how do you map?
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| Author | Sunset |
|---|---|
| Tags | action author:sunset unrated |
| Created | 2014-10-30 |
| Last Modified | 2014-10-30 |
| Rating | 1 more votes required for a rating. |
| Map Data | |
| Description | i'm curious how some of you make your maps; on almost all accounts, the way users that i've asked have detailed to me how they make their maps revolve around an idea they had put onto the mapping canvas. i tend to just jump in and put tiles / objects down and see what comes up from that, but after 1000+ maps in i just want to see if i've been mapping right (if there even is a right way. i guess a 'right way' would be if the consensus points to one way, but that's a stretch) or if i've been mapping as horribly as a 6 year old pilots an airplane
ratings on for some reason. idk why |
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2014-11-01
2 words: too fast.
I often have to fix my levels.
2014-11-01
I make maps using 3 different methods
Primarily, I think of some new concept and try and implement it so that that concept is the theme of the map. I fill in aesthetics and extra enemies after.
Secondly, I'll just make a complete tileset, then add objects and modify tiles as I see fit to incorporate the objects.
Lastly, I'll just doodle around with both tiles and objects in clusters, possibly leading to a cool tile pattern or a new concept, or just some bleh map...
Secondly, I'll just make a complete tileset, then add objects and modify tiles as I see fit to incorporate the objects.
Lastly, I'll just doodle around with both tiles and objects in clusters, possibly leading to a cool tile pattern or a new concept, or just some bleh map...
2014-10-31
I like how the gold looks.
5/5
This is how I map [youtube.com]
2014-10-31
You inspired me
I made a whole map just to figure out how I map, but I suffered retrograde amnesia and I just have this map here what how
2014-10-30
definitely the best answer given
or the most in-depth, but i think those both go hand in hand
2014-10-30
No seriously, after 1000+ maps too,
I think I have several different ways to map that change circumstantially. Generally, I try to put and make as accurately as possible an idea that I had previously seen in my mind (most of the times not even in front of the computer, if not for example in the subway way to my job, listening music, or even dreaming or just before to start to sleep right lying down in my bed) and then try to create and elaborate it as similar as possible as I wanted it in my mind, creating the tiles around that idea/concept, playtesting and all that, but also important, leaving some room for improvisation or for things that emerge from I don't really know where in the whole process, I think that if you leave some room for that sort of things occur, then your maps could have that needed portion of originality and naturalness. I mainly map that way because I always try to focus on concepts or also try to innovate or try new ideas/mechanics/gameplays, so I usually previsualize my maps first in my mind.
Obviously there are also times in where I map around some pre-elaborated tiles, seeying how them works and trying to put some fresh gameplay around them, the playtesting and re-editing part in any case is essential. But actually I think that any map has its own specific process, I mean, each single map has its particular creative process which could differ in terms of creative and elaborative process and how it was made from each other.
For example, my whole VODKALOVER series with 350 3x3 maps published, has its own creative process. Maps emerged from a course of investigation with different objects in really tiny spaces and the mechanics that them created specifically. My vice of creating such conceptual series grew and grew and I was always aiming for something new, something a bit more far, something a bit more unseen and complex, something a bit more inventive. All those maps were created with the pure fun of interacting with objects and also the vast majority of them, thinking about the concrete challenges that them will offer to the future players and the skills required to win on them.
So, after this personal reflexive exercise about how I map (which I thank you for the proposition and that I liked), I think that every single map has its own creative story.
Obviously there are also times in where I map around some pre-elaborated tiles, seeying how them works and trying to put some fresh gameplay around them, the playtesting and re-editing part in any case is essential. But actually I think that any map has its own specific process, I mean, each single map has its particular creative process which could differ in terms of creative and elaborative process and how it was made from each other.
For example, my whole VODKALOVER series with 350 3x3 maps published, has its own creative process. Maps emerged from a course of investigation with different objects in really tiny spaces and the mechanics that them created specifically. My vice of creating such conceptual series grew and grew and I was always aiming for something new, something a bit more far, something a bit more unseen and complex, something a bit more inventive. All those maps were created with the pure fun of interacting with objects and also the vast majority of them, thinking about the concrete challenges that them will offer to the future players and the skills required to win on them.
So, after this personal reflexive exercise about how I map (which I thank you for the proposition and that I liked), I think that every single map has its own creative story.
2014-10-30
I put on my computer,
then I open Ned, I start to sign "All About That Bass" which I like really much and then start to place some objects and some tiles with my keyboard and my mouse.
I make the entire map in my head first, let it sit for a couple days, and then do my best to recreate it in the editor while being flexible when things don't play or look as planned. It never ends up being exactly like my original plan, but I have to have a full map in my head before I can do anything.
I need to have a tile pattern or a concept in mind before I even start a map. Sometimes I get inspiration from other maps. Then I think how I can use this pattern or concept in an interesting way. I usually make the tiles and place the objects at the same time because this method allows me to fill the space so that it fits my original idea.
