Level design tropes you use

[Fonze]

Yeah those are the maps that encourage the attitude of "reset if I do t make it past this part with x amount of health." I'll pass on playing those thanks.

[baja blast rd.]

14 minutes ago, rabidrage said:

I don't know what it is about treating health and ammo that way.  I mean, I get it, but I hate having to save so often.  Levels seem more fun to me when they're not quite so brutal.  Why not just hide the health and make a secret or almost-secret out of it?  Or put it someplace where the player has to work/grind to get it?  Then they get to weigh their options and only go for it if it's really worth it to them.  Kinda like the room in E1M9 where the rockets are.

 

Everyone likes different things. You aren't the target audience. Etc. 

[Steve D]

Yeah, Killer5 makes super-challenging maps. Not for everyone, but it's his bliss.

[Killer5]

- I hate having to save so often.

My thoughts: I have room to grow as a player. Practice more.

 

- Levels seem more fun to me when they are less brutal.

My thoughts: Overcoming challenge is what I find rewarding. That is why I make demos of long maps.

 

- Why not hide health or make it hard to get to?

My thoughts: I shouldn’t be getting hit. This is why I made some reality demos of hard maps.

 

My thoughts of what is fun is very different than most. While I respect your opinion it won’t make me change design philosophies.

 

i guess I should add another trope:

spends more time testing lower difficulties rather than skill 4 to make maps accessible for others. Making hard maps that are more accessible is an interesting problem to solve. You can’t just remove all monsters. You end up changing everything from triggers, to layout, to monster composition, to weapon progression in order to avoid maps which are completely void of challenge. This is something I think about more than what I like in maps I make and is something I strive to improve on with each map I am involved with.

[rabidrage]

33 minutes ago, rdwpa said:

 

Everyone likes different things. You aren't the target audience. Etc. 

 

Yes, of course.  But I think it's both fun and important to debate the merits and flaws of such things.  It fosters some good discussions.

[Jaska]

Just now, rabidrage said:

 

Yes, of course.  But I think it's both fun and important to debate the merits and flaws of such things.  It fosters some good discussions.

 

True. What I find a very challenging to do is how difficult the map is going to be. When I play something like Sunlust I die continuously after map(08) (can't remember). So sure there is different genres for a gameplay difficulties and styles.. Can't please everyone, that's sure. So for me many mapsets are too difficult. I like more of an explorative maps, the easier ones. I play too little, I should play more to get better grasp of difficulties of mapsets on general..and gameplay visions as well. I'm more of a "world"-creator than gameplay-"guy".

 

I think I don't like those maps that are meant to be played at certain way to win. But it is a kind of a paradox that good level design lets the player think that he has solved the problem although there was only one way to do the whole thing. It's good to have variation. Some easy parts, then harder etc. Maybe even monsterless parts to build up tension? I may be too drunk for this :D

[rabidrage]

I'm the same.  Better at being creative than at playing.  Seriously, I suck.  But I love 90s Wads when they're done by decent mappers...lots of corridors and exploration, not a ton of high-tier enemies being thrown at you in room after room, etc.  That being said, while I haven't so much as beaten Thy Flesh Consumed or Doom II, I have gotten through SNES, 32X, Jaguar and 3DO Doom, as well as Absolution, The Outcast Levels, Redemption Denied, Chex Quest 1-3 and other relatively challenging stuff.  So take from that what you will.  Not that CQ is hard, of course. :P

 

Guess I can play okay when I want to.  Bit I try to take into account that a lot of people play better.  It's harder to playtest, but I figure I'm doing well because I made the level and I know it.

[Jaska]

And one dislike.. Archviles..

[Jaska]

Now I'm planning to create set ups which can be accessed from 2-3 directions. And also there will be free roaming monsters. Of course this is difficult to manage..

[Denim Destroyer]

Starting a map and never finishing it. Plus I worry too much about the architecture making sense.

[Spie812]

• Claustrophobic fights with a high movement requirement.
• Small to Medium sized areas. I can't seem to get large areas to play well.
• Geometric layouts using very few (if any) orthogonal lines.
• I like unusual weapon progression (rocket launcher start, anyone?)
• Since I usually speedmap, some sort of gimmick to try to make the map memorable.