The level I made to work on Dishonored 2 at Arkane Studios

A 27min breakdown of what I sent to Arkane to be a level designer on Dishonored 2!

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This video is a deep dive on the Half Life 2 level I made as part of the level design test to work on Dishonored 2 at Arkane Studios, back in 2013.

It's part of my Talking About Level Design video series, which I've collected into this playlist:    • Talking About Level Design  

00:00 - Intro
00:21 - What this video is and isn't
01:51 - The brief, and how I approached it
04:35 - What do I want my level to show?
07:55 - Things I considered unimportant
09:20 - 1. Pointing the player at the intro scene
10:09 - 2. Leaving control in the players' hands
10:32 - 3. Ladders aren't for everyone
10:55 - 4. Starting the player without a weapon
11:39 - 5. Teasing the Gravity Gun
11:59 - 6. A condensed and self-explanatory layout
13:01 - 7. Showing the door before the key
14:00 - 8. The crowbar as the key to the building
14:49 - 9. Stealth without Stealth
15:08 - 10. Gravity Gun enabling systemic gameplay
15:57 - 11. Enemies with their backs turned
16:19 - 12. Ally NPC = more systemic gameplay
17:10 - 13. Civilian as a tutorial for Alyx
17:25 - 14. Overhearing NPC conversations
18:09 - 15. A little non-linear detail
18:57 - 16. A little problem - key before the door
20:24 - 17. Don't worry, be honest, take feedback
21:07 - 18. Improvising a solution to the turret
21:38 - 19. A short fight to Alyx
22:22 - 20. Helping the player finish the level
22:49 - 21. Escaping under the bridge with Alyx
23:29 - 22. Animation glitches = not important
23:57 - 23. Supporting a second route to the exit
25:05 - 24. Benefits of an economic, circular layout
26:44 - Final takeaways

#leveldesign #dishonored #halflife2