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Map names and themes.
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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Orpheus on Sat Nov 27th at 3:40am 2004

Personally, I think a maps name must fit. Here are some titles I have in waiting for my possible future.

1) Intense- A map themed in a circus. (In Tents)
2) Scorched- Yup you guessed it, either a desert theme or volcanic. You take heat damage all the time, this discourages camping and promotes movement toward the Oasis, which just being in the water heals.
3) Perched- A king of the mountain type, one with no weapons at all but the person on the top has access to booby traps for certain areas, the kicker is, he cannot see the areas. also one level below the top there is a button to blow the king off the hill
4) Scamper- A large forest theme, where you are tiny. Not unlike Rats.
5) Lost- A maze theme, you begin in an extreme distance away from any weapons and must cross to them through already defended positions.

anyways, I am curious to know if anyone has themes in waiting.

[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Crono on Sat Nov 27th at 4:02am 2004

Aren't those more fitting for a story title then a map title? I just figure map titles should give a description of the map. Scorched for example would make me think of burnt wastelands, which is not a desert.

Oh well, doesn't really matter I suppose. [addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Spartan on Sat Nov 27th at 4:13am 2004

So what brought you on to write up this thread Orph?



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Crono on Sat Nov 27th at 4:15am 2004

? quoting Spartan 34
So what brought you on to write up this thread Orph?


He's a thread-maker-whore! [addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Orpheus on Sat Nov 27th at 4:25am 2004

? quoting Spartan 34
So what brought you on to write up this thread Orph?

would you ask this question if it weren't me?

basically, i have noticed a massive influx of new members, and newer maps. i also have noticed no rhyme or reason for some of the titles. read my maps names, all fit the theme if you think on it long enough. i just favor proper names, in spite of the fact that most of my maps have no discernible theme.

and to answer your question crono, scorched is because of the heat damage, not necessarily the environment.

[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Nickelplate on Sat Nov 27th at 5:10am 2004

I ALWAYS think up names in advance. a cool name is what makes a person click on the DL link. I like tha name RADIOSITY. Mappers understand the name and others just think it sounds cool. [addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Spartan on Sat Nov 27th at 5:14am 2004

? quoting Orpheus
? quoting Spartan 34
So what brought you on to write up this thread Orph?

would you ask this question if it weren't me?

Lol, probably not.





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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by G.Ballblue on Sat Nov 27th at 5:31am 2004

Hmmmm.... I'm kinda into player vs. monster stuff -- I've always thought lowely of deathmatch kinds of games, so this would really be more of a thing for a mod or game.

Let's take a name I have: Dimension Jumpers.

Now let's disect that:

Dimension: HMMM sounds like Half-Life dimensional rip kinda of game.

Jumpers: Are the super mario brothers in it?

Needless to say it doesn't sound like the most convincing name -- but I like it. Since most of us here have a pretty big vocabulary, common sense tells us automatically what the game is most likely about.

To branch off into the name giving subject, and just sort of random-share-get-to-know-everyone-integrated-workshop-kinda thing, perhaps maybe we could all share names of some characters we thought up? (No stealing now!)

That is, if anyone wants to

[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Hugh on Sat Nov 27th at 6:21am 2004

I never think up names in Advance in the way you do, Orph. Like for Zeromancer or Seether, I just decided they were cool names, they don't really give any view whatsoever into what the map's like... I might think up some cool words beforehand but not necessarily for usage in a specific map. [addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Cash Car Star on Sat Nov 27th at 6:50am 2004

Actually, Dimension Jumper sounds to me like a lame Quantum Leap knock-off.

I used to kind of be half and half. About half of my maps had names before they were ever created, and usually these names come from a song somewhere (Satur9, Overfloater, Exploder[never released]). The other half of the time, the name would turn up part way through mapping it (Aerie, Glimmer) and in one case, was named stupidly at the last minute because said map was due in for a contest (Vernon).





