Hello. My name is William Pugh and today I'm going to show you how to design a level like me - William Pugh. There are lots of things to make levels for, but today I'm going to just go and make a level for one of my favourite games: Team Fortress 2. These steps can be followed for making maps for pretty much any game, but I'll be speaking mainly in TF2 lingo for this article.
Step 1. The ritual.
So, before you even open up your level editor you need to get yourself in the mindset for creation.
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
Now I'm not talking drugs - I'm talking unholy pacts with the spirits of creation.
If you think you're ready to make Team Fortress 2 maps? YOU'RE NOT YOU'RE NOTHING
YOU'RE NOTHING.
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
So you want to set up a class 2 shrine - I personally use the black candles, but they can really be any colour. I guess I'm just a sucker for tradition!!
Light the two, then the incense - wait in silence for about 30 seconds and then whisper the words.
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
Drinking from the glass is once again, largely symbolic - but you should take at least one sip after you speak the words, to signal the ending of the ritual.
Step 2. Loading up Hammer.
You'll obviously need TF2 installed, and you'll find the map editor that's tucked away in the bin folder.
So this is what an empty level looks like:
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
Looks like nothing to you? WRONG IT'S A BLANK CANVAS.
****ing blank canvas you untrained swine
Step 3. Blocking out the map
Oh my god you guys piss me off!!!
You're screaming at me "WILLIAM MAKE THE MAP MAKE THE MAP!!"
It needs time. God. You need to simmer down.
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
That's what a map in progress looks like.
Blocks!! That's the key. Blocks can be made quickly, and they can be changed easy peasy lemon squeezy! That allows you to iterate upon your map quickly and change stuff around based on how playtesting goes!
Playtesting I hear you ask? Don't be a weakling. The only opinion you need is your own (in this case mine).
Step 4. Detailing
"William this map doesn't look any good!" I hear you whinge incessantly into my poor, poor ear. Stop.
Stop please stop telling me things this isn't a dialogue shut up shut up. God I have a headache. Just look at this image and be sated.
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
Step 6. The thing
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
Step 7. Exporting the map!
So there we go! You've finished your map. If you've employed JUST the right amount of creativeness you should have a map that breaks JUST the right amount of conventions and provides a refreshing experience for the seasoned TF2 player.
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
Let's export this puppy and see what it looks like!!
http://s2.n4g.com/media/11/...
Yeeeeaaaaaahhh. Enclosed space with low respawn times with team conflict being broken up sporadically by SKELETONS appearing out of the ground!!
TF2 official selection here we come!!
Step 8. Post Release…
So you've made it. What now? Write a blog about it.
- William Pugh
P.S. So, you've read the blog. You've read it and you can clearly see it makes utterly no sense whatsoever. But don't worry - your time has not been wasted. Within these words and images is a secret code that, if decoded correctly will lead you to something I think you'll find quite special.
P.P.S. There is no code. Don't waste your time. I'm sorry. I'm really really really sorry.
Day 18 | Galactic Cafe
The friendly folks over at Razer recently sent us their full size Kishi Ultra mobile gaming controller, and this thing didn't disappoint.
VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "Upon finally finishing Devil May Cry 5 recently - after it spent several years on my “I’ll play that soon” list - I considered giving it a fittingly-named Late Look article. However, considering that this was indeed the final piece I was missing in the DMC puzzle, I decided to instead take this opportunity to take a look back at the entirety of this genre-defining series and rank the entries. What also made this a particularly tempting notion was that while most high-profile series have developed fairly evenly over time, with a few bumps on the road, the history of Devil May Cry has, at least in my eyes, been an absolute roller coaster, with everything from total disasters to action game gold."
Me leaving it out should be telling of my thoughts on it. Better than 2 as a DMC game.
Still a good game though.
3,1,4,5 to me, never played 2. 5 gameplay is amazing but level design was really disappointing to me, just a bunch of plain arenas, the story felt like a worse written rehash of the 3rd and the charater models looked weird ( specially the ladies ). Another problem with 5 was that there was not enough content for 3 charaters so I could never really familiarize with any of them
2.
Dmc.
4.
5.
1.
3.
God DMC2 was an awful game.
And in case this isn't obvious it goes worst to best
Order changes depending on your focus. I tend to focus on gameplay/fun factor, so...
5, 3, 1, 4, 2.
I really didn't like 4 but commend Dante's weapon diversity. The retreading of old ground was pretty unacceptable to me.
But even then... Still more enjoyable than 2 for me
TSA go hands on with the beta for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, but how is the game transitioning to the post-stylus era?
Install tf2, enclosed spaces, finished. Need another picture, can't continue without it
" I'm talking unholy pacts with the spirits of creation. "
i always start my day with a spirit ritual :3
you are sooo awesome William Pugh
Okay, if he gets to curse on N4G, we should be able to do it also.
its cool to see more behind the scenes gaming stuff like this!
Always cool to see how they make games