Depends on the game. It's not like every game should have massive free roaming.
Gotta learn how to appropriately judge subjects, guys.
Gotta learn how to appropriately judge subjects, guys.
FPS Level Design
- Thread starter pirateninj4
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Not by any means. But when they put so much effort into everything else. And then leave me with a hallway of a map because they didn't meet deadlines on time somewhere during development. I get a little pissed off at the $50 dollar price tag I see on the box. When not that long ago, games worked from start to finish out of the box, no crashes, no patching system, they either tested it, or it didn't hit the shelves. Which has caused alot of these small DLC map situations.number2301 said:
Considering the power of computers today. They can do better than the closet offerings we've been seeing lately. There are exceptions there, but very few.
I think it should be mentioned that the Doom map is a lot more linear than it appears because you must pick up keys to open doors and throw switches.
Here's a walkthrough if you're interested:
http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/E1M6:_Central_Processing_(Doom)
I also note that the doom map shows every nook and cranny while the one on the right is greatly simplified if it's actually from a real game.
Here's a walkthrough if you're interested:
http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/E1M6:_Central_Processing_(Doom)
I also note that the doom map shows every nook and cranny while the one on the right is greatly simplified if it's actually from a real game.
Level Design Theory is an art in of itself. Lots of interesting stuff to read here [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Category:Theory].
I agree. Whether or not linear, multipath, or open world approaches to a game (and in this case, fps) is appropriate depends on what sort of game is being made. It might be interesting for a series to experiment with different approaches.Anarchemitis said:
My main thought on this was that you don't necessarily need to think about it in that sense of linear/multipath/open. Even if the game is linear, having more options about how to approach and overcome various obstacles is what hasn't been explored as much. The example from above with half-life is a good point, because even though it was essentially linear, it allowed players to try something new that hadn't been thought of before. The issue is that the idea of having a physics based weapon/power that players can use in game isn't what made it so unique (though it was a great idea and executed well), and that's what was taken out of their sucess.
And, like number2301 mentioned, it takes more than level design, and it definitely takes more than a new gimmick. As a player, I want the whole package to be executed well. Personally though, I think it would be interesting for a fps to try something beyond linear level design for single player.
Duke Nukem Forever, from what has been shown, has particular emphasis upon branching pathways in levels. The cut down Level 15 has a pretty decent driving section, then a rather large Canyon area. The Canyon is littered with various guns, differing pathways, and plenty of Pig Cops to shoot with the various guns on the branching paths. It isn't "These buildings, rocks, etc fell in a very specific way and stop me from going that way". There are at least 2 different ways through the level, both eventually leading towards the same turret section.PurpleSky said:
One is a "Fight through the hordes" enemy gore-fest path, the one taken in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZMBU48kGxM . The other one, while I can't find footage of it, is more about creative killing based on the accounts of those who played. You can find things like the new Beer power up, a buffed HoloDuke, etc, to kill the Pig Cops inhabiting scattered shacks and such. But it still leads to the turret section. But if you DON'T feel like going to the turret section, you still have the freedom to check out the other path you ignored.
The DNF demo has much to explore and interact with. From the Holoduke in the cactus, to the interactive turd in the toilet back in the start of the demo. Topped off with Duke Nukem himself. Now if only those bastards at Gearbox will release "dat demo" to the public.
The linear nature of most FPS campaigns these days seems to be primarily rooted in a problem that long plagued the FPS genre - specifically that players could easily spend quite a lot of time wandering around with nothing to shoot looking for that one door they needed to open (Who didn't have this happen when they played E1M8 in Doom for example?). If a map is linear rather than say circular, it gives the designer more tools to properly direct the player without being heavy handed about the whole thing. Half-Life, for example, was quite linear and yet it never appeared to be so because you were operating in a (roughly) circular environment and had your progress carefully controlled by locked doors and barricades.
Of course, in multiplayer, the basic layout is dictated by the type of game one wants to play.
Objective games tend to be loosely linear (Battlefield Bad Company's Rush mode for example) or symmetrically linear (Used commonly in two flag CTF. For example, Team Fortress' famous 2Fort). By contrast, game modes where with no objective save murder and survival tend to work best in circular maps (Most any map you can think of for Modern Warfare 2 as an example).
You run into problems when you try to use the wrong sort of map for a given game mode. Using a loosely linear map for a team deathmatch event tends to result in one side or the other having an intrinsic advantage. A circular map used in a objective based game often makes the act of attacking or defending exponentially more difficult.
Of course, in multiplayer, the basic layout is dictated by the type of game one wants to play.
Objective games tend to be loosely linear (Battlefield Bad Company's Rush mode for example) or symmetrically linear (Used commonly in two flag CTF. For example, Team Fortress' famous 2Fort). By contrast, game modes where with no objective save murder and survival tend to work best in circular maps (Most any map you can think of for Modern Warfare 2 as an example).
You run into problems when you try to use the wrong sort of map for a given game mode. Using a loosely linear map for a team deathmatch event tends to result in one side or the other having an intrinsic advantage. A circular map used in a objective based game often makes the act of attacking or defending exponentially more difficult.
I think games nowadays are being made for thick people who easily get lost and quickly lose interest if they can't work out where to go. Like me.
I don't really care if there's only one or two routes to take, as long as it stops me backtracking unintentionally and wasting health and/or ammo making the return trip.
I don't really care if there's only one or two routes to take, as long as it stops me backtracking unintentionally and wasting health and/or ammo making the return trip.
You want a non-linear FPS? Try metroid prime. That will keep you entertained for quite a while.
More ontopic, quite a few FPS do seem to be getting more linear and shorter, but I imagine this will pass eventually when a different genre becomes the target of the mainstream audience. We will see what happens in ten years time.
More ontopic, quite a few FPS do seem to be getting more linear and shorter, but I imagine this will pass eventually when a different genre becomes the target of the mainstream audience. We will see what happens in ten years time.
Although it is like that for the most part - driving areas open up a bit more - it's also got level design that doesn't feel like you're being pushed down a corridor. I never once found myself saying in HL2 that I was too restricted and needed to have it let me branch out, whereas other strictly linear games leave me feeling confined, almost as if I'm on autopilot.AjimboB said:
You could lay that down to other design decisions, like the game not treating you like a fucking moron and having you keep control from the moment you start to the moment you finish, but level design plays a large role in that. Whatever they do, there's nothing random about it.
So no, map design doesn't have to be overtly complex to make good level design or a good game, but if you're going to do that then you need to know how to do it right - that's not to say that creating an open map design (ala Deus Ex) is any easier or harder, just different.
Which I explained, beautifully I might add, on the first page of this topic./Ego Bar boost.SkittlesKat said:
