myk
patron mod of ugly ducklings and black sheep
Posts: 10612
Registered: 04-02 |
Grazza said:
Above all, I appreciate maps that force (or at least allow) creative play. That is, where the player needs to think - not about how to solve puzzles, but about how to tackle the challenge that lies before him.
I'd say any fleshed out set of maps should include at least a couple such maps; an example in DOOM II itself being Map24: The Chasm, where the player has to hit a series of switches and navigate narrow catwalks while under attack. But its also stuff that should be used with discretion, and forcing it on maps can break them; after all such quirks come out by themselves (look at AV's Map25: Demonic Hordes). Of course a knowledgeable mapper will have to make decisions about these tricks when they show up and are detected, particularly while the map's in development, judging whether he'll remove the quirk, expand upon it, or leave it as is.
What route to take, how to use resources, when to stand and fight, and when to run - that kind of thing.
I would call that "game balance" on a smaller scale within the map, as opposed to an overall balance where the maps relate to each other (when talking about an episode or megawad).
Attractive design is a significant factor in all this, as it helps the player navigate around the map (by creating a greater emotional response in each part of the map),
The way I see it, what it does is inspire you to try it, or go on with it, and helps one remember the map (how could one forget SID, even if he were to think it doesn't have the best available gameplay overall?) And if the map is real shitty it could drive one away before fully experiencing the map's possibilities (like those with garish textures and jarring music), and heh, may also help keep the level in our memory.
and can also (if some thought has been put into making it fit logically together) provide some clues for how the player should proceed.
Additionally, and perhaps more clearly, it will inspire the designer, giving him a pretext from where to experiment with gameplay devices. One will try to create a setting, discarding and transforming what one is working on as one goes. One needs an arbitrary board to start specifically molding what will turn out to be a challenging or entertaining gameplay scenario, and aesthetic (including general creativity, influences from fiction and artwork, "real world" mimicry, plot backgrounds, etc, according to the nature of the design) considerations are very helpful in this regard, because what we do with "aesthetic" things is play around (in a childish way, even) allowing us to mix and arrange materials (game mechanics and resources) in intuitive and intelligent ways.
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08-11-06 04:20 
