How I design levels in text first, and why (HL2 level Part 1)

Nope, I don't start with reference photos or sketches... I think and write! Support the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stevelee_gamedev Join our discord server: https://discord.gg/geFkdZW5vp Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stevelee.bsky.social Part 1: Designing the level in text first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FSssDWEFLc Part 2: Starting to build the skateboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuCMeH7a_Es Part 3: Blocking out the final act: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SSBNNaBSrA 00:00 - Why I don't start with reference images or sketching layouts 01:16 - Overview of the final result 02:08 - Starting with Goals 03:38 - Listing the elements we have to work with 05:18 - Starting the level Sequence 07:17 - Keeping track of Questions 07:42 - Drawing ideas from the list of Elements 09:25 - Gameplay Beats 11:17 - Recovering Gordon's Suit 12:44 - The importance of Sequence (door before the key) 16:18 - Improving things after the first draft 17:46 - Reading out the "finished" plan 21:52 - Next time, watch me start making the level This video is part of my Talking About Level Design video series, which I've collected into this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbBhMQ8qnVWPV2XqMt3m57zQKXp-V2jS9 #leveldesign #halflife2 #process