Post by a Chunk on Feb 15, 2019 17:46:27 GMT
Carney's Crash Course: Map Design 101
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In this article, originally posted on Bungie.net, Chris Carney, designer at Bungie for 15 years, shares some insight into the level design process used to create the Halo: Reach map The Cage. His intent is to provide food for thought for those jumping into Halo's Forge Mode, but it's most definitely applicable to anyone with an interest in level design.
The article starts off at...well...the start of the design process:
Everyone has a preferred method for design and these processes can differ substantially. For example, in order to generate ideas all-star architect Frank Gehry begins by scribbling small sketches or using crumpled bits of paper to produce buildings that are highly innovative and extremely popular. Santiago Calatrava, on the other hand, uses the bones of animals and the nature of the skeleton as inspiration to create structures that are visually stunning. Ultimately, no one approach is perfect and experience is the critical guide. So let us begin.
Chris suggests starting out by answering 3 questions:
- How many players is your level going to be designed for?
- What are the Primary and Secondary Gametypes that will be played on it?
- Will the maps have Vehicles?
Of course, these questions may vary depending upon the game you're designing for, but you get the point. Once you have your answers, we move on to the initial design stage. The form this takes can vary greatly from person to person, so Chris suggests using whichever method works best for you.
Since my background is in architecture, I prefer paper at this point. I can crank out ideas quickly, while working out elements in my head. Here again, process can vary wildly. For instance while Gehry may insist on building cardboard models early in his process, Calatrava uses watercolors. You just want to start by using a method in which you can comfortably work out your ideas.
Some designers prefer to dive directly into 3D using Forge or modeling software such as Studio Max or even Google’s SketchUp (which is free and relatively easy to use). The legendary Steve Cotton, for example, is extremely proficient at iterating on early ideas in 3D, as he is skilled at not attaching himself too much to geometry. He will completely turn a space upside down or swiftly rotate a mountain range 90 degrees in order to better understand his ideas. I, however, often become too attached to models that I build on the computer – I don’t want to remove something since it looks cool or took a long time to construct – so I iterate on paper as long as I can until an idea starts rolling. For most maps I will go through at least 5 to 10 ideas on paper before I start building in 3D. In my experience, this allows for me to be more focused and confident in my design once I start construction.
Some designers prefer to dive directly into 3D using Forge or modeling software such as Studio Max or even Google’s SketchUp (which is free and relatively easy to use). The legendary Steve Cotton, for example, is extremely proficient at iterating on early ideas in 3D, as he is skilled at not attaching himself too much to geometry. He will completely turn a space upside down or swiftly rotate a mountain range 90 degrees in order to better understand his ideas. I, however, often become too attached to models that I build on the computer – I don’t want to remove something since it looks cool or took a long time to construct – so I iterate on paper as long as I can until an idea starts rolling. For most maps I will go through at least 5 to 10 ideas on paper before I start building in 3D. In my experience, this allows for me to be more focused and confident in my design once I start construction.
For the purposes of this article, Chris ultimately decided to use The Cage as his example level. He stated that it "started off as a small to mid-sized, 4 – 8 player map, intended for Team Slayer and map possession gametypes such as Stockpile that was going to use some ideas from Lockout and feature outer circulation similar to Ascension and the Pit."
Chris then begins to systematically work through what he calls "the seven essential multiplayer design elements."
Element #1: Simplicity
The player needs to understand the map quickly, since their minds are going to be filled with other critical thoughts such as “I need to shoot that fool in the head.” Therefore, it is always good to distill the map down to core, simple elements.
Element #2: Orientation
This is a fundamental design decision that will impact many aspects of the environment. In Halo, the act of spawning in multiplayer is a confusing experience. We place you, the player, somewhere randomly on the map and in milliseconds you need to understand where you are and decide where you want to go, all while avoiding incoming gunfire.
Element #3: Navigation
The player needs to easily understand how to get from point A to point B. Long, structural walkways, well lit doors and rooms, and clear paths of suggested movement need to be a core part of the design. Whether it is too much contrast in the lighting, an excess of visual detail, or just a jumbled layout, if a player is confused as to how to move around the space, the level is going to struggle.
Element #4: Flow/Circulation
Your map should be fun to run around on even without combat. More specifically, you should feel like a ninja running across easy-to-see ledges, jumping on well-placed rocks, and swiftly leaping to perfect bits of cover. It is here that playtesting early versions of your map will help define what feels good. I hate using the term “feel” since it is inherently nebulous, but flow is definitely the hardest characteristic to define. This is also where you starting considering good spots to draw the player for weapon placement and areas to better define as hard points
Now we get into the nitty gritty - the actual design process used for The Cage. Chris started out knowing that the level would consist of isolated combat areas, akin to Lockout. He explains that they used colored cardboard cutouts to start out, with green boxes representing rooms, blue rectangles being bridges, a yellow circle signifying a platform, and red circles designating alternative movement options (teleporters, lifts, jumps).
