The groundwork

Here is the basic layout of my level produced in Photoshop. As you can see a team spawn is set each side of them map (These will be placed inside Skyscrapers). The map is made up of 2 levels, the upper level being all the area filled with the lighter tone of gray, with the lower level filled with the darker shade of gray. A bomb site will be placed on both the upper and lower level of the map, set near equal distance from each spawn (Slightly closer to the defending teams spawn to help minimize advantages). The lower level will be accessible by going downstairs in your respected spawn, taking the stairs from the middle platform at B site, or taking a ladder through the platform. The ladder will most likely be moved to a place that holds less disadvantages, as the current position may hold problems for anyone using it. I also added a few 'Dummy' buildings in, that won't be accessible in the map, they will just be there for visual purposes.

When in Rome.

It's been a while since I've posted anything as I've been knee deep in UDK tutorials, which seems to be the main DevKit of choice providing I can get my head round it. So I don't really have that much to 'Upload', up until now I've just been familiarizing myself with the UI/ controls etc. so I don't have anything pretty to show you. However I do plan on blocking out the bulk of my map (which may be in Google SketchUp, or even Maya as they're both easier for me to work with), and maybe getting a few drawings done over the weekend.

Give it a name.

I've been thinking back to the days I used to play Counter-Strike competitively, and realized that every part of the maps have individual names to help players communicate with their teams. Although these places were originally named by players/ commentators, it's not like these players just plucked something out of the air and labeled that spot something. Each place is usually named something relevant to the look of the area. For example:

This is what established CS 1.6 will recognize as "Pop Dog Train" (For obvious reason), and yes that may be because the map is filled with trains and shouting "There's 1 guy by the train" over mic isn't going to leave anyone any wiser to the situation, but it's a subtle thing that makes that area of the map unique. Now getting to the point... If one map has a lot of unique points, unlike anywhere else on the map, the map becomes very original, authentic, and believable. This is something I really want to consider when building my own.

How I'd take this ingredient and throw it into my own super map mixture:

-Think about giving key points in the map unique features or props to make it more memorable to the player. (Billboards, signposts, posters etc).

-Try to spice up the map a little. I think non-symmetrical maps hold more flavor, and stop the player from feeling like every route is the same, hopefully preventing the player from getting bored as easy.

-Think about heights. The place names that usually spreads between multiple maps are 'Heaven' & 'Sniper Deck'. These are usually given to the highest point on the map, usually found to be vantage points. I need to think of ways to link multiple platforms together without the player feeling  the getting there is going to be a waste of time, potentially to be killed by an enemy player that got there first.

Inside manmade giants.

Recently I've been working on the Moodboard for the project and realised I'm leaning towards a lot of cityscape and skyscraper photos, so I thought it be wise to actually talk about them on here, and point out where my influence is coming from.

I'm sure when most people hear the word 'Skyscraper', they instantly imagine their boring run of the mill, oversized grey blocks, that just seem to cast their respective cities in shadow, to me they mean much more. Skyscrapers for me feel more like architectural design statements, on a much bigger scale. Forgetting about New York, and London and thinking about places such as Singapore or Dubai (Which for me represent the skyscraper capital of the world), where buildings raise far abover the surface of the earth in a wonderful fashion. Modern skyscrapers, and leaked concepts for future projects found in both of these places could easily pass for Sci-Fi models now.

The Burj Khalifa - Currently the tallest building in the world.

The Burj Al Arab - Another famous skyscraper found in Dubai.

Singapore - A view of Singapore and it's glorious skyscraper collection.

Above are just a few of my current favourite skyscrapers (Many more to come with the moodboard). These will be looked over countless times during the production phase of my project in attempt to create an authentic/ beautiful bit of architecture for my level.

All aboard the MONORAIL!

After a little discussion with Patrick about my 'Skyscraper Walkway' themed map, he then introduced the concept of a monorail. I wasn't sold at first when he showed me a picture of what appeared to be an 80's perspective on 'what the future holds', with a vary cardboard box-esq design. However as I looked more into some Google imagery it began to grown on me. Some of the models have a very sleek design that could fit very well into a futuristic cityscape design.

