Recursive Unlocking: Analyzing Resident Evil's Map Design with Data Visualization

I was on the fence about putting this in the game design section, but decided to put it here in the end. If people feel it's more appropriate there, I will gladly move it.

I found this link which is a very interesting analysis in the design of the original Resident Evil's levels. It really gives you some insight into the developers minds and really gives you an idea about how they possibly intended the game to be played.

The earlier Resident Evil games are known for their cryptic puzzles and backtracking. Yet the article highlights that very little backtracking is actually required to complete the game. 

I find it interesting the game only contains 116 rooms. It feels much larger than that! Yet somehow the developers made the pacing and design of the levels so interesting that it doesn't seem like such a small game. Unless you're doing a speedrun. 

Taken from the article:



(Image credit to Christ from Chris' Survival Horror Quest - hosted on my own server to avoid hotlinking.)





I think this is very interesting. What are your thoughts?

Any game designer, whether you love the design, or hate it, can learn something from RE's level design.

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of the original Resident Evil trilogy. Some of my friends write the series off without actually knowing much about them or giving them a chance. They only focus on the "horror" aspect. "Horror games don't interest me" while they go on about older puzzle games they enjoy.

To me, the original trilogy had some intense moments but the series was never about the horror for me (and Resident Evil is more "action" than horror compared to games like Silent Hill, in my opinion, but that's for another topic). The puzzle solving and level design are what attracted me to the games so much and even influence my level design as a game designer today. The non-linear design really shines and is part of what compliments the survival horror aspect.

I've finished the original Resident Evil around 30 to 40 times in my life (not necessarily proud to admit that). There was a point in my life that the only source of entertainment I had living alone was a modded PSP with a bootleg copy of the game. I would sit there hours playing the game from start to finish.

And because of how non-linear it is... each time you play it, you can play it a different way. Finding the most efficient way to play it was fun. But then changing it up completely kept it entertaining. 

Really nice article Nate, goes to show just how little you can know about your favorite game.

The approach the designers used in making the game is honestly intriguing because you can see just how much thought they gave to creating each of the areas.

Coupled with the progression in the game and the general playtime/choices most of us tend to make I was honestly surprised at it's design.

Yeah, quite a lot went into the thought behind the design. It's weird to think of it as "level design" when so much of the game is spent in the mansion. 

I contacted the author of the article, and he's given me permission to port over his Java app run through of the game so you can see it in "real time". I will be porting it to HTML5 in the future and will share it here for anyone interested that might have problems with Java.