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Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case Study
Posted By: ScifitekiDate: 9/2/02 3:58 a.m.

Well, in case anyone hasn't been watching the Filleball lately, this little novel piece was put up. If you haven't....Some of you might even remember the C-Files. Some of you might even wince when you do. This is it's sequel, if it needed such a thing.

But gross dumping on it isn't the point of this post. If you haven't downloaded this map already, I suggest you do. If you're considering mapmaking, I strongly encourage you do. It's a sort of abject lesson in what differentiates a newbie map, from, say, Escape II. And it's not the latter.Although that's a little harsh (Scott has just a little more experience, I guess : )), it's still well worth considering.

<GIANT RANT>

Once apon a time, I even turned my much-callused hand to the art of mapmaking. I laboured on a small collection of levels for a time, even daring to think that I might one day turn them into a TC. But alas, a combination of school and no disk drive on my new Imac drew me away. And so it was, for a time, that these maps rested in the back of the harddrive, banished to the far corners of my thought.

And then, a few days ago, I downloaded Marathon: Cyle Returns. I did not expect wonders from it, as I remembered it's predeccesor. Yet, I was still vaguely disappointed as I played through it. The levels were ridiculously small, and the plot thin to say the least. Gradually, as I worked my way through it, the levels became better, the plot literally thickened from it's wafer-thinness. But the levels were still unsatisfying, and visble learning curves can be ugly in map collections.

And so, I thought to myself, "What makes these levels less fun to play? Why would anyone put out something like this?" And then, I realised with a mixture of shock and curiosity, that my levels, gathering mould in my hard drive, were rather similar. For all the hard work and effort I had put into those levels, they were still unsatisfyingly short, the architecture limited at best. Yet, only weeks before, I had thought these levels masterpieces. Heck, I even had a visble learning curve in mine!

So, what does this teach us? That what you believe is the best, because you have slaved away at rigourously connecting each poly, texturing them, lighting them, may in fact be a poor, short and uninteresting exuse of a map. What you believe is a decent size may in fact be ridiculously short to an outside player.

What are some other things that it can teach us? That one should strive to avoid meaninglessness in one's maps. They might mean something by themselves to you, but to an outsider who proably does not even use the map very much, they're just silly additions. If you make a room, make it somehow important, or at least nice to look at. Don't just make it square and fill it with baddies.That way leads to ugliness.

Meaninglessness also comes in story. One should make sure that, even if all the player is doing is exploring a level, that the terms make it clear that this is actually of vital importance, and has extra meanings not immediately clear through the map. Not just:
"I wish to test you. Kill everything and then come back."
The above just makes the player feel cheated and confused, and have no real desire to do as the term says, beyond first-time sheer curiosity.This also tends to make the player strike out blindly as he explores the map. Additonally, one should make sure that the player's getting to the last term in a level is not just a silly fluke of picking one door over another. The player should know, at least in part, where he or she wants to be, and make sure that he or she sees most of the level you've made before they get there.

Well, there you go. I've got it off my chest. If you're think about making maps, and you're just starting, I suggest you make a few, then come back and play Cyle Returns. When you don't like it, examine why, and make sure these things don't pop up in your own work.

</GIANT RANT>

What does everyone else think? Are these important things for a map? Can they be passed over for one or another reason? Are they just the angry mutterings of a ridiculous, cynical man? ; )

Service With A Grin:D,
Scifiteki

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Replies:

Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case StudyScifiteki 9/2/02 3:58 a.m.
     Hehehe... The forums Think Is HTML... *NM*Scifiteki 9/2/02 4:00 a.m.
           Fixed it for you... *NM*Claude Errera 9/2/02 10:27 a.m.
     Re: Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case Studygoran 9/3/02 2:25 a.m.
           Re: Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case StudyD-M.A. 9/3/02 2:38 a.m.
                 Re: Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case StudyScifiteki 9/4/02 12:01 a.m.
                       Re: Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case StudyPillar 9/4/02 1:30 p.m.
                             Re: Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case StudyD-M.A. 9/5/02 9:44 a.m.
                 Re: Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case StudyJohannes Gunnar 9/4/02 2:15 p.m.
                       Re: Marathon: Cyle Returns - A Case Studygoran 9/5/02 12:30 a.m.



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