February 9, 2005

Level Editing

Back when I was at Microsoft Game Studios, I made a Quake III: Arena map of our department at about 4x scale. It wasn't very detailed, and it was a bit dark, but it had a massive amount of rocket launchers and was usually played with a high frag limit.

I really enjoyed making that map. It played nicely, even if it was a bit on the ugly side.

There is something to be said about taking an image that you have in your head and creating not just a work of art, but an interactive world that people can come together in...even if they're coming together to blow each others brains out.

At home, we're gradually unpacking. I'm hoping to have my regular PC hooked up this weekend. If I do, I'm going to reinstall Quake III: Arena and Quake III: Team Arena and start getting back into the swing of making levels.

I've got two reasons to do this. First, I haven't found a supply shop near my home for my other constructive hobby (miniature painting). Second, I'm a firm believer in the adage, "If you can't do it, you can't test it." I need to build and test a level so that I can remember how to do it quickly and effectively. That way, when it comes time to start testing the levels here, I'll be ready.

Once I've got some Q3A levels out of the way, I'll move onto some Doom3 editing...

No comments: