Level Design

This page contains a plethora of level-design related texts and pieces I've written.

The Making Of...

This series of articles provides some insight into the development of some of my maps. The Dust articles in particular cover some early designs, ideas that were rejected, impotant features of Dust and how it looks on the Source engine. The Sienna article describes the development lifetime of a map, showing how it grew and changed in response to design issues.

• The Making Of: Dust, 29th January 2003
• The Making Of: Dust 2, 29th January 2003
• The Making Of: Sienna, 28th September 2004

My Blog (deceased)

For over a year I maintained a blog devoted to various aspects of game and level design. My aim was to share my (mostly invented) logic, preach some common-sense, and identify where modders were getting things wrong, knowing that they might just listen to 'the Dust guy.' Whilst the blog is now finished, it is archived in its entirety here.

Some of the more notable posts on the blog include:

• Preachin' and part two and part three
• Doodle-storming - brain-storming with doodles
• Low-level 'design'
• How to topple Counter-Strike - step-by-step
• Texture-tastic diagrams - how I put textures together
• Rabbits, Carrots and Werewolves - making a good single-player map
• Immersiveness - limiting the player yet keeping them immersed
• Unplanned
• Modding yourself employable
• Twee Texturing Tips
• Casbah... and part two and part three - trials and tribulations
• DaveJ's Christmas Feel-Good Message
• Dull map? - how to revive your map
• The Hill - thinking through simple gameplay problems
• Dtaiel vs Dgiesn - another one...
• Level design and style - evolution of level design, starting from Doom
• Directing the player - keeping the player in the right direction
• Fun Map Features
• Modding: doing it the right way - every modder should read this!
• Flow: Keeping Players Happy
• The key to good outdoor maps
• Keeping CS Maps Fair

Miscellaneous

• What is Level Design?, 30th January 2003
• Common Sense versus Level Design, 20th May 2003