level-design · diff
git:20260912.a22b95e to git:20260913.96ad920
18 added, 19 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: level-design
- description: Space before art. Teach-test-twist beats, soft vs hard vs elective gates, readable density. Use for rooms, overworld pockets, dungeons, hubs. Ask the space column first.
+ description: Use when rooms, hubs, overworld pockets, dungeons, or set pieces lack readable spatial choices, pacing, gating, landmarks, or measurable traversal structure before art polish.
---
- # Level design
+ # Level Design
- Ask the column:
+ This skill owns **spatial structure, pacing, gating, and navigation intent**. `level-blockout` owns greybox implementation; `level-teach` owns spatial teaching beats; `world-map` owns map UI.
- | Column | Player chooses |
+ ## Modes
+
+ | Mode | Spatial emphasis |
|---|---|
- | open-air | over or around, destination from the eye |
- | room-gate | which door after a new verb |
- | hub-spoke | which spoke from a safe hub |
- | linear-setpiece | only pacing inside one corridor |
+ | open-air | multiple routes, long sightlines, landmark navigation |
+ | room-gate | room sequence and authored gates |
+ | hub-spoke | safe hub with selectable spokes and returns |
+ | linear-setpiece | controlled pacing along a constrained route |
- ## Rules
+ ## Spatial contract
- 1. Space before set dressing.
- 2. One beat: see the tool, use it safe, use it under pressure, rest where the next target is visible.
- 3. Gates: soft (space/resource), hard (key/verb), elective wall (harder than the story path, skippable).
- 4. Density: about one readable decision every 30 seconds of travel. Adjust as data, not law.
- 5. Invisible walls are a last resort. If the player cannot go there yet, the space must look like it.
- 6. Pair with world-map for overworld and puzzle-design for rooms that exam verbs.
+ Write project metrics before decoration: traversal speeds, jump/climb reach, corridor/door widths, encounter footprint, camera clearance, sightline targets, checkpoint spacing, and any accessibility constraints that materially shape space.
- ## Accept
+ Gates are explicit data: soft/resource, hard/key-or-ability, optional challenge, narrative/state, or project-specific variants. A gate should communicate why traversal is blocked through space, feedback, UI, or narrative according to the chosen presentation; invisible blockers are allowed only when the project deliberately uses them and validation supports the choice.
- - Without the map UI, the player can pick the next spatial target
- - A rest point shows at least one next silhouette
- - An elective wall is labeled by space or enemy rank, not by a quest warning
+ Decision density, rest spacing and landmark frequency are measured from the intended experience. Do not turn a heuristic such as “one decision every N seconds” into a universal law.
+
+ ## Acceptance
+
+ Run representative routes without final art. Record path choice points, traversal time, gate reasons, dead ends, sightlines and recovery routes. Verify metrics against `locomotion`/`platform-jump` and observe players through `gameplay-validation`. A pretty screenshot or map overlay alone is not level-design evidence.