This is the type of model I'd most likely base mine on if I were to apply it to my level. The design is a lot smoother and curvier than other monorails I have seen, which gives me the feel of design that has, or is moving forward. Ironically I mentioned earlier the '80's perspective on what the future holds', however the concepts of future technology still hasn't changed, it just seems that design has gotten a little bit 'rounder'.

To the right is a picture the Sydney monorail. This picture displays how a monorail would look in a real environment. I thought it was important to show this for reference later, as I'm not completely accustom to the way they work without assuming they're the same concept of trains but higher up... and I think I remember something about them being powered by magnet force, but now I'm just going of track. (< TRACK, Train joke). Will go into more detailed research closer to the date of implying the design providing I do.

Ok so my ideas for implementing the idea into my own map!

I've thought about 3 main ideas that involve the monorail into my design, and here they are:

-Visual Purpose Only.

By this I mean I would create a monorail strictly as a static object that would provide nothing more than something to look at or somewhere to hide. That being said I could also use the track as a means of walkway/ platforms etc.

-Danger Zone

The second idea would be to take the first concept, but to run the track through a part of the map that could gain heavy usage. This means the players would also have to be aware of their environment too because lets face it... No one wants to get killed by a train, and no players wants the humiliation of being killed by something being controlled by the computer.

-Scenery

This is similar to the first concept, but instead of creating the monorail and the track a part of the map the player can interact with, I would hope to make a fully functional monorail that travels passed the map at random moments. This would give the map a more realistic feel.

Walk this way... Stalk this way.

I've been thinking about my Skyscraper level, and thinking about the 'Balance' aspect I was talking about earlier on. Originally I thought about having the combat set on 2 different levels of walk ways, but the more I began to think about it, the idea of a series of walkways became a little bit boring in my head. On top of being boring, I also imagine it to be a little frustrating for those that spawn on the lower level. I need to think of ways to prevent my map from being completely open, which would allow people to shoot each other from every different direction, as well as adding variation to prevent my map being completely symmetrical, and minimizing visual repetition.

This is an overview of the map Guardian (Halo 3). This map is also set way above ground level and cuts out the unnecessary use of outside mapping, but it's also quite similar to what I aim for in design terms. For starters it's set ridiculously high, and taking a step of the ledge results in a very floppy-body style suicide. The map also has a large open area where players can be fired at from any direction. This map also comes with 2 tiers to fight on, and each part of the map is also connected by walkways. So as you can see (or read, if you've not actually played it), the map holds many similar concepts I would like to imply to my own design, with exception of the gameplay or the aesthetics.

(Guardian in a 3D perspective)

So taking everything I have spoken about into consideration, my ultimate goal is to make the map I orginally had in mind, making it a lot more versatile creating a more visually, and gameplay pleasing map.

The things I aim to include are:

-Hollowing out 2 floors of the connected skyscrapers to create closed off areas, which also provides good spawn point locations.

-Tactical placement of Tunnels/ Cover along specific walk ways to provide unique open fire/ blind spots.

-Maybe adding a bit of destruction to create different means of entrances and platforms.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Reviewing all my previous projects I've realized that time management is definitely not my thing, so I've decided I'm going to post on here what I want to achieve in the process as a whole, and go into more detail week by week. So here we are.

Things that must be submitted at the end of the project:

-Design Log

-Mood Boards

-Initial Designs/ Process

-Complete Version of Map

-Project Evaluation

Project Length- 8 Weeks.

As of today we are 1 week down and I'd like to assume the design log is going well (or I wouldn't be posting this would I?), but I'm unsure of how much this passes for my design log, so I shall find out tomorrow if a complete hardcopy (Sketchbook) is required. On top of the logging, I've also nailed down my Initial Design, however I'm yet to provide any visual development of it so...

By the end of Week 2 in the project, I would like to have completed:

-Mood boards of my design inspiration, and gather any other reference material together for my log.

-Tradition/Digital overviews of my map ready for blocking out my level the following week.

