Breaking Down the Best World in Rayman Legends | Game Maker’s Toolkit

Hey. I’m Mark Brown, and this is Game Maker’s
Toolkit.

I’ve done a bunch of videos on my channel
about platformer level design, but it has

almost always been through the lens of Nintendo
games - which have a pretty reliable formula

at this point.

Each stage introduces a new gameplay mechanic
- and that idea is explored through a series

of escalating challenges.

And then, the mechanic is thrown away - never
to be seen again.

And that’s certainly one way to do it.

But, it’s not the only approach.

So, let’s take a look at a platformer that
does things quite differently:

Ubisoft’s Rayman Legends.

So this game has plenty of unique ideas.

But the game’s standout mechanics aren’t
ditched as soon as they’re developed

- instead, they’re often carried through
an entire world’s worth of levels.

In world two, Toad Story, practically every
level is about updrafts that you can fly in.

And in world three, Fiesta de los Muertos,
a bunch of the levels are about digging through

big chunks of cake.

But if you ask me, the best example is from
world four: 20,000 Lums Under the Sea.

This world is a sneaky spy thriller, with
James Bond style music, and stealthy gameplay

that’s maybe closer to Splinter Cell than
Rayman.

The main mechanic for this world is the sentry,
which is a sort of mechanised security system

that casts a green light - or red, if Rayman
gets too close.

And if Rayman stays in the red light for too
long, he’ll be zapped.

So it’s all about sneaking past the sentry
at the right moment.

There are ones that flicker on and off.

And ones that move, so you need to hide behind
bits of the level that cut off the sentry’s

light.

They appear in almost every stage in this
world, but each level has a unique twist on

the idea.

They’re introduced in level one, The Mysterious
Inflatable Island, where you avoid the lights

by swimming past them.

Then in stage two, The Deadly Lights, we use
this tiny green guy called Murphy to press

buttons and pop up barriers to obstruct the
sentry’s lights.

(This makes more sense if you’re playing
on a console like the Wii U where you can

physically poke, grab and move stuff with
the touchscreen.

It’s a bit janky on the other consoles where
you just press a button.)

Anyway.

Stage three, The Mansion of the Deep, is different
again.

The level starts with no sentries, but then
you hit a power button and must go back through

the same rooms but now thinking about stealth.

Level four, Infiltration Station, brings back
Murphy, but now you have full control over

the level as you move bits of the stage to
create cover, or even move the sentries themselves.

And then level five, Elevator Ambush, the
sentries are still present but the stealth

gameplay takes a bit of a backseat to a more
action-packed fist fight against these new

frogmen enemies.

Because, obviously, there’s more to this
world than just one mechanic.

Level one also introduces us to spiky navel
mines, and frogmen who fire electrical blasts.

Level three adds laser tripwires, giant crushing
pipes, and two extra underwater creatures:

jellyfish and these freaky worm things.

And level five adds another enemy type.

Plus weird shark guys who throw objects across
the room.

And missiles, which were briefly seen in the
boss fight from Toad Story.

What’s clever is that most of these mechanics
are introduced on their own, but then go on

to appear in tandem with the sentries.

Enemies pop up in areas guarded by the sentries.

The nightmare worms create fast-moving, and
oddly-shaped cover.

And so on.

And then, after five stages of build up, all
of these ideas come together in the sixth

stage, There’s Always a Bigger Fish, which
is a manic, fast-paced chase sequence that

uses almost every mechanic we’ve seen so
far.

There are navel mines, sentries, missiles,
frogmen, shark dudes, and

laser tripwires.

And yet, it’s totally doable - simply because,
the game has spent a lot of time carefully

building up this vocabulary of different mechanics.

The player has learned what these things look
like, what they do, and how to deal with them

- even at great speed.

Because, if you don’t do the necessary prep
work, the player won’t have the skills to

deal with these mechanics when put under pressure.

And as an example of this happening, you need
look no further than Rayman Legends itself.

The game’s got these brilliant musical stages
at the end of each world, but, for whatever

reason, they often have slightly different
mechanics to the rest of the levels - mechanics

which haven’t always been fully established.

So in Mariachi Madness, you’ll be running
through the level at breakneck speed and suddenly

see a creature that you’ve never seen before
and need to figure out what that is and what

you need to do in a split second and, yeah,
I didn’t react quickly enough.

And that didn’t feel good.

So introducing mechanics early isn’t just
responsible level design - but it also gives

players an opportunity feel a sense of flow,
and mastery - that isn’t halted by trial

and error deaths.

That stage in 20,000 Lums feels amazing because
you’re going really fast and nailing all

of these challenges - but that’s only possible
because you’re familiar with everything

the level has to throw at you.

That level is then followed by a boss fight, and
then a swim back to the surface for the musical

number - taking you full circle, to the island
you started on in level one.

Now. Not every world is like this in Rayman Legends.

Some worlds are linked by a theme, like world
one’s castle, rather than a game mechanic.

And there are plenty of one-off ideas, like
a level about spreading guacamole, and a twisting

labyrinth stage, that are thrown away at the
end of the level - just like a Mario mechanic.

But 20,000 Lums demonstrates some real benefits
to keeping a mechanic around for longer than

just one level.

It means that idea can be explored exhaustively.

The sentries are seen in endless variations,
and they slowly ramp up in difficulty.

They start to move more quickly.

The cover gets smaller.

They appear in pairs, or mix with other mechanics.

And instead of just waiting for an opportunity
to proceed, you have to move in lockstep with

the cover to stay hidden.

You’ll see even more variants in the world’s
secret rooms.

And if you want to go for bonus pick-ups like
coins and kidnapped Teensies, you’ll have

to put yourself at risk and deal with even
more challenging sentries.

Keeping a mechanic around also means it can
appear in much more difficult scenarios - and

the player will be able to deal with it - in
masterful fashion.

In Mario, you’ve got to wait until the end-game
bonus stages to ever face a mechanic in a

more tricky set-up.

A mechanic can also be a thread to create
a wider narrative progression for the world.

The sentries are prominent at the start of
20,000 Lums Under the Sea, where Rayman is

using stealth to get around - but they disappear
towards the end as - in classic spy movie

fashion - all hell breaks lose for the action-packed
finale.

And finally.

And this one might be handy for any indie
developers watching.

It’s also surely a tad more economical to
keep an idea around for more than one level

- than developing 100 different game mechanics.

We can’t all be Nintendo, can we?

Hey, thanks for watching.

I also want to say thanks to Rayman level
designer Chris McEntee who chatted to me about

the creation of this world.

I asked him whether the mechanic informed
the theme, or if the theme lead to the mechanic

- and he told me that it was kind of a mix
of the two.

The gameplay team was prototyping the sentry
and the art team did some Jules Verne style

underwater artwork - and these came together
for a world about sneaking through an underwater base.

Apparently there was a real back and forth
of art and gameplay inspiring each other throughout

the creation of Rayman Legends.

Chris is now working on the Ori and the Blind
Forest sequel, meaning I’m even more excited

about that game.