Level/Encounter Blueprint Planner

Branching

A → B → {C or D} → E → {F or G} → H

Player chooses between paths at decision points.

• Strengths: Player agency, replay variety, strategic route planning
• Weaknesses: Balance across paths, content some players never see
• Best for: Roguelikes, heist missions, story-choice games
• Examples: Slay the Spire map, Betrayal at House on the Hill exploration

Hub-and-Spoke

    ┌→ B ─┐
A → HUB ─┼→ C ─┼→ HUB → FINALE
    └→ D ─┘

Central area with radiating paths the player can tackle in any order.

• Strengths: Player freedom, natural pacing (self-directed), clear orientation
• Weaknesses: Hub can feel repetitive, difficulty in non-linear areas varies
• Best for: Exploration games, RPG towns, Metroidvanias
• Examples: Zelda dungeons, Hades hub, Clue mansion

Open/Sandbox

┌─────────────┐
│ A  B  C  D  │
│ E  F  G  H  │
│ I  J  K  L  │
└─────────────┘

Player can go anywhere, encounter anything.

• Strengths: Maximum freedom, emergent discovery, high replayability
• Weaknesses: Hard to pace, disorientation risk, difficulty to balance encounters
• Best for: Open worlds, sandbox games, exploration-first designs
• Examples: Breath of the Wild, Minecraft, sandbox tabletop RPG sessions

Gated

A → B → [GATE: requires key] → C → D → [GATE: requires boss kill] → E

Linear or open with progression gates that require specific conditions.

• Strengths: Controlled progression, mastery verification, dramatic pacing
• Weaknesses: Can feel artificial, backtracking frustration, key-hunt tedium
• Best for: Metroidvanias, campaign games, tiered content
• Examples: Metroid, Gloomhaven scenario unlocks, tech-tree-gated content

Core Deliverables

1. Pacing Curve

The tension/release pattern across a level or session:

INTENSITY
    5 │                    ╱╲
    4 │              ╱╲   ╱  ╲    ╱╲
    3 │         ╱╲  ╱  ╲ ╱    ╲  ╱  ╲
    2 │    ╱╲  ╱  ╲╱    ╳      ╲╱    ╲
    1 │╱╲ ╱  ╲╱                        ╲
    0 └──────────────────────────────────
      START                          END

      ↑intro  ↑build  ↑peak  ↑climax  ↑resolution

Pacing principles:

• Rising baseline — Each peak should be slightly higher than the last
• Valleys matter — Rest moments after peaks let the player process and anticipate
• The final peak should be the highest — Don't put the best encounter in the middle
• Variety in peaks — Not every peak should be the same type (combat, puzzle, narrative)
• Opening hook — Start with a small peak to establish tone, not a slow tutorial

Pacing template per encounter:

ENCOUNTER #    TYPE          INTENSITY   DURATION    PURPOSE
──────────────  ──────────── ──────────  ──────────  ──────────────────
1              [type]        [1-5]       [minutes]   [Why is this here?]
2              [type]        [1-5]       [minutes]   [Why is this here?]
...

2. Encounter Composition Templates

Define the building blocks of encounters:

ENCOUNTER TYPE:    [Name — e.g., "Ambush", "Puzzle Gate", "Resource Trove"]
CHALLENGE TYPE:    [Combat / Puzzle / Social / Exploration / Survival / Hybrid]
DIFFICULTY:        [1-5 scale relative to player's expected capability]
DURATION:          [Expected time to complete]
RESOURCE PRESSURE: [What resources does this encounter cost the player?]
REWARD:            [What does the player gain?]
PLAYER COUNT:      [Solo / Small group / Full party / Scalable]
FAILURE STATE:     [What happens if the player fails? Retry? Consequence? Bypass?]
PILLAR SERVED:     [Which design pillars does this encounter deliver?]