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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Campaignjunkie on Sat Nov 27th at 6:55am 2004

Hmm, people put that much thought into their names? I just use whatever, usually. For example, I'm naming my maps after different cuts of steak! It'll be a whole series of random, crappy HL2 maps.
  • Sirloin
  • Porterhouse
  • Tri-tip
  • Ribeye
  • Flank
  • Salisbury
  • Tenderloin (also known as Filet Mignon)
I just think it has to be something short, snappy, unique, and memorable. For example: "Dust"? Yes! "Piranesi"... Buh?
[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by $loth on Sat Nov 27th at 7:27am 2004

I completly agree, a map has to have a good name, sometimes they are not descriptive, some of the cs ones for example. I like to at least have a good name. Take cs_hogwarts for example, I don't think that many people will get confuzed. [addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Kain on Sat Nov 27th at 8:07am 2004

- Gaston.B (removed)

- 34 Latitude

I like to give an intriguing title to my maps, that doesn't necessarily give a clue about the content. I'm planning to design a new one called Anubis, but I guess I'm too lazy for that...





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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by half-dude on Sat Nov 27th at 11:43am 2004

Well I named my mod Xenophobia after I thought up were it was going to take place. I heard the aliens being called Xeno organsiums and I knew that a phobia was a fear. So I thought that it was fear of Xen aliens It was only later I found out that it was a real fear, fear of strangers. [addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Nickelplate on Mon Nov 29th at 10:14pm 2004

? quoting half-dude
Well I named my mod Xenophobia after I thought up were it was going to take place. I heard the aliens being called Xeno organsiums and I knew that a phobia was a fear. So I thought that it was fear of Xen aliens It was only later I found out that it was a real fear, fear of strangers.

That is actually why the Aliens where called "Xeno-whatevers" and the [other place] was called "Xen." The prefix Xeno- means "Alien" or "foreign"

? quoting Campaignjunkie
Hmm, people put that much thought into their names? I just use whatever, usually. For example, I'm naming my maps after different cuts of steak! It'll be a whole series of random, crappy HL2 maps.
  • Sirloin
  • Porterhouse
  • Tri-tip
  • Ribeye
  • Flank
  • Salisbury
  • Tenderloin (also known as Filet Mignon)
I just think it has to be something short, snappy, unique, and memorable. For example: "Dust"? Yes! "Piranesi"... Buh?

I can't beleive you said crappy maps. I was looking thru the maps section and i saw porterhouse. I thought it was really impressive.

[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Kage_Prototype on Mon Nov 29th at 11:53pm 2004

I think of a map style or location, and give it a name. For example, I have a single-player map pack set in a sewer that I have dubbed...sp_sewer.
[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Yak_Fighter on Tue Nov 30th at 12:12am 2004

My map names suck just like my maps. I'd be better off naming them all like ydm# or something. [addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by ReNo on Tue Nov 30th at 12:20am 2004

I tend to use single word names for my maps, that don't necessarily have much to do with the theme yet kidna fit. I personally don't like names that are too obvious for the level, it shows a lack of originality in my eyes. I'll go over a few of my names...

Obsolete
The title for this one was because the map was a sort of abandoned section of a Black Mesa training facility, but now the map is so old and crappy, and has been superseded by my other works, its taken on a whole new meaning

Echo
This name was an easy one to come up with, both because I like the word (particularly its "look") and because the map takes place in tunnels that would probably give some damn nice echos.

Outland
The setting is the area around two military outposts on an outworldly planet, so the name just seemed suiting to me.

Selfless
A paroxysm map, the player team was being sent in to rescue a previous ARU squad that contact had been lost with, thereby risking their lives to save others. Fairly obvious title, but not a map name I'd heard used before.

Torrent
Originally this map was a CTF map for the AG mod, and took place in a thunder and lighting storm with heavy rain. When the snarkpit contest came about, I reworked it to match the "contrasting themes" requirement but decided I liked the original name and the falling snow and harsh environment justified it's use.

Angelic
I'll keep this title for a future map (the current one, at least for HL1, is scrapped), but whatever I use it for will be set in a space station with focus on the exterior sections. Heaven is typically thought of as being "up there", so why not confuse it with other things in the area
[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Tracer Bullet on Tue Nov 30th at 12:22am 2004

I tend to go for single adjectives like Feculence. I named that map before I even started work because the idea was for it to be a oozing with waste and other nasty filthy s**t. Cratesis was also named before I even started work because I knew it was going to be centered around the genesis of crates. Likewise I called my only foray into flat-shading Prosaic because I thought it looked very boring...

For those who may not know:

Prosaic =~ boring

Feculence =~ filthy

[addsig]



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 Re: Map names and themes.
Posted by Spartan on Tue Nov 30th at 12:31am 2004

Here's a name that gives you ideas ahead of time, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". [addsig]




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