Level Design

A plethora of level-design related texts and pieces from my brain.

Mapography

I've made a bunch of maps in my time. Too many, really.

• Professional - everything that appeared on shelves
• Personal - everything that didn't

The Making Of...

This series looks back into the making of my two most popular maps, Dust and Dust 2, and a look at how they did post-release. Sienna contains a more detailed look at the design process, including all the twists and turns along the way.

• The Making Of: Dust, 5th November 2011
• 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

Map Walkthroughs

These walkthroughs were written by Mike S. Nowostawsky, hint guides for completing my two single-player missions for Half-Life.

• ETC Walkthrough, 15th January 2003
• ETC 2 Walkthrough, 15th January 2003