Process Journal
I am sitting down thinking of what the map should look like. I have made a little progress but it still doesn't feel like it has a good flow. Since this map is meant to be for small teams, I really need to downsize it. I am used to much bigger maps from COD and Battlefield, so when I make something it is with the mind set that there will be at least 20 players running around. Realistically this only needs about one or two rooms with some side corridors or small tunnels to give different options to the player.
I grabbed out my graphic notebook and started drawing out a basic sketch. I made a small layout that would be suitable for smaller teams. I wanted some cover that would seem like a it belongs in a data center, but at the same time wasn't confusing for players. Which would make it harder to learn. So I added a little amount of cover that would promote basic flow. Below I will have a the layout.
I went into Trenchbroom and created the greybox for the map. I had a little struggle with making the long hallways at each end of the map. I wanted them to wrap over a long distance. Almost curve. But then I thought that it would be too long and would take away from the pace that I want for the map. So I cut them down and made them shorter. I do think that I need to make the ceiling a bit lower to make the hallways seem smaller.
Below is a link to a video where I do a quick run-through of the greybox.
People playtested the map for the first time. There were a few issues trying to get it started. Once everyone was in the map, they ran around and stated that there were light problems and the map was really dark. They also pointed out that it was abnormally large and seemed too big.
I decided to change the main room of the map. I shortened it to promote a bit more close quarter gameplay.
The hallways seemed to be their own closed off section of the map. To make them seem less detached I added a sort of vent pathway from the upper level center hallway to the bottom part of the side hallways.
After the second round of playtesting I went back through the map and changed a few things. The one main concern was the length of the hallways ( here is a link to the results). So I went through and shortened them by a significant amount. And I also decreased the width of them. Then I fixed the lighting. Added more lights to brighten up a majority of the map. On some of the more close quarter areas I left the lights dim to create a scary mood, the one where you don't know what might be around the corner. I then thought that the map needed some more verticality. That's where the newest section comes into play. The pipeline is an area of the Data Center that was previously used by scavengers to avoid the buildings defenses. This area has two ways to get in. A drop down in the center hallway and a whole in the ground inside of the main room. However the only way out of the pipeline is through the whole in the main room.
The image above is the second floor of the main room. I textured the data-pillars with a compute wire texture (in the center) and a rusted circuit board texture (on the sides). This made it clear that the player is in a space that was once a place where important information was kept. Then I made sure to light up the whole area. This is so you can make out objects clearly. For example, the corners that have health and ammo are well lit so that the player knows where they are, making it easier for them to run and pick them up.
In the video above, I make my last run-through of the map. Talking about some of the key design points.