[EYE] Valar
2008-09-08 17:01:42
I'm seeing a lot of maps recently and most are from beginner mappers and wanted to throw a few minor tips for them in the hope it will help them grasp some of the ideas in level design...
1) Most importantly - THINK ! THINK ! THINK ! Think BEFORE you start working. Think WHILE you're mapping and THINK HARD when you THINK you're done with the map: what is the gameplay like? What is the movement flow? DOES it have a gameplay? DOES it have flow of movement at all?
2) Realism - Even Killbox which are not "real" venues can and should LOOK realistic. this is very important as we may find that even if it has nothing to do with gameplay the LOOK of think makes one FEEL something. you either FEEL you're in a room, hall, corridor, hangar, warehouse that makes sense or you don't. The scales of things are a factor or RELATION. e.g. the relation of a catwalk to the walls and floor...the distance from them. a longer catwalk can be wider than a shorter one and so on...things can be made to make sense to one eyes. Many times the use of textures are a map's bane...or a map's highlight. Depends...how much THOUGHT went into the process.
3) Thinking - many times beginners and advanced mappers a like fall in the deep pit of their Thinking process. Many times one would be so involved into the process or in love with the design of him map that he may lose sight of the OVERALL point of view.
So - Thinking - means, looking at things in a broader sense. sometimes, looking too close at something makes you over focused on pettiness, or feel something is out of place when in the broader sense it isn't. so always see things of a broader / or higher standpoint.
4) Design should always follow a Function - what is this item doing here? Is it a design (detail) item? Is it a gameplay related item (weapon, ammo, catwalk, piece of floor, door, hole in a wall etc..) ? What does it do and how easy it is to use it? How fast can you take advantage of a lift if it's crammed behind two thousands props or walls...
5) All maps have choke points - better decide where YOU want your choke points and not let Chance call the shot. a Choke point can be a door connection to an important part of the map. a spot that holds a powerful weapon like a MAG or RPG, a combine ball spawner is a known choke point in killboxes for example. an RPG spot is usually a choke point in ALL maps. Think about the construction of those areas. How fast and how easy it is to get in and out of.
6) Lighting - Good lighting makes a map playable and easy on the eyes and it doesn't matter if the lighting scheme is rather dark, heavily lit or mildly lit.
Two most important things you need to keep in mind about lighting: A. Lighting exist to enable people to SEE. And B. Lighting makes people FEEL.
Lighting that is laid out too evenly throughout a map or a certain area might feel a bit pale and not interesting. On the other hand, patches of lighting many times feel and behave more realistic.
7) Spawn points - spawning a player in the middle of a heavily battled area is not too clever as ppl will die as soon as they spawn, making your map less cool for people to play. always better to find a shaded, protected or semi protected spot for a spawn point. Also mind where you player is facing. Don’t want to have them spawn facing a wall or window
9) Cubemaps -learn about them and use this wisely. Cubemaps imitate real life in the sense of light transition and reflections to and on the player. a good placement of Cubemaps determins how realistic that aspect of your map is. Also, many textures have specular features and reflect light, many models do also...a map without Cubemaps will show all those as ugly silver-grey. Unattractive, boring, not professional. Use cubemaps.
10) Inspiration - if you run our of ideas: LEAVE. Don’t rape the map. Look for inspiration on the net, in other maps...in dreams and in movies...Creativity is an elusive power. Be nice to it and it will be nice to you. You cannot command it or foretell it. Doing so will only render self-beating and thoughts like: "ah crap, I’m no good at this. I better stop".
Njoy,
val
1) Most importantly - THINK ! THINK ! THINK ! Think BEFORE you start working. Think WHILE you're mapping and THINK HARD when you THINK you're done with the map: what is the gameplay like? What is the movement flow? DOES it have a gameplay? DOES it have flow of movement at all?
2) Realism - Even Killbox which are not "real" venues can and should LOOK realistic. this is very important as we may find that even if it has nothing to do with gameplay the LOOK of think makes one FEEL something. you either FEEL you're in a room, hall, corridor, hangar, warehouse that makes sense or you don't. The scales of things are a factor or RELATION. e.g. the relation of a catwalk to the walls and floor...the distance from them. a longer catwalk can be wider than a shorter one and so on...things can be made to make sense to one eyes. Many times the use of textures are a map's bane...or a map's highlight. Depends...how much THOUGHT went into the process.
3) Thinking - many times beginners and advanced mappers a like fall in the deep pit of their Thinking process. Many times one would be so involved into the process or in love with the design of him map that he may lose sight of the OVERALL point of view.
So - Thinking - means, looking at things in a broader sense. sometimes, looking too close at something makes you over focused on pettiness, or feel something is out of place when in the broader sense it isn't. so always see things of a broader / or higher standpoint.
4) Design should always follow a Function - what is this item doing here? Is it a design (detail) item? Is it a gameplay related item (weapon, ammo, catwalk, piece of floor, door, hole in a wall etc..) ? What does it do and how easy it is to use it? How fast can you take advantage of a lift if it's crammed behind two thousands props or walls...
5) All maps have choke points - better decide where YOU want your choke points and not let Chance call the shot. a Choke point can be a door connection to an important part of the map. a spot that holds a powerful weapon like a MAG or RPG, a combine ball spawner is a known choke point in killboxes for example. an RPG spot is usually a choke point in ALL maps. Think about the construction of those areas. How fast and how easy it is to get in and out of.
6) Lighting - Good lighting makes a map playable and easy on the eyes and it doesn't matter if the lighting scheme is rather dark, heavily lit or mildly lit.
Two most important things you need to keep in mind about lighting: A. Lighting exist to enable people to SEE. And B. Lighting makes people FEEL.
Lighting that is laid out too evenly throughout a map or a certain area might feel a bit pale and not interesting. On the other hand, patches of lighting many times feel and behave more realistic.
7) Spawn points - spawning a player in the middle of a heavily battled area is not too clever as ppl will die as soon as they spawn, making your map less cool for people to play. always better to find a shaded, protected or semi protected spot for a spawn point. Also mind where you player is facing. Don’t want to have them spawn facing a wall or window
9) Cubemaps -learn about them and use this wisely. Cubemaps imitate real life in the sense of light transition and reflections to and on the player. a good placement of Cubemaps determins how realistic that aspect of your map is. Also, many textures have specular features and reflect light, many models do also...a map without Cubemaps will show all those as ugly silver-grey. Unattractive, boring, not professional. Use cubemaps.
10) Inspiration - if you run our of ideas: LEAVE. Don’t rape the map. Look for inspiration on the net, in other maps...in dreams and in movies...Creativity is an elusive power. Be nice to it and it will be nice to you. You cannot command it or foretell it. Doing so will only render self-beating and thoughts like: "ah crap, I’m no good at this. I better stop".
Njoy,
val
