as sequential or location-based events, as in the image below. Completed challenges such as cracking a safe combination, scripted level events like an earthquake, and discoveries such as finding the villain’s lair are all events able to lead to new level stages. New level stages include unlocked areas or interactions, additional abilities, or new narrative revelations that further gameplay progression. Pulling the first lever in Dishonored 2’s Clockwork Mansion level transforms the museum into a large, explorable mansion, creating a new level stage for the upcoming search and rescue mission.
The gameplay section explains level-specific mechanics and interactions, including the core mechanics the player has access to and whether they’re able to be altered. Changes and new or unique mechanics are detailed under the gameplay section. Interactions within the level, such as environmental hazards, object reactions, and encounters with significant characters who assign players tasks, are detailed under the gameplay section. Contextual information, such as the core gameplay loop, is included if necessary to provide the full level design context.
Level design document sections depend on the game being designed. A point-and-click adventure game benefits from lists of steps to solve puzzles, graphs showing object dependencies, and wireframes to mark item locations and environment changes. A 2D platformer with simple obstacles and secret areas benefits from simple progression flow lines to show players’ movements back and forth within a level. Add the sections that make sense to your game’s own design when constructing an LDD, rather than trying to force in sections for the sake of following a template. Remember, an LDD is a living document, so refine and expand its design as needed.