On top of those, I would also like to have a little bit of a play with the Engines and DevKits, considering I currently have no experience with the ones I am leaning towards. I'd like to believe I'm a pretty quick learner when it comes to software of this nature, so I'm pretty comfortable in creating a good quality level with 5 if the remaining 7 weeks, allowing the final week remain free for my evaluation and any tweaks or fine touches that my map requires.

"I Have 17 Minutes To Get To An Avengers Science Fiction Social"

(Title dedicated to Tom Reilly, my super nerd friend who's responsible for this Blog post, and putting my idea generation in motion).

So as I said before Sci-Fi is not my strongest point, and gathering reference is proving to be quite difficult, without having to abuse Google. So I went to a friend and hit him with the question, "Do you have any good Sci-Fi reference, that is none game related for making a map". He replied with "I really like Metropolis' aesthetic it's super old school sci fi from like 1929" followed by a link to this beautiful picture...

This picture alone did so much for me. One of the main things I've concerns of my map is the outer part of the level (The part your character will have no access to). I've been a little bit worried about blending the core of the map, with the external part, without having any invisible walls, or just shutting it off completely. Another thing I've been worried about is setting. What makes a sci-fi setting? Or rather, what can pass as one?. That's where this picture saves my life. The idea of a futuristic skyscraper setting doesn't seem too far out of my comfort zone to create something that's believable, but more importantly for myself... Creating off-limits areas for a setting like this comes with ease. To put it as simple as possible, "If you walk too far that way, you're going to fall to your death".

Now that being said, I'm not running with this idea because it was the first thing to appear, it's just a coincidence that this picture managed to answer a lot of questions floating round my head!

When I grow up, I want to enjoy my job like this guy.

Was browsing the web for more info on 'How to: Level Design' and came across this glorious little interview with Daniel Phillips (Crytek level designer that worked on Crysis 2).

Daniel Phillips interview on Level Design.

Though many questions asked are directed to his personal experience, the interview contains a lot of juicy information a new level designer can benfit from. Main reference material includes a '7 Step Guide' of planning your level, as well as engine comparisons from a professional and experienced perspective.

A Man Is Only As Good As His Tools, Tools Are Only As Good As Their Man.

So I've been thinking about which Engine I'm going to use... From first glimpse of each piece of software here are my verdicts:

Source SDK- The only piece of software I have experience with. Unless I have enough to time to create a 3rd map to showcase the capabilities of each Engine, I will most likely be avoiding this software. The reasons for this being; This development kit is the most outdated of all 3, and is rarely used on a professional level.

Unreal Development Kit- From what I've seen, this shares similarities with the Source SDK UI, which would make picking up a new piece of less overwhelming. Being a more current piece of software, the outcomes of my map could look a lot more visually appealing than one created in Source SDK. The Unreal Engine is also common amongst many games, and is constantly being updated.

CryEngine - This Engine attracts me the most due to the raw power it provides. I personally find things made using the CryEngine visually superior to any other development kit. However from what I've seen of other peoples work, the process is very much 'Drag & Drop' and may be limited to preset objects without creating something in another program like Maya and exporting, though without any experience I can't say for certain.

UDK Environment Demo

CryEngine 3 Environment Demo

As you can see from the above videos, both pieces of software are capable of creating stunningly beautiful scenery providing you know how ;).

Balance is the key, young grasshopper.

As mentioned before, the key feature I want my map to contain is 'Balance', what I mean by this is being able to create a map that will compensate for a variety of play-styles, as well as keeping opposing advantages to a minimal. To explain what I mean in a little more detail, I'm going to do a break down of "de_dust2" from the Counter Strike franchise.

de_dust2 is the most common map player in Counter Strike 1.6, and as you will see from the screenshots later in the post, it's not due to it's stunning scenery, or visual creativity, in fact it's quite the opposite. de_dust2 is a very simplistic map that minimizes tactical advantages for picking a specific route. The map is made up of 4 major points on the map; Terrorist spawn location, counter terrorist spawn location, bomb site A, and finally bomb site B.

