To get things started I have made a video where I play through the first 45 minutes of BioShock and try to talk about the level design as I go. The video is very long so I will put the short version in the blog below.
The introduction to BioShock is an extremely effective example of level design, it introduces the world of Rapture and the mechanics of the game in an efficient and powerful way.
The first thing to notice about BioShock is the way it directs the player without getting them lost or enforcing invisible walls. Thus ensuring the player remains engaged with the game without becoming frustrated. A good example of this is the very first scene where the player’s plane has crashed, you emerge out of the water to find yourself surrounded by fire, but you are started out facing the only gap in the flames.
The game certainly encourages exploring the world of Rapture, however in the introductory sequence at least there is often only one way the player can go, with a few branches to loot on the way. The setting of an underwater city that is falling apart really helps with contextualising the reasons why you cannot enter particular areas, or why you would explore them later. Things like debris are common, and airlocks are another method of keeping the player out of other areas too. This is important to consider, particularly when you have games that present a lot of doors to the player to suggest that the game world is large and that there are many branches to explore. If a player encounters these doors in another setting such as an office and finds the doors do not open that becomes frustrating, finding the one door you can enter when there are a multitude of doors that the game presents. The setting of BioShock really helps with this aspect of level design.
Theatricality is another very important tool in level design. It is not something people often consider when talking about games which is how very similar video games are to theatre. I would argue they are more similar to theatre than they are to films. Particularly, when you consider games are built up of sets and scenes, and presents to an audience in real time, an audience which can affect the performance just by their reaction.
The elements that build the introduction to Bioshock, from the initial flyby of the city of Rapture, to the combat encounters all express to the player the opportunities that await them in the game. The game presents a world that has a history and now a future with you in it through the way you interact with the game. The levels direct you through in such a way that enforces the underlying themes of opportunities and objectivism while also introducing mechanics through well constructed sets and encounters.
Thank you for reading and watching.
– Battz