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How Does One Write A Good Level?

Perhaps you're here for the answer to this exact question.

1. A Revolutionary Concept

As some general guidelines, each level should capture a certain feeling of the Backrooms, whether it be familiarity, nostalgia, fear, suspense, or surrealism. Such emotions are important to the experience and immersion of the Backrooms levels themselves. If you base your level off a real-life reference, such as a warehouse or a hospital, check for originality. The level should contain some abnormality or strangeness that distinguishes your level from a normal Frontrooms experience.

Make your level uncanny, but don't overdo it. Shoehorning "infinite size" will not make a level any more intriguing. In general, something in the levels should disobey established laws of reality — something should function differently. Make sure your levels are not predictable, especially if you are considering a log. A seemingly-safe level with occasional power outages can easily fall into this trap. You can predict that the level becomes much more dangerous in complete darkness; there will likely be entities appearing and intimidating wanderers with creepy noises. Try to avoid this "entities appear only in the dark" cliché whenever possible. It'll make your writing stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Avoid extremities with description. Too much "confidential information" and "undiscovered country" results in a bland stub, where the utter lack of description leaves a cliffhanger that makes readers angry, not amazed. It loses all its emotional appeal because all the redacted information was likely the source of pathos. However, do not over-describe. This overdone verbiage can easily bore readers — if your description is not essential for contributing to the tone, it may be best to exclude it.

Likewise, avoid extremities with safety and settlement. The Survival Difficulties Habitable and Deadzone exist, but use them sparingly. Understand that levels deemed extremely safe with multiple settlements can easily sap away all the feeling of the Backrooms, especially if the level does not lean into any fantasy elements. What separates Level 11 from a regular safely-guarded city? If a level concept does not incorporate danger to maintain the uncanniness, make sure the physical setting and properties are sufficiently described to make wanderers feel uncomfortable even in a safe haven. In comparison, Deadzone classifications are more likely to capture the feeling of the Backrooms, but are also more prone to the pitfalls coming with extremely deadly levels. If you kill your wanderer too early and evidently, there would be no room for any of the emotions associated with the Backrooms to enter one's mind.

Read your draft over and ask yourself these questions:

  • Does it invoke familiarity, nostalgia, fear, suspense, or surrealism?
  • Can you identify why this level feels off-putting? What makes this a Backrooms level and not just a Frontrooms location?
  • Is the concept original and unique? Refrain from generic dark hallways and empty outside areas.
  • Is it cliché or predictable? Can one guess the rest of the events based on the first few descriptors?
  • Can you describe it enough to produce a visual image in readers' heads, but preserve the vagueness to keep readers guessing?
  • How dangerous should the level be?
  • Last of all, does your concept fit the Backrooms? Does it revolve around mystery, horror, or liminality?

For example

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