There's a level design concept that I identified recently that's had me thinking. Its something that we often intuitively do but I never had a name for... So I made one up. I hope that doesn't sound pretentious. But I've found it endlessly helpful to make the concept more tangible and have a metric to compare against. So I thought I'd share. (Also if there is a term for it please let me know 😅)

Anyway, I named the term a "HINGE". I called it that because it suggests its function.

A hinge is an aspect, feature or characteristic of a level that the player is unfamiliar with or unaware of that once understood or resolved will give them a greater mastery of the space.

Now I know thats a bunch of word salad so let me break it down. As a point of reference I'll be using the High Wall of Lothric level from Dark Souls 3. There's several great examples there.

The idea is this, that if in every venture a player makes out into the level, as long as they gain something, it will have been a worthwhile endeavor EVEN IF they were not ultimately successful. BUT THEN, with their increased knowledge or resources, each consecutive attempt will be easier and more likely to end in success. You might even say their success HINGES on these.

And what does that look like in context? One great example is the Puss of Man enemy type that if not prioritized will transform from a lowly hollow into this amalgamation of oily looking limbs. Not only are they difficult they're probably not reasonable for a first time player to beat... But! It's a lesson that only needs to be learned once. It's a trivial road bump once you realize you can bum rush them and take them out before they can morph.

In this way you're sort of playing a trick on the player making them FEEL that the level is more difficult than it is but then be more easily mastered. Once identified or resolved a Hinge becomes the downhill slope between the uphill battles. So while the level becomes "easier" it still feels rewarding because it still asked something of the player.

This also creates a dynamic sort of adaptive difficulty. A better player might be able to brute force their way through the level without having identified and learned every "hinge" in the level. And a worse player will identify more and more "hinges" with each attempt until they've obtained enough of an edge to get them through the level. For both players this ends up being a rewarding experience.

Which says a lot about pacing in games. Difficulty shouldnt be a flat incline. In fact it would make for an exhausting experience if it was. Even between the first bonfire and the next the only real challenge really ends up being the Lothric Knight. The pus of man, the dragon, the hidden enemies, and the lantern hollows are all a lesson learned ONCE... The sense of progression this creates for the level is just genius.

Hinges rely entirely on obfuscation. The thrill of finding a shortcut that doubles back to where you started WORKS because you never saw it coming! By not explicitly telling the player things, it allows for them to feel anxious or clever or skillful. And in that same breath it can make the level feel dangerous or malleable or mysterious.

So what else might this look like in the levels we build?

1. Explosive barrels. Being both a hazard and a potential help
2. Unlocking shortcuts.
3. Identifying enemy spawn points
4. And then there's also more opportunistic Hinges. Like opportunities for a plunging attack
5. Hidden enemies
6. Traps
7. Transforming enemies like the Puss of Man in Dark Souls 3
8. This is a big one. But titanite shards. Its no mistake that they make you fight part way through a level then reward you with an upgrade to your damage!
9. Ive been playing Wolfenstein New Order. An example from that game is stealthing to a turret which gives you a huge advantage
10. The Nioh games have these tougher enemies or minibosses that only have to be killed once and dont respawn.
11. Remnant 2. Another game ive been playing recently has you vaulting over objects and leaping off platforms. Enemies arent nearly as fast or as agile so you have the advantage. And the levels are designed like jungle gyms to facilitate that. This possibility space once familiarized can give you that edge
12. Or there's force pushing a bunch of droids off of a cliff in Jedi: Survivor. The developer placing them right next to the edge of a cliff was not an accident
13. The inversion of a mechanic
14. Introducing a new mechanic
15. A new context to an encounter
16. Level hazards.

Anyways, hopefully some of you found this useful. I've found recontextualizing old ideas a goos way to broaden your perspective. Im definitely welcome to any discussion or input!