 Terrorist Spawn (A Side)

To the left is a screenshot of the Terrorist Spawn site in de_dust2 Counter Strike 1.6. From this angle you can see there are 3 instant possible routes for you to take; Down the ramp which you then have an option to take 'Middle' or 'Long', over the ledge and into the tunnel to take 'Middle' or under the archway to take an approach to 'B Site'.

 Terrorist Spawn (B Site)

To the right is a view of the Terrorist Spawn from the other side of the archway I mentioned in the previous screenshot. This allows you team to take a tunnel directly into the 'B Bomb Site', or they can take a route that leads back into 'Middle'

Middle

Pretty self explanatory but to the left is the middle route of the map. Middle Doors leading to  CT Spawn/ B Doors, Upper platform leading to A site, and lower Tunnels leading to B site. This single strip of the map is connected to pretty much every other part of the map in some form, creating multiple routes and tactics for your team.

 A Bomb Site, 'Long' &

Counter Terrorist Spawn

To the right is a screenshot showing Bomb Site A (Marked with an X), Counter Terrorist Spawn (The dark area under the archway), and 'Long'. This shows the main route from T Spawn avoiding Middle, nicknamed 'Long' for being the longest stretch of of map besides Mid. The walkway above CT Spawn is a means of entering from Mid.

B Bomb Site

This is the second and last bomb site on de_dust2. This consists of 2 main entrances, and another small entrance on the left commonly referred to as window. There are only 2 ways to get directly into the site, that is through the door on the left, linking Middle Doors mentioned earlier, or the Tunnel (mentioned in T spawn B).

Below is the Map Overview of everything I have mentioned above. The map is reasonably small, but holds a large number of stratigical possibilities. ('Spot 1' being Bomb Site A, and 'Spot 2' being Bomb Site B)

Ok so by now you're probably wondering "Why have you shown me screenshots of an ugly game and told me where they lead to?". The reason for the above is to try and showcase map balance, and effective use of alternate routes. This may seem irrelevant and somewhat pointless, but a well planned map reduces unfair advantages to a given team, increases comfort for a players preferred play-style, and opens up a wide selection of tactics to engage teams/ team players, which generally make up for a large percentage of the target audience.

You're making a treasure map?

Today I will be looking into the "Do's and Don'ts" of multiplayer map design. Being a consumer of FPS (First Person Shooter) games strictly for online multiplayer purposes, I'm pretty confident in having an eye for what makes a good or bad map, but I did a little bit of digging to get the inside scoop from a more professional perspective.

The Rules of Map Design.

This link is for an article regarding things to consider in multiplayer map design, giving tips on how to make your map more durable for play-time, as well as tips for player navigation.

Being a FPS player, I plan to design a map for that particular genre and play-style. The things I will be taking into consideration Include:

    - FOV (Field of View): Trying to place objects and buildings knowing that the player will be viewing in First Person, and understanding what they will or won't be able to see in any location.

    - Minimizing Weapon Advantages: Being a FPS player, one of the most frustrating things is having a map that over compensates for a specific weapon type, or making others completely redundant.

    - Removing Blind Spots: Anyone familiar with the genre will most likely be able to stress how annoying particular points of the map are that encourage 'Campers' or 'Glitchers'.

 

    - Map Variety: The main feature I would like to build my map around is balance, but I would also like to create a map that is visually diverse, without providing tactical advantages to any given team.

Next I will be looking at 'Tactical Overviews' of maps I've recently spent the most time in (CoD:MW3), then moving on to games that provide more Sci-Fi elements such as Crysis2, Halo, and Killzone.

Let me fill you in.

So we received our new brief today, and we've been asked to create a multiplayer map fashioned for a Sci-Fi game. I shouldn't find this too hard considering I spend a large majority of my life IN a multiplayer map, and I know from (a lot of) experience; balance is the key.

Although I feel reasonably comfortable with the multiplayer map part, creating a believable Sci-Fi one could prove quite difficult for me. I think a revisit to Mass Effect is in order.

UPDATE: The 3 engines we have access to include: Source SDK, UnrealDK, and the CryEngine. I haven't decided which I will produce my final in, but I'd like to create something in all 3 to provide a means of comparison between the software, and the benefits and downfalls to each of the engines.