Preamble

This level dissection takes apart the first half of the fifth level of Avatar: Into the Inferno in order to discuss my approach to creating entertaining levels.

I regularly read about other designer's approaches and learn from them. The "The Chemistry Of Game Design" article from gamasutra.com (written by Danc of lostgarden.com fame) has been with me for years and has been a highly influential approach that informs much of what I do. In this article I learnt about the skill atom. Broadly, a skill atom is an encapsulation of the experience of learning a discrete function in a game that you perceive as being useful to your advancement through the game. More precisely, the skill atom feedback loop is composed of four main elements (from the article):

• Action:The player performs an action. For a skill atom encounter by a new player, the action might involve pressing a button. More advanced atoms might instead require the player execute a batched set of actions such as navigating a complex maze.
• Simulation: Based off the action, an ongoing simulation is updated. A door might open.
• Feedback:The game provides some form of feedback to the player to let them know how the simulation has changed state. This feedback can be auditory, visual, or tactile. It can be visceral in the form of an exploding corpse or it can be symbolic in the form of a block of text.
• Modeling: As the final step, the player absorbs the feedback and updates their mental models on the success of their action. If they feel that they have made progress, they feel pleasure. If they master a new skill or other tool, they experience an even greater burst of joy. If they feel that their action has been in vain, they feel boredom or frustration.

The dissection images show where players are learning and praciticing skills atoms. Originally I thought I'd dissect the level to show that I know how to design a fun level, however after dissecting the level I realised just how much the 'skill atom' informs my approach. This is one of my favourite levels and it is obvious to me now that this is largely because it is well paced with a continual drip feeding of skill atoms and no skill atom is repeated (except maybe combat). And hopefully, it also shows that I know how to design a fun level...

But first, watch a playthrough of the level section in disucssion - the first half of the fifth level in Avatar: Into the Inferno.