Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sunday's work!

Just working on the layout today. Blocked in most of the first half of the map. No details yet.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Motivation!

Outside of completing a minimalist layout for the upcoming payload map competition...I have accomplished exactly nothing in the way of video game design. I haven't picked up any text books, cracked open a level-design program, started up photoshop...zero, zip, zilch. There are those who would say I'm just dreaming if I can self-teach my way into the doors at Valve, Blizzard, EA, or any prominent developer. While it's certainly a long shot, I all but guarantee the nay-sayers are correct by continuing on my current apathetic course.

Having said that, I suppose I should get to work! I leave you with my payload map layout:


I had already begun this layout before the contest was announced. It was intended to be an attack/defend map in the style of dustbowl. The payload map (henceforth known as black canyon) version will require a few changes, the biggest being reduction of points. Black canyon will have 4 cap points, similar to Valve's badwater basin map. The basic idea is players will fight alongside a river leading to red team's dam at the end.

Goodbye for now!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Metallica: The Day That Never Comes

Great new music video from Metallica's new album Death Magnetic.

Metallica - The Day That Never Comes


I just picked up the album earlier this week. Haven't been able to listen to all of it, but I am definitely enjoying it. Much more like the 'old' Metallica. I'll post a better impression once I have properly consumed it all.

I'll be listening to this album a lot while working on my new contest entry. The payload map will be around a dammed river. The final stage will end at the dam itself. Any ideas on names? Here's what I got so far:

pl_river
pl_dam_it
pl_damnation
pl_black_canyon (where the Hoover Dam is located)

Friday, September 19, 2008

My first contest entry



TF2Maps.net recently hosted a mini-mapping contest. The prize: nothing! Not to be deterred by this minor detail I entered. Entrants had to create a prefabricated building that fit in a 1024 x 2048 grid. Your entry could be Red themed or Blu themed. After all entries are received the community will vote for the winner.

The entrants are shown above. The contest is over and the voting is pretty well over. I tried to go off the beaten path with my entry: I designed a gentlemen's club. (That's what I get for asking my clan-mates for ideas). I'm not going to win and I never expected to do, this is the first real work I have ever put out there for public criticism.

I did manage to get one vote from a poor, tasteless soul so I'm pretty pumped despite the fact I'm certain it was a mis-click of the mouse.

Posting this work has given me some needed criticism and instilled me with enough confidence to enter the next contest at TF2Maps.net: creating a one-stage payload map for TF2. Details can be found here.