Lunazure
05-25-2010, 02:18
TOO LATE
A LEFT 4 DEAD 2 MAP**
GOALS
Create an exciting map for Left 4 Dead 2[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Offer something fresh and fun[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Work within strict limitations[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Track my progress[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Gain a portfolio piece[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Gain valuable experience with the Hammer World Editor[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
STEP 1: THE CONCEPT
With a palette consisting of tetris blocks, an urban theme and a small play area to work with, I knew the concept stage would be especially important. I spent a lot of time playing through the different campaigns in L4D2 - including the DLC campaign 'The Passing' - to study the general flow of the game, understand the architecture and just generally refresh my memory of what players expect from L4D2. I wanted to create something familiar and fun, but offer something fresh at the same time.
One of my favorite campaigns in the game is 'Hard Rain'. I enjoyed pretty much everything it had to offer, but above all else it was the heavy thunderstorm that really caught my attention. I simply love how the gameplay intensifies as a result of not only the rain and thunder, but the flooding as well. This led me to declare my first concept: A recently-abandoned city that is beginning to flood from repeated heavy storms.
STEP 2: RESEARCH
I really enjoy learning about abandoned cities, floods, and generally apocalyptic scenarios and locales. I did extensive web research on many of the world's most fascinating abandoned cities and their history. I also did extensive web research on flooding, how it happens, the primary dangers, and general safety precautions.
Something that particularly intrigues me about abandoned locations is the history. The idea of of finding remnants of that location's history is incredible, and the emotion that can come attached to it is indescribable. You may walk into an abandoned school classroom and find a desk with the words "John & Jennifer" etched into the surface. Naturally, your mind fills with questions. Who were they? Did they die here? If they escaped, where are they now? Did they love each other, or did John carve this himself in a fit of infatuation for the cute girl across the room? Maybe it was the other way around? Soon you may find yourself searching for more answers, eager to learn more about the people who once walked the halls of that school.
I wanted to bring this atmosphere to my map, but with such strict limitations I was unsure of how I would be able to pull it off. I studied, and studied some more. I soon realized that I could leverage these limitations and use them to my advantage as a level designer.
STEP 3: THE LIST
When I design a level, I always generate a list of ideas in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. The "stream-of-consciousness" part is very important; the point is to let every single idea flow from your mind like a river, then come back to edit the list afterwards. This allows you to look at each individual idea you have and decide what is necessary, what is doable, and what is important to the flow of your level. This makes expendable "cool ideas" easy to spot, leaving you with less grief once you start building your map. Here's the one I generated for this particular map:
Recently-abandoned city[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Flooding[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Survivor camps[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Apartments[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Police station[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Pawn shop[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Warehouse[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] House[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Bar[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] LAN party[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Tank encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Witch encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Deserted vehicles[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Messages on the walls[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Clues[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Liquor store[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Storytelling through environment[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Radio message[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Stranded[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Rain[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Slower pace[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
After generating this initial list of ideas, I examined each one individually. Can I make this with tetris blocks? Will it fit in my map? Does it contribute to the gameplay? The story? The flow? These are all questions I would ask myself about each particular element when deciding whether or not to keep it. Here's the current state of the list, reflecting the cuts I made and why:
Recently-abandoned city[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Flooding[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Survivor camps[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Apartments (not enough gameplay opportunities to justify the large size, inconsistent with the town's aesthetic theme)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Police station[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Pawn shop[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Warehouse (too large to justify its interference with other gameplay opportunities)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] House (felt out of place among so many shops, opted for integrated living spaces instead)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Bar[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] LAN party[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Tank encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Witch encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Deserted vehicles[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Messages on the walls[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Clues[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Liquor Store (To avoid redundancy it was either this or the bar, I chose the bar)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Storytelling through environment[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Radio message[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Stranded[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Rain[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Slower pace[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
As you can see, I was able to keep a lot of my original ideas and eliminate the unnecessary ones. The buildings I kept all contributed something significant to gameplay, story or both. Oddly enough, I felt like something was missing. I ended adding a restaurant and a small electronics shop, which interestingly enough both ended up at the start of the map.
STEP 4: VISUALIZATION
I spent several days designing and editing the layout for this map. I had a few key ideas in mind that I wanted to execute, but I also wanted to make good use of the small area I had to work with. I feel like I ended up with a good balance between the two. Below is the final layout in basic form. The red line is the general flow of the critical path, while the green lines denote optional areas that warrant extra rewards and story details.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll203/NickPfisterer/TDM_L4D2_TooLate.gif
STEP 5: BUILDING THE MAP
Future posts in this thread will detail the progress of this step
STEP 6: RELEASE
Early Alpha - May 28[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Beta 1 - June 4[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Beta 2 - June 11[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Final Release - June 18[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
** Originally developed as an entry for the Gameplay and Flow Challenge 1. Read the explanation here (http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1380url).
