Creating Gameplay

Gameplay is pretty self-explanatory: it's what the player plays when they engage with the level. I'm sure this is a shocker.

This guide seeks to give you a basic understanding of what the process of making quality gameplay could look like. This will be structured sort of like a build-along, as I build a solo layout with the procedure outlined in this guide. 

It is important to note that this guide should be taken as a pointer in the right direction, but not as a cold hard fact that one must abide by. Gameplay has rules that are meant to be broken, so my advice is to follow this guide to get a solid foundation of gameplay, and then when you start to get comfortable, you can start to break the mold and make something truly yours!

This is the question every creator should ask themselves before even picking a song. What is my vision? 

Do you want to make a layout that stands on its own? Or do you want it to be decorated? Do you want it to be mechanically impressive? Do you want it to be super fun to play? Do you want it to be super unique? Or do you want it to be a good all-rounder? These are some of the questions you should be asking yourself before making a layout. 

As for me, I’m going for an atmospheric layout, made to stand alone, with a hard-hitting climax.

Whatever your layout’s purpose is, take time in choosing a fitting song that you won’t get sick of. Make sure that it’s one of those songs where you “see” the gameplay in your head. Of course, your layout’s vision could come from a song you heard, then in that case, you use that song.

In my case, I will be choosing Check Out by MadhouseDUDE.

Section your song into predrop, and drop, maybe even a post-drop. Decide your layout’s length, it could be under 50 seconds (mini layout), between 50 seconds and 1 minute 59 seconds (standard length), or more than 2 minutes (XL). 

I will section my song into the following:

• 0:22 - 0:44 - Predrop

• 0:44 - 1:17 - “Soft” Drop

• Song cut

• 3:31 - 4:15 “Hard” Drop

Total runtime: 1 minute 31 seconds (standard layout).

It's a good idea to decide how you will build your layout before you build it. There are three methods that are most commonly used for layout creation. They are as follows:

Method 1: Base first (most commonly used). This refers to building the entire base gameplay, then building the structures around it. This is what I see most people do, and what I used to do. It is very intuitive and it lets you get a good idea of where your structures should go, so you redo less in general.

But on the flip side, I personally found it very tedious to make the entire base gameplay for a layout then go back to structure it. 

Method 2: Structuring first. This is a rather strange and rarely used method. And I don’t find it particularly effective, but it involves building your structures first, then building the actual gameplay around them. 

I found that it makes me build very strange gameplay, although that may be because I’m not used to it. However I will link a creator that I think pulls this off. 

Method 3: Hybrid (What I use). This is the method that I currently use, and I find it to be the method I prefer most. It involves building a section of base gameplay, then structuring as you go. It allows you to both have an idea of what your structuring is going to look like before you build it, while not having the tedium of going all the way back and structuring a minute of unstructured gameplay. Although it also means you spend more time on an individual part. 

Setup

We start this layout with the predrop. I usually set up my layouts with three triggers: one setting group 1 to be invisible, one setting group 2 to be half opacity, and the last setting group 3 to follow the player’s Y axis. Note that you could use the Hide Invisible feature in the extra tab as well instead making group 1 invisible.

I also sometimes use a teleportal to teleport the player off the ground, but I will not be doing that with this layout. Do that if your gameplay more fits a floating structure type.

Base Gameplay

So now we really start to get into the meat and potatoes of layout creation. 

Gamemode decisions are really important here, since this part of the song features very short, sort of retro sounds, these are most suitable to represent with small, spontaneous jumps. I find the most fitting gamemode for this would be a mini-cube, although a mini-ufo would also work, I find that this is most suited to grounded gameplay, meaning gameplay that takes place on the actual ground of the level as opposed to just floating blocks. 

Also, try to incorporate gameplay motifs, which are gameplay elements that repeat with the repetition of the song. Although, don’t mistake this with lazily copy-pasting gameplay elements, still have some variation between repetition of aspects, this gives the layout a more consistent feel, while the slight variations keep it from feeling lazy. 

