Ok, as the years went by I started to find level design more and more interesting. I'm a big Doom and Quake fan and like to play the new levels still being created to this day. I like to read and watch level/mod reviews online and try to follow the thought of great level design (I suggest the Custom Gamer channel btw (HL2/Quake)).
So, well, this is a domain that really interests me... but how does it apply to Carmageddon maps? Serious question. You might think that considering the years I've been modding the game I'd have an idea on subject but actually no. It seems to me like we make maps a bit randomly, either driven by aesthetic achievement or just because we can (conversions, bidding our time, etc.).
Carmageddon isn't even like other racing games... it is so open and non linear, how could we get a precise idea of level design ideals for our game?
I guess other games could show parts of the way ofcourse. Though only one that comes to mind is Powerslide, and it's not similar enough to Carmageddon. Would you have any to suggest?
Carmageddon has peds for time, good and bad powerups, recovery, elevators/doors (C2), material modifiers, opponent paths, checkpoints, cops (C1), smashables, noncars... and all of this kind of defines what the leveldesign/gameplay might be all about I think, do you have other defining aspects to suggest?
But because of the open/nonlinear gameplay curse, Carma leveldesign is often limited to reproducing real life areas and plotting stuff here and there to add basic game interactions. While I think there isn't much to do about it for Carmageddon 1, there's that very annoying thing that Carmageddon 2 introduced: missions.
Most of us don't like missions, and for good reasons IMO. In C2, these mission levels are modified maps to add a specific objective. But what if we actually thought the objective first and then created a level to support it and make the players try to complete it? I think we never gave a good enough look at what the 'mission' status can bring us when making a map. It limits the open/nonlinear gameplay aspects and allow us to get something going on.
Ofcourse we couldn't get super strategy-filled-full-of-surprises levels done like in some FPS scenes. But I'm sure we could get fun and challenging stuff. My current appreciation of the original levels and even most of our addon maps, is that we 'just' roam around, bash some peds, insta-waste ennemies as we encounter them and yep that's it. Even TDR multiplayer maps weren't really that fun, somehow you just had to memorize the powerups positions and be the fastest. Missions bring the challenge in C2 but they aren't very fun or interesting. What levels do you find fun and/or challenging btw?
I liked the TDR Arena though, found it interesting and we often had great gameplay going on there, trying to reach the nuclear bombs, pushing opponents in the crushers, meeting in the corridors. Coffeycup's Blunderdome is a very good map in that regard as well. The C2 Silo mission is a very challenging one too, but not fun at all ofcourse, but I kinda find it interesting. In C1 I always loved the Castle level, always felt like they could have done much more with it, a more abstract castle-themed level. Abstract levels are very interesting because you're even more free to work on the gameplay-inducing design and setting atmosphere than when you base your work on a real situation. I like Coffeycup's (him again) port of Unreal's Deck17 and his Doom maze, this level design approach would fit C1 like a glove, even if without an objective as I blabled before.
Ah well, rant over
Here's a list of the questions though:
- How does level design apply to Carmageddon maps creation?
- Do you have any racing game with similarly nonlinear gameplay to suggest?
- What are aspects that define the Carmageddon gameplay in your eyes?
- What are your thought about using the mission level status to our advantage?
- What original and/or addon levels do you find fun and/or challenging?