In the first drawing below, I started with a line of rooms that was at the center of the level with an open space to the left and a series of platforms to the right. These three areas would be good pockets for combat and I did not want much overlap. Lockout and Guardian style maps are great, but I wanted The Cage to be a bit larger and not rely on one singular area to control. I still wanted good views across the map so that a player could understand the environment quickly (and their orientation), but these views needed to be discrete so there were not positions that could easily dominate. I also envisioned some of the rooms (the green boxes) being more open than others, similar to the sword platform in Lockout, to assist with establishing these views. Yet, after some consideration, the three areas in this layout felt too separated from one another and also did not suggest a flow that allowed the player to easily move around the exterior of the map, so I moved on.
In this second iteration, I removed the central platform (the yellow circle) and started using the hanging platform (red circle) to help define a path around the level. In these smaller environments, one-way paths are excellent ways to force a specific direction of circulation. This creates movement that is predictable – you know when someone drops down for the Shotgun on Lockout that they will eventually end up by the man cannon – but also allows for players to build map strategies. For example, a player may jump down for the Shotgun knowing that his teammates already have the base of the man cannon locked down. So I wanted to incorporate this idea of one-way travel by using man cannons to the platform and back. At this point, the collection of green blocks was suggesting more of a large structure, which was another way to isolate pockets for combat. Yet again, the outer circulation was not working and the overall collection of rooms was confusing.
Element #5: Hard Points
These are areas that you want to feel memorable on a map, which are also great spots for concentrated combat. This can be a small structure, cave, intersection of two paths or any other moment in the environment that you want to feel significant.
Chris continues to share further iterations, along with supporting cardboard cutout images, which you can see by following the link at the end of this post. And then he comes to the next of his seven essential elements.
Element #6: Layout of Game Objects
Prepare to iterate on this a bunch. Start with power weapons. As you design the map there are certain spots in the environment to which you will want to draw the player to in order to better define flow. Power weapons are a great way to fit the bill. When selecting the appropriate location for a power weapon, one strategy is to avoid placing a weapon in an area that is ideal for its use, such as spawning a Sniper Rifle on a “hard to access ledge with a great view of the map.” Make the player earn it. Other weapon layout strategies include emphasizing risk versus reward, such as running across the bottom of the launch bay for the Shotgun on Countdown or grabbing the Rocket Launcher on Reflection. In addition, for team games, setting up power weapons that are at the 50 yard line, like the Concussion Rifle on Zealot or Spartan Laser on Valhalla, is also a great technique. Setting up game objects also involves developing strategies for team spawns. Where should teams spawn in a symmetrical gametype or in a multi-team game? Hard points are usually ideal spots for this, but again, consider the sight lines and proximity of these areas to one another.
Which brings us to the final critical element.
Element #7: Iteration
Playtest. Playtest. Playtest. Challenge your original assumptions and see if players use the map as it was designed. Also, look for other opportunities that you might not have considered. Keep evaluating the respawn timers on your power weapons and the proximity of something such as a Rocket Launcher to a team spawn. Is any part of the map too easy to control? Do people get confused? Does the flow feel logical? Can you easily orient yourself when respawning or quickly navigate a flag return route across the map? Here is where playing the map with friends will really pay huge dividends.
After this brief interlude to finalize his list of essential elements, Chris returns to The Cage.
At this point with The Cage it was time to move away from the crayons and colored cardboard into the world of sketching. The layout below is similar to the previous one, but I started to better define the shapes of each space. I sheared off a corner of the central platform to make it asymmetrical and easier for overall orientation and also aligned a structure to follow that new diagonal edge. In addition, the dark walls that bisect the central collection of rooms into three spaces (triangle, rectangle and half circle), were intended to be large, tall walls that divided the map into, again, our three combat pockets. It was fine if they overlapped a bit, but I did not want one space to be able to control all three. The outer circulation here is working well and I knew that I wanted to have a man cannon on the right edge, though had not finalized where. I also was starting to design the map in three dimensions, as this entire experience was not all going to exist on one flat plane. One side of the map, maybe cliff side, was going to be higher than the rest and the other sections were to cascade away from that in elevation.
And finally, we get to the editor. Chris jumps into forge and begins constructing his well prepared level, making various further adjustments as he went along.
Once working in Forge, I was able to construct some more one-way paths, such as the drop off in the middle towards the cliff and the hole that drops down to the plasma launcher, in addition to establishing hard points. I have also highlighted in red the two wall sections, which still divide the map into three areas, although the lower section later became a room. However, this was the fun stuff where evaluating different pieces and adjusting locations made the level come alive.
As was the case earlier, Chris provides more detail on the iteration process, which can be seen in the original article. And with that, we reach the end of our lesson.
Hopefully this gives a good, albeit brief, overview of a design process and will help to guide your future Forge creations. I have definitely breezed over large parts of this process, such as getting specific about good theory behind laying out game objects and understanding overall scale, but that is for later discussions.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
Read the full article here: halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?cid=29601