The Iterative Level Design Process for BioWare’s MASS EFFECT 2 Game Developer Conference 2009 Corey Andruko – Project Manager, Mass Effect 2 Dusty Everman – Lead Level Designer, Mass Effect 2

MASS EFFECT2: Level Design Do only the work that answers the right questions in the right order

Agenda I.Level Design on MASS EFFECT (ME) Review process, assess problems, identify source II.Theory – MASS EFFECT 2 Level Design Examine the phases & the questions they answer III.Application – How is it going? How are we implementing it (Agile, Lean) What’s working well (and what’s not) IV.Conclusion V.Q&A

ME2 Level Design ME2 Iterative Design Process Evolution from lessons learned during ME1

ME1: Level Creation Teams Writers plots, characters, dialog, journals Level Artists layout, modeling, texturing, lighting Cinematic Animators animator cutscenes Cinematic Designers cinematic dialogs, designer cutscenes Technical Designers scripting, integration of level content

ME1: Level Creation Plots (Writer) 2D Map (Writer/ Level Artist) Block Level (Level Artist) Level Art (Level Artist) Combats, Plots (Tech Design) Performance Optimized (Everyone) Dialogs (Writers/ Cine Design) Cutscenes (Cine Anim)

ME1: Level Creation Problems “Silo Mentality”: Focus on disciplines, not levels Assumes pieces will just fit together Deliverables not always judged in game Iterations within one silo have hidden costs in other silos Narrative changes affect geometry Geometry changes affect scripting Scripting changes affect cinematics Etc. A rippling “rework” effect occurs.

ME1: Level Creation Problems Impact of Silo Mentality Costly and unplanned iterations Cross department communication isn’t encouraged Intractable performance issues Levels rarely playable o Difficult to evaluate new game mechanics or creatures o QA testing hindered o Late review of content Cut content (e.g. Caleston)

ME2: The Phased Level Creation Approach Purpose: Get answers to critical questions early, and only do the work that is required to get those answers Basic Premise: o Always playable o Always a foundation o Always at performance

ME2: Level Creation Phases Phase 0: Narrative Overview Phase 1: Narrative Playable Phase 2: White Box Phase 3: Orange Box Phase 4: Hardening Phase 5: Finaling

ME2: Level Creation Phases Phase 0: Narrative Overview What is the story? Deliverable: Documentation o Narrative o Characters o 2-D Layout o Art Themes o Cutscene Descriptions

ME2: Level Creation Phases Phase 1: Narrative Playable Is the pacing and spacing good? Deliverable: First Playable o Box Level Geometry o Concept Art o Placeholder Set Pieces o “Box Level” Dialogs o Pop-up Cutscenes o Prototyped Level Mechanics “Level Blasting Site”

ME2: Level Creation Phases Phase 2: White Box Can you see the fun? Deliverable: Representative Collision o Box Level Geometry -> First Pass Static Mesh o First Pass Dialog o Bronze Combats, (basic cover placement) o Animatic Cutscenes o Placeholder Music

ME2: Level Creation Phases Phase 3: Orange Box Is it fun? Deliverable: Actual Collision o Untextured Static Mesh o Dialog Ready for VO o Dialogs Cinematically Blocked Out o Silver Combats (full cover placement) o Basic MoCap Cutscenes

ME2: Level Creation Phases Phase 4: Hardening Could this be shipped? Deliverable: “Finished” Level o Textured and Lit Level Art o VO’d Dialog o Cinematic Dialog o Gold Combats (fully scripted) o Smooth Motion Cutscenes o Actual Music and Audio

ME2: Level Creation Phases Phase 5: Finaling Can you feel the awesome? Deliverable: Final Level o Everything tweaked, balanced, and polished.

ME2: Level Creation Phases Example Videos Combat

ME2: Level Creation Phases Example Videos Dialog and Cutscenes

ME2 Level Creation: Our Production Process What we borrow from Lean Manufacturing Focus on the elimination of waste o Muda: “waste” from non-value added work Only do the work we are willing to iterate upon o Muri: “overburden” Time boxes & load balancing o Mura: “variation” Established deliverables at each phase

ME2 Level Creation: Our Production Process What we borrow from Lean (cont’d) Kaizen (wisdom through learning) o Continuous improvement plan Level Reviews … at each phase (can “raise the bar”) Peer Reviews … 1 time events Level Design “Mindshare” meetings … weekly

ME2 Level Creation: Our Production Process Agile & Scrum - Terminology Backlog: o List of prioritized functionality you want added to your game Sprint: o Fixed period of time in which a team’s goals do not change Sprint Review: o Formal review of a team’s Sprint goals Time Box: o Time value for how much you are willing to invest in a specific amount of content

ME2 Level Creation: Our Production Process Agile & Scrum ME2 Project overall uses Scrum o Sprint planning initially worked well for Level Design Established Time Boxes, called out technical complexity o Level Design has shifted away from Scrum Retained principles - playable levels, communication We don’t always live in the ideal world o Hitting Time Boxes over completing specific levels

ME2 Level Creation: Our Production Process Agile & Scrum (cont’d) Team Size & Composition o “Dogpiles” o Stick to the core Product Owner & Reviews o At-desk previews o Creative signoff o Are the next steps clear?

What Works Pairing Level Art & Level Design Co-locating Teams Time-boxing Going deep with some levels ME2 Level Creation: Our Production Process

What Works (cont’d) Proving out content and systems in-game Evaluating levels in sections (as necessary) Being agile with your Agile process Stopping to assess the big picture ME2 Level Creation: Our Production Process

What Doesn’t Work (Pitfalls) Missing a step can hurt (e.g. Concept Art, Writing) “Special Snowflakes” - every level wants to be one Level teams getting too big Creatures need to be “representative” early

ME2 Level Creation: Conclusion Reflection Would this have worked on ME1? o YES … the “questions” may have been different o Caleston would have been reviewed earlier o Less integration work (Level Art & Level Design) o Caught performance issues earlier Hitching or long load elevators on the Citadel

ME2 Level Creation: Conclusion Do only the work that answers the right questions in the right order

Questions? Corey Andruko – Dusty Everman –