lol; good one, but no! That would be the player'(s) obstacles and not the mapper's created one. Besides, Don't you want it within an sp version of Source, so that you could have npcs and whatnot? We just need to pick which one. Should we stick with the original 2004 version of HL2 which at the most has buggy HDR effects? Or should we go with the EP1 version which more people probably have over the EP2 version?
While I do think that a small playing map would be in order, perhaps 512x512x512 is a bit too small. maybe double that to: 1024x1024x1024 for a good playing field? Keep in mind that the boundaries themselves can be invisible, just so long as the player can't pass through those dimensions. ReNo, having mapped for Mapcore's 1024 unit competition can tell us if that is bigger than I think it is 
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BTW, Reaper47 is right on the money there IMO. It always seems like we have more contestants who join but never finish than those that do. All because they couldn't finish on time. I'm sure most would agree that any unfinished projects that started with a lot of enthusiasm, ended because it was just too ambitious. The same is true for competitions. People just get worn out and burned up about their entry not looking to spec like they first imagined. Keeping the project small ensures less content, but more quality, which is what we're looking for in a competition. If I remember right, none of the categories we have judged maps for in the past have anything to do with size.
I believe that the "obstacles" idea will guarantee the entries to be creative. Whereas in most other competitions, the ideal was a really nice looking map, the goal here is to commit to a innovative idea with no need for a fancy execution. Granted we want to stay away from a dev-texture coated maps, we're judging more on your creative logic rather than your skill at designing a pretty place! I expect people entering to spend more time on thinking up of a good obstacle rather than actually building it. An agenda of that nature is sure to win big for a competition like this and impress people by its innovative design rather than by its artistic style. Let's show people that level design is more than just pretty angles and color wheel selection, and let's use our Left side of the brain again! A portfolio piece with a winning entry from a competition like this is sure to give you another edge over the opposition!
