Level design principles

When building game levels, understanding how to use the tools is important, but it is not the only thing a great level designer needs to know. The game level communicates with the player, telling them about the story and the setting, but also about goals, options, and other game information. I once heard a great presentation by a designer who had worked for many years building levels in the game industry. He mentioned that a player should be able to navigate a level with the game HUD turned off, relying only on the clues they find in the design of the level. For the player to be able to do this, the level must be built cleanly and efficiently, using clear sight lines and vistas to direct the player to the end goal. Since hearing this, I have attempted to bring these ideas into every level I create.

Let's talk about some of these points:

A bird's eye view of our space station level

Building levels that are clean and efficient sounds great, but what does that really mean...