When I think the main part of the map is finished I playtest it for the first time, change things and add some decorative mines, tile shapes etc. Then I playtest it again to see if everything works well.
When I think the main part of the map is finished I playtest it for the first time, change things and add some decorative mines, tile shapes etc. Then I playtest it again to see if everything works well.
2014-10-30
I get an idea first
And then play around that idea/build map around that idea if I like it in testing. If I have no idea about the map I simply start with some tiles and ninja, then some gold and enemies and eventually it could end up for example like this http://numa-notdot-net.appspot.com/233044
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2014-10-30
I make a tileset first
Then I look at it and evaluate any clever object combos I can put there and tileset's aesthetic value. Then, I put up the objects and give it a few runs. If I find it really bad or unsatisfying, I quit for an hour to give free up my mind.
And I don't like playtesting too much or work over-hard on maps. Kinda playtesting it imaginatively/intuitively, lol. I also hate changing tiles too much for sake of objects (ruining the tile theme).
And I don't like playtesting too much or work over-hard on maps. Kinda playtesting it imaginatively/intuitively, lol. I also hate changing tiles too much for sake of objects (ruining the tile theme).
2014-10-30
I only make ddas.
Several times I tried to make race/action maps. They were all shitty. Then I realized that I am like Clifty, so I decided to only post ddas and delist all other genres.
I first place the ninja and a rocket in an empty map. Then I start placing tiles and maneuvering objects which follow a certain theme. Like only thwumps or only hidden doors. I have to check the dda after every fucking object I place. So, I keep the overclock mode on at x20 which makes things quicker. After the dda is made, I start 'decorating' the tiles (and by decorating I mean trying to decorate on my own, failing at which I give the map data to trance for him to decorate. :D). And voila!
I first place the ninja and a rocket in an empty map. Then I start placing tiles and maneuvering objects which follow a certain theme. Like only thwumps or only hidden doors. I have to check the dda after every fucking object I place. So, I keep the overclock mode on at x20 which makes things quicker. After the dda is made, I start 'decorating' the tiles (and by decorating I mean trying to decorate on my own, failing at which I give the map data to trance for him to decorate. :D). And voila!
2014-10-30
Lemme just say that
I love that gold typeface
start with tileset, see how it feels, grow organically, etc
but i can't do that any more, it is just frustrating for some reason and i never make anything that i think is worth playing
nowadays i usually am messing around or playing other people's maps and then i have an idea for a mechanic or a motif that is the "core" of the map, i.e. the action or types of actions that the player feels they must do to complete it (even if it is not a specific mechanic/enemy type/type of jump)
then i make a lil mockup of that idea/concept/mechanic, see how i can make it function, if i can extend it to a larger scale or repeat it, and then once i have that i try to fit it in the physical space of the map, actually plan routing, see how it 'flows' etc and fit it together. and then polish and dirty it up a little and worry about how it looks as a whole
but i can't do that any more, it is just frustrating for some reason and i never make anything that i think is worth playing
nowadays i usually am messing around or playing other people's maps and then i have an idea for a mechanic or a motif that is the "core" of the map, i.e. the action or types of actions that the player feels they must do to complete it (even if it is not a specific mechanic/enemy type/type of jump)
then i make a lil mockup of that idea/concept/mechanic, see how i can make it function, if i can extend it to a larger scale or repeat it, and then once i have that i try to fit it in the physical space of the map, actually plan routing, see how it 'flows' etc and fit it together. and then polish and dirty it up a little and worry about how it looks as a whole
I almost always start by designing a tileset, placing a ninja in the map, and jumping around for a few minutes to get an idea of how map "feels" - what paths through the tileset have a nice flow, what paths have interesting or tricky mechanics, and so on. The objects are mostly an afterthought unless I have some specific idea in mind.
2014-10-30
I go back and forth
most of the time I just play around, and slowly hone in on thematic/conceptual bits I've happened to include. Sometimes I base it around a concept or theme I had in mind, but that's probably about 1/3 of the maps and even then takes a similar approach, just I have a head start on what to hone in on (if that makes sense).
Also objects and tiles all happen muddled in together, I'll rarely do the tiles -> objects approach
(this map seems fun btw, can't deal with the loading time of the gold though haha, mainly because I shouldn't actually be playing this, back to uni work)
Also objects and tiles all happen muddled in together, I'll rarely do the tiles -> objects approach
(this map seems fun btw, can't deal with the loading time of the gold though haha, mainly because I shouldn't actually be playing this, back to uni work)
2014-10-30
I generally
start with some tile shapes and see what sort of gameplay they lend themselves to. I like to keep everything fluid and change things a lot, nothing is really fixed in form unless I think it's absolutely perfect. I continue reshaping like this until I get bored and have playtested it so many times that I am completely incapable of judging whether or not someone playing it for the first time will enjoy it.
Invalid
your gold text