Welcome to the first official SnarkPit Portal Competition Thread!
General Info:
- The theme for this competition is to create:
The Best Portal Boss Battle. Take that for whatever it might mean to you. Your goal however, is to create a map that provides the richest "boss battle" experience using the Portal concept, setting and puzzles.
The competition will run from April 1st through April 30th [UPDATE]: May 31st @ 11:59 PM your time zone.
Judging will be put to a forum vote for one (1) week after entry submissions. Judging should be based on aesthetics (how pretty is the map?), craftsmanship (how well was the map was put together?), creativity (any new or interesting gameplay designs and or map construction methods?), and most importantly, relevancy to the theme (how well does the map comply with the theme of the competition?). Keep these in mind when designing and building your map!
Winner will receive a Steam game of their choice worth $30.00 or less! One stipulation: There must be at least three (3) valid entries [UPDATE]: From three different people voted on for the prize to be awarded to the winner.
In order to submit your map, you may either: send your map via e-mail to riven (at) genecy.net or post a download link in this thread. You may enter your map anytime before the deadline.
The guidelines:
- Your map must be uploaded within a .zip folder. Not doing so may disqualify your map.
- Your map should be labeled as follows: <your SnarkPit alias>_sppc01.bsp Example: riven_sppc01.bsp
- Your map must be designed and created specifically for this contest; maps already uploaded or submitted for other competitions are NOT allowed.
- Your map MUST be uploaded with a valid Bonus Map Script file. Not doing so WILL disqualify your map! If you are not sure how to create one, you may check out this source over at www.thinkingwithportals.com and this source over at The Valve Developer Community. (Pictures for your Bonus folder and map are welcome!)
- Your map must be limited to one (1) map or .BSP file.
- You are allowed to post WIP screenshots of your map in this thread and anywhere else on the web, however, if you post your download link in this thread, I will take it to be your final entry submission, so post your playtests outside of this thread. You may start a map profile for your entry as well, but in order for it to be counted, it must be uploaded to me through either of the two methods mentioned in the "General Info" section.
- All custom content is allowed; i.e. custom textures, sounds, and models. Please be sure to credit the custom content you did not make! (please note: Custom .VCD files [choreography scenes] are temporarily unplayable in the original Portal game without disabling Glados voices altogether. Use of custom .VCD files may break your map and or crash the game. However, original .VCD files included with Portal are perfectly fine to use).
Tips:
- I've come to find that people prefer a slightly longer entertaining experience versus a shorter one, or at least, longer maps get more attention than shorter ones do (normally). Try to make your entry longer, but not boring.
- Try to add HDR to your map, it makes it look much more professional, and makes you look like you know what you're doing
. [EDIT]: HDR is completely optional and not required for your map.
- Playtest your maps often; you will gain the most feedback if you can watch the playtester play it in front of you.
- Don't procrastinate! If you feel you're interested, then start mapping as soon as you have the chance. The earlier you can post WIPs and get feedback, the earlier you can fix unforeseen problems.
- Have your boss battle include multiple puzzles and challenges in order to defeat your boss. Play other games, or refer to the Glados battle for inspiration. Also, try Googling "what makes a good boss battle?"
- Design your map according to the judging requirements in this order: Focus first on relevancy to the theme, then creativity, then craftsmanship, then aesthetics and you should have one good playing (and good looking) map!
Well, there you have it folks! If you have any questions about anything, please post them in this thread or PM me; I will get to them as soon as I can. Let us experience a good 'ol boss battle for the ages!
[UPDATE]: I should point out that our friends over at ThinkingWithPortals.com have started their April Portal contest too! Go check out their contest rules thread for more information. Now you have a choice on which contest you want! I highly advise you go check out their maps section too, as they have quite an active & creative community!
Good luck and get mapping!
-Riven
