771 Innovating On The Level Select Screen

One aspect of game design and development that’s easy to be lazy with is the “level select” screen. I put this in quotes because it can mean a lot of different things depending on the genre, but we’ll use a classic iOS puzzle game for example’s sake.

We’ve all seen it, the screen that has a bunch of boxes on it, each box with 3 empty “star” silhouettes, and each labeled “1-5” or “3-7” or “5-1.” It’s practical, yes. And completely uninspiring.

We can go back to the roots of gaming to see examples that defy this trend, the Super Mario Bros games being a great example. And many modern games have done some awesome and interesting things here, too, incorporating interesting graphics, unique layouts, and engaging interactions that compliment the gameplay itself, even during this upper-level layer of “gameplay.”

So, iOS games I’m looking at you here… quit being lazy. The way your player interacts with and chooses the “level” they’re playing is an importance influence on how the experience feels, which ultimately determines if your player is actually enjoying playing your game.

[ Today I Was Playing: nothing… ]

#game-opinion