Reddit reviews Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show (A Walt Disney Imagineering Book)

One of the best references for understanding where and why game level design differs from or aligns with traditional architecture and landscape is Designing Disney, as the intent behind most game landscape is essentially the same as a theme park’s. Look up Disney ‘weenies’ and how they constantly employ sightlines, colour, light, etc to keep attendees engaged and moving through the park in the exact same way that games do to players. The biggest difference between most games and real life is that they actually have to teach players how to navigate through their environments. So, games are both adults teaching a toddler to walk and fantastic theme parks keeping them interested in moving.

This is one of the reasons a lot of designers are fans of Nintendo games, as they tend to pay a lot of attention to this aspect. There’s countless analysis of Super Mario’s 1-1 level design that you should be able to find online. It’s a standout example as it does so much to teach players how to exist in that space, from your starting position in the camera’s frame (the camera should also always be thought of as part of a game’s environment, for further discussion on that look up Kane and Lynch 2, or think about the effects UIs can have on our interaction with and perception of a game space), to the placement, intent and movement patterns of power ups and enemies, to the physical controller itself. (Metroid: Prime is a fantastic example of a game completely built around its controller, as it’s an FPS with lots of vertical design and the Game Cube controller didn’t have a second analogue stick they frequently use ramps or targetable enemies to get the players naturally looking up and down) My favourite little article on Super Mario is this one by Anna Anthropy, it goes into a lot of detail with how the level design intersects with and is built around the player experience and game mechanics.

>on the subject of challenge, three of the ceiling bricks above the treasure room fall when mario gets near, potentially hurting him. because they fall the entire height of the screen, they’re a hazard to mario regardless of whether he’s in the treasure chamber or above it. but since they fall from the top of the screen, a mario above the chamber is naturally in greater danger of being hit than one inside the chamber. a mario above, however, is also more likely to be a big mario, while a mario below is definitely a little mario.

The way Mario’s current power up state is taken into account is something I’m sure someone (more familiar with traditional design than me) could argue is similar to how different accesses often have to be designed for differently abled bodies, routes with extra coins or power ups create navigable spaces that serve alternative purposes to players almost like service tunnels and elevators do in public spaces.

Everyone’s already mentioned Dark Souls and that’s a perfect example of developers using sight lines and contrast to push players toward their goals. A really good example of this is the lit torch next to the escape route during the Asylum Demon fight, a lot of players won’t consciously notice it but it’s something that pushes a lot of people towards that direction. (The demon also holds its weapon in a way that makes players want to go left when they first see it). For the first four or five hours of the game there’s a lit torch next to basically every door along the ‘intended path’.

Another important aspect of game architecture and landscape is that games are often told in fictional universes, so the architecture and game spaces have to tell stories that let us better place ourselves in that universe. Morrowind is totally the undisputed champion in this category as there’s over half a dozen different architectural styles in that game that all come from varying cultures. They all have their own styles of city planning and use different materials and they’re all built to serve different historical purposes. Hlaalu are a merchant institution who build their cities by natural points of trade, there’s always a distinct class divide in their towns where the rich are walled off and geographically higher than the poor. Redoran towns are built to act as fortifications, their poor live close to the upper class, and there’s always a barracks and defendable locations for people to retreat to. Telvanni are breathtakingly self-superior, aloof wizards constantly weaving their own political machinations who build mushroom towers. They often forget to build stairs and ladders because only non-wizards would need them, their class system is directly parallel to where someone lives in the hierarchy of the mushroom plant, the wizards live at the very top with the plant literally weaving down from there to define and shape the lives of all their underlings, with the poorest in self-made shacks at the base. You could easily write an essay just on what modes of public transport each culture and city favour.

Geography and distance in Morrowind is also directly influenced by the game engine and technology of the time. The game had a really restrictive render distance which means a lot of the landscape is designed to look good silhouetted by the fog effect and the distances between points of interest are staggered in a way to keep the navigation compelling and interesting. It’s also why so many of the ruins and more interesting geographical features (mushrooms, mountains) are so vertical, because you can get the full impact of those models in a way that’s not lessened by the fog distance. You’ll frequently have people playing it now with enhanced render distances who are surprised how close together different locations are, or how small certain landmarks are.

Here are my favorites:

Designing Disney

Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends

The Disney Mountains

It's Kinda a Cute Story

and anything in the Imagineering Field Guide Series.

[Thiiiiiiiiiissssss.] (https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Disney-Walt-Imagineering-Book/dp/1423119150) I was told if you wanted to ever be an imagineer, read this book, and apply it to heart

Check out Bob Gurr's Google Talk, particularly at the 12 minute mark when he hears his interviewer use the word "Process." It's pretty funny. Watch the whole video. It's great. I'd also recommend any of the D23 panels that include the Imagineering Legends (Sklar, Gurr, Tony Baxter, Alice Davis, Rolly Crump, Joe Rohde, and others).

I was fortunate enough to hear Bob speak and meet him. Very, very nice gentleman.

In terms of books, in addition to those already mentioned:

The Imagineering Way is a fun book about the way they go about things.

The Imagineering Workout is a fun companion book.

John Hench's Designing Disney is a fun, visual look at his time with Disney.

Building a Better Mouse is a very specific story about the engineers who built The American Adventure show. This might be something you'd find interesting as an engineering student.

Project Future discusses the land acquisition in Florida. Very interesting book.

Three Years in Wonderland covers the construction and development of Disneyland in detail, more regarding the business side of things (leases, sponsors and partnerships).

*Walt and the Promise of Progress City is another fun book on the acquisition and the original EPCOT concept.

The main Walt Disney Imagineering Book is a great start, and Marty's two books are good as well.

I've also found Creativity, Inc to be inspirational. It goes back to the storytelling roots, but you'll find that most of the Imagineering books, articles, and posts are all about storytelling.

If you're looking for things most people won't know. Try the Progress City Primer.

if you're looking for cool things from an Imagineer. Try Designing Disney by John Hench

If you're looking for more of an overview of Imagineering. Try Imagineering Disney.

If you're looking for a light overview of the park through time. Try Disneyland Through the Decades.