Encounter variety checklist:

• Challenge types vary (not all combat, not all puzzles)
• Resource pressure varies (some encounters drain, some replenish)
• Decision density varies (some encounters are action-heavy, some are decision-heavy)
• Optional encounters exist (for exploration-motivated players)
• At least one encounter per level showcases a unique or memorable moment

3. Difficulty Ramping Plan

How challenge escalates across the full game:

SEGMENT          DIFFICULTY    NEW ELEMENTS INTRODUCED    PLAYER CAPABILITY
──────────────── ──────────── ──────────────────────────  ──────────────────
Tutorial         1/5          Core mechanics only          Baseline
Early game       2/5          First system combinations    Learning
Mid game         3/5          Full system depth            Competent
Late game        4/5          Mastery-required encounters  Skilled
Endgame/Bonus    5/5          Creative challenge           Expert

Difficulty sources (not just "enemies hit harder"):

• Mechanical complexity — More systems active simultaneously
• Time pressure — Less time to think and react
• Resource scarcity — Less margin for error in resource spending
• Information scarcity — Less knowledge about what's coming
• Combination challenge — Requiring multiple skills/systems at once
• Opponent intelligence — Smarter/more aggressive AI or scenario design
• Stakes escalation — Higher consequences for failure

4. Replayability Design

How encounters stay fresh across multiple playthroughs:

Procedural variation:

• Randomized enemy placement / encounter composition
• Modular level segments that recombine
• Random events or modifiers per encounter
• Tabletop: shuffled event decks, random map tiles

Player-driven variation:

• Different builds/characters experience encounters differently
• Multiple viable strategies per encounter
• Optional objectives that change approach
• Tabletop: different player count, different character combinations

Structural variation:

• Branching paths ensure different encounters per playthrough
• Difficulty modifiers (challenge runs, hard mode, scenario difficulty)
• Meta-progression that changes available options
• Tabletop: scenario variants, legacy changes, expansion content

5. Level Blueprint Template

Complete blueprint for a single level/scenario:

LEVEL NAME:        [Name]
LEVEL TYPE:        [Main path / Side content / Optional / Bonus]
SPATIAL FLOW:      [Linear / Branching / Hub / Open / Gated]
DURATION TARGET:   [Expected play time]
DIFFICULTY BAND:   [Where in the difficulty curve]
NARRATIVE ROLE:    [What story does this level tell?]
EMOTIONAL ARC:     [What should the player feel at start, middle, end?]

ENCOUNTER SEQUENCE:
  1. [Encounter — type, intensity, duration, purpose]
  2. [Encounter — type, intensity, duration, purpose]
  3. [Encounter — type, intensity, duration, purpose]
  ...

RESOURCE ECONOMY:
  Starting resources: [What the player enters with]
  Resources available: [What can be found/earned in-level]
  Resources consumed: [Expected expenditure]
  Net result: [Player should exit with more/less/same as entry?]

KEY MOMENTS:
  [The 1-3 moments that make this level memorable]

AESTHETIC NOTES:
  Visual: [How should this level look?]
  Audio: [How should this level sound?]
  Feel: [What's the kinesthetic/tactile mood?]

Workflow

Designing levels/encounters for a new game

1. Reference the core loop (Skill 7) — Encounters are instances of the loop
2. Reference the experience model (Skill 4) — Levels deliver the emotional arc
3. Reference the narrative structure (Skill 12) — Where do story beats land?
4. Choose spatial flow model — What movement pattern serves the game?
5. Build the pacing curve — Map tension/release across the level
6. Define encounter types — What are the building blocks?
7. Compose encounter sequences — Arrange encounters to serve the pacing curve
8. Plan difficulty ramping — How does challenge escalate?
9. Design replayability — How do encounters stay fresh?
10. Cross-check with aesthetic direction (Skill 3) — Visual/audio pacing per encounter
11. Cross-check with balance (Skill 11) — Are encounters appropriately challenging?
12. Blueprint specific levels — Full documentation per level

Evaluating an existing level

1. Play through and note where engagement rises, falls, or stalls
2. Map the actual pacing curve — does it match the intended curve?
3. Check encounter variety — are there enough different types?
4. Check difficulty curve — does it ramp appropriately?
5. Check resource economy — does the player exit in the intended state?
6. Check narrative delivery — do story beats land at the right moments?
7. Identify the memorable moment — every level needs at least one

Outputs

This skill produces:

1. Pacing curves — tension/release patterns per level and per session
2. Encounter composition templates — reusable building blocks
3. Difficulty ramping plan — challenge escalation across the full game
4. Replayability design — variation mechanisms
5. Level blueprints — complete documentation per level/scenario

These outputs feed into:

• Skill 11 (Balance) — Encounter difficulty needs balancing
• Skill 12 (Narrative) — Encounters deliver story beats
• Skill 15 (Prototype) — Which levels to prototype first
• Skill 16 (Playtest) — Levels are what's being playtested
• Skill 3 (Aesthetic) — Visual/audio pacing per encounter
• Skill 19 (GDD) — Level designs are a core GDD section