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2d Level Guide

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matthewbny
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2d Level Guide

Post by matthewbny »

I haven't seen many levels with 2D in them lately so I might as well throw this in the air while there's still some left. But first, let's go over the Camera and its properties.
  • Camera Waypoint: used for cutscenes, this is how the camera moves (and rotates) around the world. You're generally not going to use this in 2D levels, unless you're racing in an essence.
  • Look at player: this boolean, if set to true, will zoom in on your player. If set to false, it will zoom out, but this shouldn't be a problem if you have the follow player boolean set to true.
  • Follow player: this boolean, if set to true, it will follow the player. If set to false, it won't follow the player. If look at player and follow player are both set to false, then they will simply look at the area in it's view. This is generally useful in 3D levels, but depending on your situation can be a great way to go if you want to have multiple rooms, like in early Legend of Zelda games.
  • (If you have look at player off but follow player on, it's suggested you put the Angle Y at something like 15-20, to give the player some depth perception).
  • Angle X: how much the angle rotates from left (negative values) to right (positive values).
  • Angle Y: how much the angle rotates from bottom (negative values) to top (positive values).
  • Perspective mode: fixes the angles of the camera. If you have no Angle X or Y values, and Perspective mode is set to true, it will become nearly impossible to get a perception of depth from objects.
  • FOV: if perspective mode is on, this creates really trippy imagery the more you zoom out. If you set it to a greater value, not only can you see more of the level, but it becomes distorted (and so does everything in the level).
  • Distance: how zoomed in (or out) the camera is to its focus. Stacks with FOV.
  • Priority: if there are multiple camera areas in one block, the one with the highest priority will be displayed.
  • Letterbox: if set to true, this boolean will put a small box on the top and bottom of the frame. This is generally good if you have a lot of empty space you need to fill up, and are too lazy or there isn't enough capacity to fill up with.
  • Instant move: if going from an area to another area, and the camera area that you're in now is active, then it will transition if set to false. Otherwise, it will instantly display the effects of the active camera.
  • Activate trigger: whatever is set here activates the camera when the desired conditions are met.
  • Bounds: area of which the camera will affect.
  • Detect player: not important, because MP doesn't work.
  • Detect interactives: will it detect things that are in the Interactives prop category?
  • Detect enemies: self explanatory
  • Detect projectiles: will it detect bullets, bombs, etc.?
  • Speed: initial speed of the camera if it is moving (go to Camera Waypoint if you want it to move).
  • Auto start: self explanatory
  • Invert starting direction: self explanatory
  • Move/forward direction: self explanatory
  1. Get out a Camera prop, and make an area (preferably something flat and equally proportionate, but your needs may vary).
  2. Create a background for your "box". To avoid complexity, I'll put up simple black and white boxes. When making other boxes stand out, you usually want to follow the tile scheme and ignore applying the axis along the z-axis (the axis generally facing your screen). Follow the image for basic do's and don'ts on tiling.
  3. Modify the Camera to its desired properties. Refer to the properties above.
  4. Fill up any blank space, unless you intend to keep it. If working on a 2D Space Sidescroller, you might want to have some debris, space ships or even planets in the background.
  5. Try not to add enemies. Combat in 2D is horrible, and you constantly have to rely on Auto Aim (especially for shorter enemies like the Muka Scout).
  6. Use info stickers, but don't go apeshit with them. Info stickers do not serve as an internal monologue for every single thought they come across. Instead, they should lead the player along the level.
  7. Apply the Force Area to box you want to play the 2D level in. The Force Area will keep you in the center of a grid space, which prevents someone from jumping out of the level.
  8. Make sure props do not interfere with the Force Area. If you have any props in the foreground background just make sure they are inaccessible or cannot interfere with the Force Area (look here for a good example of how to pull this off)
  9. Don't be afraid to break some above rules. The thing about Atmosphir being a community-driven level editor is that my opinions do not necessarily reflect your opinions, or anyone else's opinions. In fact, the link in Step 8 does break some of the rules I have, like filling up blank spaces (though this can be argued to be the darkness of a cave), and having a lot of text boxes, and that's because the level style of Linden's level focuses heavily on story and platforming.
  10. Look at some 2D platformers. Terraria, old Mario games, Sonic, and Metroidvania all serve great examples of the genre. Looking at walkthroughs on Youtube or just of any 2D platformer could give you inspiration. You could even try and switch camera angles to make part of it 2.5D or 3D.
Will add images later to get the full effect out of this guide. Would also love to get some feedback from other creators.
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Phantomboy
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Post by Phantomboy »

Gosh, written things like this are always appreciated! Much easier to sort of dig through when you need information whilst working :) Fantastic job Matthew!
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Baufritz
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Post by Baufritz »

I've never attempted designing in 2d, mostly because I didn't want to fiddle with cameras, forcefields etc.... If an idea strikes me, I might just give it a try though. Great tips!
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