A LEFT 4 DEAD 2 MAP**
GOALS
Create an exciting map for Left 4 Dead 2[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Offer something fresh and fun[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Work within strict limitations[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Track my progress[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Gain a portfolio piece[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Gain valuable experience with the Hammer World Editor[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
STEP 1: THE CONCEPT
With a palette consisting of tetris blocks, an urban theme and a small play area to work with, I knew the concept stage would be especially important. I spent a lot of time playing through the different campaigns in L4D2 - including the DLC campaign 'The Passing' - to study the general flow of the game, understand the architecture and just generally refresh my memory of what players expect from L4D2. I wanted to create something familiar and fun, but offer something fresh at the same time.
One of my favorite campaigns in the game is 'Hard Rain'. I enjoyed pretty much everything it had to offer, but above all else it was the heavy thunderstorm that really caught my attention. I simply love how the gameplay intensifies as a result of not only the rain and thunder, but the flooding as well. This led me to declare my first concept: A recently-abandoned city that is beginning to flood from repeated heavy storms.
STEP 2: RESEARCH
I really enjoy learning about abandoned cities, floods, and generally apocalyptic scenarios and locales. I did extensive web research on many of the world's most fascinating abandoned cities and their history. I also did extensive web research on flooding, how it happens, the primary dangers, and general safety precautions.
Something that particularly intrigues me about abandoned locations is the history. The idea of of finding remnants of that location's history is incredible, and the emotion that can come attached to it is indescribable. You may walk into an abandoned school classroom and find a desk with the words "John & Jennifer" etched into the surface. Naturally, your mind fills with questions. Who were they? Did they die here? If they escaped, where are they now? Did they love each other, or did John carve this himself in a fit of infatuation for the cute girl across the room? Maybe it was the other way around? Soon you may find yourself searching for more answers, eager to learn more about the people who once walked the halls of that school.
I wanted to bring this atmosphere to my map, but with such strict limitations I was unsure of how I would be able to pull it off. I studied, and studied some more. I soon realized that I could leverage these limitations and use them to my advantage as a level designer.
STEP 3: THE LIST
When I design a level, I always generate a list of ideas in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. The "stream-of-consciousness" part is very important; the point is to let every single idea flow from your mind like a river, then come back to edit the list afterwards. This allows you to look at each individual idea you have and decide what is necessary, what is doable, and what is important to the flow of your level. This makes expendable "cool ideas" easy to spot, leaving you with less grief once you start building your map. Here's the one I generated for this particular map:
Recently-abandoned city[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Flooding[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Survivor camps[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Apartments[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Police station[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Pawn shop[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Warehouse[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] House[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Bar[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] LAN party[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Tank encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Witch encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Deserted vehicles[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Messages on the walls[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Clues[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Liquor store[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Storytelling through environment[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Radio message[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Stranded[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Rain[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Slower pace[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
After generating this initial list of ideas, I examined each one individually. Can I make this with tetris blocks? Will it fit in my map? Does it contribute to the gameplay? The story? The flow? These are all questions I would ask myself about each particular element when deciding whether or not to keep it. Here's the current state of the list, reflecting the cuts I made and why:
Recently-abandoned city[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Flooding[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Survivor camps[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Apartments (not enough gameplay opportunities to justify the large size, inconsistent with the town's aesthetic theme)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Police station[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Pawn shop[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Warehouse (too large to justify its interference with other gameplay opportunities)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] House (felt out of place among so many shops, opted for integrated living spaces instead)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Bar[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] LAN party[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Tank encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Witch encounter[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Deserted vehicles[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Messages on the walls[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Clues[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Liquor Store (To avoid redundancy it was either this or the bar, I chose the bar)[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Storytelling through environment[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Radio message[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Stranded[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Rain[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Slower pace[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
As you can see, I was able to keep a lot of my original ideas and eliminate the unnecessary ones. The buildings I kept all contributed something significant to gameplay, story or both. Oddly enough, I felt like something was missing. I ended adding a restaurant and a small electronics shop, which interestingly enough both ended up at the start of the map.
STEP 4: VISUALIZATION
I spent several days designing and editing the layout for this map. I had a few key ideas in mind that I wanted to execute, but I also wanted to make good use of the small area I had to work with. I feel like I ended up with a good balance between the two. Below is the final layout in basic form. The red line is the general flow of the critical path, while the green lines denote optional areas that warrant extra rewards and story details.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll203/NickPfisterer/TDM_L4D2_TooLate.gif
STEP 5: BUILDING THE MAP
Future posts in this thread will detail the progress of this step
STEP 6: RELEASE
Early Alpha - May 28[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Beta 1 - June 4[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Beta 2 - June 11[/*:m:2i2tzqv0] Final Release - June 18[/*:m:2i2tzqv0]
** Originally developed as an entry for the Gameplay and Flow Challenge 1. Read the explanation here (http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1380url).