Blockout before beauty — and how to tell whether a layout works

The most common level design mistake is decorating too early. Once a space is dressed, nobody wants to move a wall.

Test these in grey boxes first:

• Can the player tell where to go without a marker? If not, the layout is not doing its job and a UI arrow is covering for it.
• Does the pacing chart have variety? Three combat rooms in a row is exhausting; three empty rooms is boring.
• Are sightlines working? You should be able to see your next objective, or a hint of it, from where you land.
• Does it hold up at your slowest and fastest movement speeds?

Post a top-down of your blockout along with the route you expect players to take. Then post the route they actually took in playtests — the gap between those two is where the design lives.