Design Considerations for HLDM Part 2
by sulsa (view all articles)
unrated
Gamedesign theory for Halflife
by sulsa (view all articles)
unrated
Gamedesign theory for Halflife
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR HALFLIFE DEATHMATCH MAPPING
Part 2
One thing that separates a bad map from a good map from an outstanding map is the GAMEPLAY. GAMEPLAY is the generic all encompassing word that measures the 'FUN' level of the map. The physical layout of the map, the blocks that create the world your character is standing in and the placement of 'resources' (what your character can use) is 99% of that gameplay.
There has always been the question "GAMEPLAY or EYECANDY: Which is more important?" If you choose eyecandy, we differ on the answer to that question and you might as well stop reading right now. This article will focus on some ideas about gameplay and how to develop the highest possible level of replay value..
May your map live long and prosper
Making a beautiful map is always something to be proud of. When you sit in front of your computer and do a test run on your map after a full compile late at night, do you find yourself going 'wow...!' at the architecture, the texture usage and the lighting? Nothing is better than 'wowing' yourself at your own creation, but if that is where your 'debugging' ends, you are in for a disappointing career as a level designer. You won't be disappointed on the scores you receive on most map review sites though, they will consider you a genius and a messiah. Why? Most review sites do the same thing you did to test it: they fire it up late at night, run around in it for 5 minutes looking for misaligned textures along ceiling and wall seams, and then declare you 'worthy of VALVE employment'. If, however, you want people to actually play your map online or at LAN parties, you are going to have to do more work.
The assortment of killing methods in Multiplayer Half-Life provide a freedom (nearly) unmatched in any game to this day. This makes your job as a level designer harder. We all know the abilities and limits of the weapons themselves, so we can skip all that. Instead we can focus on how a map can create certain situations calling for certain weapons and tactics, thus catering to more types of fighting styles.
Before you start thinking of the theme, environmental effects, architecture etc. of your map, you need to think of what kind of battles you want to take place in your map. Halflife is all about fighting, right? So your #1 priority is to make a map that makes fighting fun and memorable.
First, think about what kinds of maps you enjoy playing on. After that, focus that thought and remember specific memorable moments in multiplayer. What maps were you playing on? What happened on those maps that made you laugh, cringe, shout out loud, kick the cat etc.? Get introspective and learn what kind of player YOU are and what YOU like in a map.
So many ways to kill, so little time
Halflife is a brilliant game. Sure it's technically beautiful, even by today's standards, but the genius goes way beyond the eye candy. The multiplayer aspect of Halflife lives on today so strongly because of the VARIETY of combat that can take place in even the SIMPLEST of maps. You have short, medium and long range weapons. You have weak weapons. You have strong weapons. You have explosives. You have remote weapons. You have 'dumb' weapons. You have 'smart' weapons. You have weapons that can shoot through walls. With this amount of variety, you really need to kick in more than just your visual expertise in designing your map and actually play out combat in your head as you build.
Ambushes:
What's better than getting a jump on an unsuspecting opponent? Many maps create a nice flow, but lack viable 'ambush' areas. Even a difference in 'ping' can give a false sense of an ambush i.e. if you run around the corner and come face to face with someone. Sure it can be fun watching them fly backwards with a well placed shotgun blast to the face, but the guy on the receiving end who may have hit the trigger first, gets awfully frustrated awfully fast. Not everyone playing has a cable modem. Take out the ability to ambush, and you have a boring game for the High Ping People; they are cannon fodder. If you do put in an ambush area in your map, you aren't done- you need more than one. The only thing worse for a High Pinger in a map without an ambush spot, is a map which has only one ambush spot that everyone avoids. There are many ways of designing ambush points, dark corners being the easiest and most unimaginative. One of the best ways to provide an environment for ambushes is giving the player a VERTICAL ADVANTAGE. A map with a vertical element instantly stands out a bit more than the rest. Keep people thinking in three dimensions rather than two, and you increase the fun, tension and intelligence of the game for everyone. Check out the map 'Gasworks' to see what I mean.
Defendable Areas:
A dead end in a map is considered a no-no. It can be a waste of space and pointless. However, if you transform that dead end into an area with an incentive to get there and an incentive to keep other players from NOT getting there, you have added a significant tactical ingredient to your map.
The difficulty in pulling this effect off is in the BALANCE of the defender vs. attacker. The maps that come to mind first with good balance of the 'defendable' areas: Lambda Bunker, Boot Camp, Frenzy, Crossfire and Double Cross. They all have a GREAT BALANCE between the attacker and defender.
An area like the bunker in Crossfire provides an excellent case study:
Look at the other maps listed above. Really take the time to examine why their defendable areas are so fun, and how they are balanced against the defender and attacker. Look at the incentives for going there, and the different ways to lay siege to them.
Part 2
One thing that separates a bad map from a good map from an outstanding map is the GAMEPLAY. GAMEPLAY is the generic all encompassing word that measures the 'FUN' level of the map. The physical layout of the map, the blocks that create the world your character is standing in and the placement of 'resources' (what your character can use) is 99% of that gameplay.
