Giving The Player Cues
Yamazaki
Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 21Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 21Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
<div class="IPBDescription">Brief Tutorial</div> This is a collection of thoughts and advice that applies to all genres of level design, not just Natural Selection, but I'm condensing it down to just what applies to this modification.
The thrust of this tutorial is how mappers can cue players in to the gameplay of your map. Players who first load up your map bring along some preconceived notions about how things work. For example, if they see a door in a hallway, they'll expect to be able to open it. Doors are in nearly every Half-Life map out there, and pretty much in most first person shooter games too, so it should come as no surprise that the player will walk up to the door and try their best to open it.
So how do they open that door? Well, as a mapper you have several means of accomplishing this. The first is making the door open when someone approaches it, the second is making them push a button, and the third is having them USE the door. You could make the player guess as to what method is required, but that's just plain bad. If every day in your level opens when you approach it, except for one which requires you to USE it, then players are going to assume that USEable door is not working and bypass it. Frustrating the player is generally not what you should be doing.
Mappers should establish patterns in their map that hold true in all cases. A pattern could be that all working doors have a well-lit button to the right of them, and broken doors have a damaged, sparking button. Hazard stripes around something indicates it is potentially dangerous and will cause damage to the player. Glass that uses the normal streaky texture is breakable, but glass with a different texture is invulnerable. The potential opportunities for patterns is limitless.
Not only do patterns benefit beginning players, but they also help establish a feeling of credibility to the level. The more the level makes sense, the more immersed the player becomes. A player shouting 'WTF?!' every minute isn't exactly immersing himself and having fun, now is he? Real-life structures are consistent in many ways, such as how staircases in your typical office building tend to all share the same dimensions, railing design, and building materials. A little bit of consistency in a map makes it more real, rather than a jumble of shapes with no rhyhme or reason.
Patterns don't have to be common from level to level, especially when they're made for a multiplayer modification. If this were a singleplayer retail game it would be different, as the mappers would work together to create a common list of patterns to reuse and maintain.
The thrust of this tutorial is how mappers can cue players in to the gameplay of your map. Players who first load up your map bring along some preconceived notions about how things work. For example, if they see a door in a hallway, they'll expect to be able to open it. Doors are in nearly every Half-Life map out there, and pretty much in most first person shooter games too, so it should come as no surprise that the player will walk up to the door and try their best to open it.
So how do they open that door? Well, as a mapper you have several means of accomplishing this. The first is making the door open when someone approaches it, the second is making them push a button, and the third is having them USE the door. You could make the player guess as to what method is required, but that's just plain bad. If every day in your level opens when you approach it, except for one which requires you to USE it, then players are going to assume that USEable door is not working and bypass it. Frustrating the player is generally not what you should be doing.
Mappers should establish patterns in their map that hold true in all cases. A pattern could be that all working doors have a well-lit button to the right of them, and broken doors have a damaged, sparking button. Hazard stripes around something indicates it is potentially dangerous and will cause damage to the player. Glass that uses the normal streaky texture is breakable, but glass with a different texture is invulnerable. The potential opportunities for patterns is limitless.
Not only do patterns benefit beginning players, but they also help establish a feeling of credibility to the level. The more the level makes sense, the more immersed the player becomes. A player shouting 'WTF?!' every minute isn't exactly immersing himself and having fun, now is he? Real-life structures are consistent in many ways, such as how staircases in your typical office building tend to all share the same dimensions, railing design, and building materials. A little bit of consistency in a map makes it more real, rather than a jumble of shapes with no rhyhme or reason.
Patterns don't have to be common from level to level, especially when they're made for a multiplayer modification. If this were a singleplayer retail game it would be different, as the mappers would work together to create a common list of patterns to reuse and maintain.
Comments
i owe you a dollar !
Ego
You know, its little things like that which seem to get over looked the most.
*Salutes Yamakazi*
I agree. It can add more strategy to the the game too, as skulks can open doors with parasite.