GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Level Design Summit: The Unusual Level Design for 'Tactical Breach Wizards'
Steve Lee (Lead Level Designer, Half Mermaid)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Design
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
This talk is about the unique level design process for the indie hit Tactical Breach Wizards - the ways in which the game's development was highly unusual, and things about the game and the approach to development that made making its 100+ levels unusually efficient, straightforward and fun. Steve will discuss some of the key design principles used to design the levels and the game's mechanics; how the entire campaign was designed, written and implemented in sequential order (which is usually a really bad idea), and everything he thinks helped make the game both a critical success, and a great project to work on.
Takeaway
Attendees of this talk will learn about:
- The unique way that Tactical Breach Wizards was made, and why it worked
- The concept of Orthogonality in game design, and how this helps level designers make great levels
- An approach to level design focused on making every level a gameplay showcase
Intended Audience
This talk is designed to appeal to anyone interested in level and game design, tactics / strategy / puzzle games, or indie gamedev in general.