There has always been the question "GAMEPLAY or EYECANDY: Which is more important?" If you choose eyecandy, we differ on the answer to that question and you might as well stop reading right now. This article will focus on some ideas about gameplay and how to develop the highest possible level of replay value..
May your map live long and prosper
Making a beautiful map is always something to be proud of. When you sit in front of your computer and do a test run on your map after a full compile late at night, do you find yourself going 'wow...!' at the architecture, the texture usage and the lighting? Nothing is better than 'wowing' yourself at your own creation, but if that is where your 'debugging' ends, you are in for a disappointing career as a level designer. You won't be disappointed on the scores you receive on most map review sites though, they will consider you a genius and a messiah. Why? Most review sites do the same thing you did to test it: they fire it up late at night, run around in it for 5 minutes looking for misaligned textures along ceiling and wall seams, and then declare you 'worthy of VALVE employment'. If, however, you want people to actually play your map online or at LAN parties, you are going to have to do more work.
The assortment of killing methods in Multiplayer Half-Life provide a freedom (nearly) unmatched in any game to this day. This makes your job as a level designer harder. We all know the abilities and limits of the weapons themselves, so we can skip all that. Instead we can focus on how a map can create certain situations calling for certain weapons and tactics, thus catering to more types of fighting styles.
Before you start thinking of the theme, environmental effects, architecture etc. of your map, you need to think of what kind of battles you want to take place in your map. Halflife is all about fighting, right? So your #1 priority is to make a map that makes fighting fun and memorable.
First, think about what kinds of maps you enjoy playing on. After that, focus that thought and remember specific memorable moments in multiplayer. What maps were you playing on? What happened on those maps that made you laugh, cringe, shout out loud, kick the cat etc.? Get introspective and learn what kind of player YOU are and what YOU like in a map.
So many ways to kill, so little time
Halflife is a brilliant game. Sure it's technically beautiful, even by today's standards, but the genius goes way beyond the eye candy. The multiplayer aspect of Halflife lives on today so strongly because of the VARIETY of combat that can take place in even the SIMPLEST of maps. You have short, medium and long range weapons. You have weak weapons. You have strong weapons. You have explosives. You have remote weapons. You have 'dumb' weapons. You have 'smart' weapons. You have weapons that can shoot through walls. With this amount of variety, you really need to kick in more than just your visual expertise in designing your map and actually play out combat in your head as you build.
Ambushes:
What's better than getting a jump on an unsuspecting opponent? Many maps create a nice flow, but lack viable 'ambush' areas. Even a difference in 'ping' can give a false sense of an ambush i.e. if you run around the corner and come face to face with someone. Sure it can be fun watching them fly backwards with a well placed shotgun blast to the face, but the guy on the receiving end who may have hit the trigger first, gets awfully frustrated awfully fast. Not everyone playing has a cable modem. Take out the ability to ambush, and you have a boring game for the High Ping People; they are cannon fodder. If you do put in an ambush area in your map, you aren't done- you need more than one. The only thing worse for a High Pinger in a map without an ambush spot, is a map which has only one ambush spot that everyone avoids. There are many ways of designing ambush points, dark corners being the easiest and most unimaginative. One of the best ways to provide an environment for ambushes is giving the player a VERTICAL ADVANTAGE. A map with a vertical element instantly stands out a bit more than the rest. Keep people thinking in three dimensions rather than two, and you increase the fun, tension and intelligence of the game for everyone. Check out the map 'Gasworks' to see what I mean.
Defendable Areas:
A dead end in a map is considered a no-no. It can be a waste of space and pointless. However, if you transform that dead end into an area with an incentive to get there and an incentive to keep other players from NOT getting there, you have added a significant tactical ingredient to your map.
The difficulty in pulling this effect off is in the BALANCE of the defender vs. attacker. The maps that come to mind first with good balance of the 'defendable' areas: Lambda Bunker, Boot Camp, Frenzy, Crossfire and Double Cross. They all have a GREAT BALANCE between the attacker and defender.
An area like the bunker in Crossfire provides an excellent case study:
- There are multiple ways into the bunker.
- There is a 'killing field' in front to expose attackers.
- There are health chargers in the bunker, BUT they are exposed and it turns the defenders' backs to anyone coming across the field.
- There is a huge amount of ammo inside. Take notice of the deliberate LACK of powerful weapons though, creating the great game flow on the other side of the map, making you collect everything you need BEFORE you make that run to the bunker.
- There is cover on the opposite end of the bunker to bombard it from afar.
- The turrets in the bunker are POWERFUL, thus giving an incentive to go up there and expose yourself to snipers. (On a personal note, I think their rate of fire should've been increased, making them more attractive)
- The ultimate incentive for getting to the bunker and staying in it for a length of time is the airstrike you can call in to kill everyone else.
Look at the other maps listed above. Really take the time to examine why their defendable areas are so fun, and how they are balanced against the defender and attacker. Look at the incentives for going there, and the different ways to lay siege to them.