Another thing to think about is how every movement leads into the next. If you want to sync a particular set of notes with a staircase, you need to properly set up the jumps before in order to be able to have enough vertical space for that. If you want to have a gamemode change, then you should set up the movements before that to cleanly and consistently enter the portal, otherwise it could lead to inconsistent and awkward gameplay. 

The last thing to consider is speed changes. Speed is something that is super useful, but if used wrong can absolutely ruin your layout. I usually split speed changes into four general, but not comprehensive, categories: 

• Short Incremental

These speed changes are usually used for conveying small, brief changes in speed in a song, usually changing 1 step (for example, 1x -> 2x speed would count as one step) for a brief moment then going back. These are very useful for giving your layout a sense of momentum. 

• Long Incremental

These speed changes are usually used for conveying small, but extended changes in a song’s speed. Again, usually changing 1 step, but not reverting to the original speed. This can be used to give a sense of “speeding up” without the huge impact that comes from going from 2x to 4x, for example. 

• Short Burst

These speed changes are used for conveying big drum kicks, snares, or other sounds of the sort. These usually change 2 or more steps briefly, then change back. Short bursts are nice for giving your clicks a satisfying impact. That is, a large movement relative to the movements around, usually to emphasize a specific note or sound. This can also be achieved with vertical movement, such as a steep slope movement or moving block. 

• Long Burst

These are what you usually use when you start a big drop. These change 2 or more steps for an extended period of time. 

Another good technique to use is what I like to call speed easing, this is sort of smoothing out your speed change by incrementing multiple speed changes with more space between them as the speed increases. Although, this isn’t always fitting when you want a sudden burst of speed. 

Most, if not all of these aspects apply to the entire layout, not just the predrop, but I’m introducing gameplay aspects as I use them in my layout, to make this easier to follow.

These are less important than base gameplay, and while base gameplay should be the focus, good structuring and effects are a good way to put a nice cherry on top for your layout, as long as you don’t overdo them. For more information, see the Making Structures and Making Effects guides. 

I also like to add some movements to my structures to give my layouts a little extra life. 

Before I start this section I will add a small disclaimer. If you are just making your layout for the sole purpose of having fun, then I would not recommend caring for standards that much. Just finish it until you are personally happy with it, and then if you like, share it with the world. 

Some may ask, how exactly does one self-review their layout? Well, it depends what you want out of it. 

If you want your layout to be simple and fun, play it over and over again to see what annoying parts could be ironed out, of course since you made it this might be hard to do in an unbiased way, but if no one’s willing or you can't find anyone else to do it, then it’s most definitely better than nothing. 

If you want your layout to be mechanically impressive/pleasing to watch, then watch it and see if there’s anything you could have represented better, some notes that you missed, etc. 

A good thing to generally do is that when you first finish your layout, you stop creating for the day, and come back the next day. That way you have a fresh set of eyes and a fresh mind to look at your layout, and you can more effectively iron out issues. (I know this might be hard, I myself get super pumped to release a layout when I finish one.) 

Of course, you can’t be completely unbiased when you’re looking at your own layout. That’s why I recommend getting second opinions. 

If you have people that are able to play your level/able to give accurate feedback on its mechanics, then I would recommend doing that. However, one thing to keep in mind is that if the feedback you receive does not fit with your vision or you don't like it as much as the way you would like to do it, then scrap it. At the end of the day these are to be taken as suggestions, not cold hard facts.

That last statement above is how this entire guide should be taken. I find that these procedures, tips and tricks work for me, however they may not work for you. This guide is to be taken as a suggestion, to widen your options and knowledge of things that you could do, not things that you have to do. 

Gameplay is about having fun, visualizing what you have in your head, and putting it into a creation only you can fully appreciate. 

With that said, have fun, and happy layouting!