Level Design Workshop: Designing Celeste

Designing <Celeste>

My name is Matt Thorson.

I'm an indie game developer.

If you've heard my name,

it's probably because of this game, <TowerFall>.

<TowerFall> is a local multiplayer game,

and right now I'm making a single-player game. The topic for today is that work.

The title is <Celeste>.

First, let me show you the trailer.

It's a game that hasn't been released yet, and it's still in development,

so I feel like I should introduce what it's about.

(Is this the climbing path?)

(Do you think you can climb it?)

"A strict, precise, and very difficult platformer" -Nick Robinson, <Polygon> journalist

Yes, this is <Celeste>.

Thank you.

This game is a hardcore platformer about climbing a mountain.

So far, I've created about 300 levels,

and I plan to have around 400 when it's released. (Note: there are actually over 800.)

Today's presentation is about our development process,

and my thoughts while creating levels.

(Game / Area / Level - each square is a story)

This is how I envision the structure of our game.

I fundamentally think of this work as a fractal story,

that is, a story composed of many small stories.

From the overall perspective of the game, <Celeste> is the story of a child climbing a mountain.

That child has certain circumstances and is running away from them.

While climbing this mountain, they confront those issues.

And like most platformer games,

<Celeste> is divided into several regions,

which we call 'zones'.

Each zone contains smaller stories within the overall narrative,

each with its own structure and pace,

and we aim to give each its own characteristics.

Additionally, those zones have their own aesthetic and systemic themes.

And one zone consists of multiple levels.

The stories contained in each level are very small and short,

and also simple.

It's also simple.

For example, "jump over the thorn pit and then dash up,

and climb up to a safe space while hanging." That's the idea.

And visualizing each story as a whole

serves as a central point that brings our planning together.

It's very useful.

And in actual development, we evaluate our work

by shifting between these three perspectives.

(level)

Now, let's get to the main point,

and I'll explain how to create each level.

(climbing up)

<Celeste> is a game that traverses space.

So I should first explain the basic movement mechanics of the game.

The most basic mechanic, aside from jumping, is climbing.

You can climb all solid walls present in the game.

If you have enough grip strength, that is.

Grip strength is immediately restored when you touch the ground.

(Air dash)

There is also an air dash, which can be done in 8 directions.

Whether it's up, down, left, right, or diagonally.

However, you can only dash once in the air,

and like grip strength, the count is restored immediately upon touching the ground.

(Wall jump)

Lastly, there is wall jumping.

This is very useful as it has no limit unlike the other two mechanics.

You can do it indefinitely if you're next to a wall.

But there are some restrictions,

because if you wall jump, you will fall away from the wall.

This is different from <Super Meat Boy>.

You can't climb a wall just by wall jumping.

To do that, you need to use your grip strength to climb up.

(Various approaches)

Every moment in <Celeste> is

strongly inspired by real rock climbing.

What I really love about rock climbing is

that you can climb in various ways.

Rock climbing is a physical activity, and everyone's body is different.

Rock climbing courses are usually designed loosely.

This allows for a very diverse range of climbing methods.

In some cases, the differences in methods can be quite distinct.

If you're tall, you might easily clear half the course.

But usually, the differences are quite small.

For example, whether you shift your weight by moving your feet on the foothold,

or whether you use your hands to hold on.