How important is level design, strictly in terms of gameplay?

How important is level design, strictly in terms of gameplay?

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Everything is built around the level design.

just don't fuck it up as bad as doom ii and you'll be fine

Depends entirely on the game.
Compare Mario 64 to Tetris.

Some games I would say rely on proper level and encounter design to create fun experiences while for others good level design is conducive to a fun experience, but in these games its more reliant on game mechanics for the fun.

The full use of gameplay elements rely on having enough situations and context to use them.
This involves music and graphics to make it sensitively attractive, good level design allows enemies and the player to show off all of their moves properly, etc.

For all the praise FEAR gets there's nothing much to do with Replica soldiers except shooting them.

Super Mario Oddysey's level design was made to let players play as the dumbest of the retards or as Pannenkoek.

Depends on the type of game. For something like Doom it was obviously extremely important.

Everything is built around core gameplay mechanics.

I liked Doom 2. I didn't think key hunting and traps were too bad. But I still think I prefer the first one.

Good level design is why Mario 64 beats Tetris any day. Tetris level design is literally a fucking box.

>Everything is built around core gameplay mechanics
No in Doom, no. The game didn't allow for looking up and down despite the levels having areas that were clearly above and below you. They had to create the autoaim mechanic to deal with this.

Don't mind me. Just the best combination of gameplay and level design of all time.

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The great thing about Doom is the best maps balance the enemy mechanics and map design in a way where they work together to create the challenge. Slaughter has it's own challenges with sheer numbers and naturally difficult enemies but look at E4M1 and 2 for an idea of this.

1 has better level design and better gunplay.

No game has EVER had better weapons than Turok 2.

People who hate on Doom II forget that in Ultimate Doom
>You only get the BFG in Episode 3 / 20 levels in
>First episode is all corridors of zombies and imps, don't get cooler enemies and levels till much later
>Killing rooms of pinkies with the regular shotgun is a fucking chore
Doom II levels are an acquired taste. The maps are unconventional and gimmicky, but its made up for by large areas with lots of enemies, earlier access to good weapons, more interesting common enemies that actually feel dangerous without getting TNT tier annoying.

I didn't say that, I said 1 has better gunplay. You know, running around shooting things, how effective the guns are, etc. 2's guns are cool, if a bit gimmicky in many cases, but the simple act of shooting things isn't as impactful as there are generally less enemies, enemies have more health and sometimes armor that straight up blocks damage, and the player runs much slower in larger levels.

Ahem.

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In all seriousness, is there a single better shotgun than DOOM II's SSG?

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Immensely

Duke has better guns than Blood.

Not really, no. There are some that come close, like Blood's, Ion Maiden's, Q2's SSG, and a few others but none ever had the combination of usefulness, power, sound design, and aesthetic that the Doom SSG had.

Blood has:
>One of the best shotguns in FPS
>Dynamite, the most fun weapon in an FPS
>A skull on a stick that shoots out fire
>A voodoo doll that gives you infinite range
>Tesla cannon

Attached: Blood dynamite.webm (960x540, 2.69M)

>>One of the best shotguns in FPS
>>Dynamite, the most fun weapon in an FPS
>>Tesla cannon
Granted but Duke's shotgun is just as good in a different way: range. Blood's is practically a melee weapon while Duke's is basically a sniper rifle. Pipe Bombs are also very good but the Dynamite is a clear upgrade.
>Life Leech
>Voodoo Doll
Got nothing on the Shrinker/Expander and Devastator.

I never liked it that much

Why? The only legitimate criticism I can see is that it's flat out overpowered and invalidates almost the entire arsenal.

I don't find it satisfying at all. You click the mouse/key, hear a "bruk" sound, anything within 3 feet of you dies, and then you watch that janky-ass 3 frame reload animation.
But evidently I'm an anomaly since I also find the HL2 shotgun to be horrifically unsatisfying as well, despite everyone else seeming to love it.

>Making pinkies eat a double barrel one at a time
>Smooth and chunky half second reload to delete them
It feels GREAT
I can't go back to Doom 1 for this reason, being one of them anyways

What shotguns do you like?

Attached: FEAR shotgun.webm (1244x700, 2.87M)

HL1
Blood
Doom (regular)
Duke 3D

Attached: Blood Shotgun.webm (640x480, 2.96M)

>tfw I'm 3 episodes into Blood and I still can't correctly time dynamite and just throw it regularly

>Everything is built around core gameplay mechanics.
The core gameplay mechanics and the level design have to match. Fast movement and smaller levels make the game feel tiny and cramped, for example.