Welcome to a series where I talk about the planning, making, detailing and releasing
of a defuse map for CS:GO.
I'm hoping that this will be interesting if you're planning on making one yourself, or
if you play CS:GO and are interested in knowing what goes into making a map.
De_sparity is the first map I've made since this time last year.
In this series I hope to share some of what I learned from my previous maps and with de_sparity
itself.
And believe me, I've learned a lot from this project.
I don't think that there's a single person who has made a map and hasn't learned anything
from it.
If they have then they're not doing it right.
Each and every project is a chance to better yourself and that involves walking into previously
unexplored territory and making a huge number of mistakes.
I don't consider admitting to mistakes as a weakness, even if, with hindsight, they
were silly mistakes to make.
So, how do you start a project like this?
I've seen a lot of people plan it on paper or to try and make the whole layout from the
word go.
I think that this is a BIG mistake.
It never feels the same once you're in-game and the majority of what makes the map fun
is brought about through extensive playtesting.
We've all made maps that look great in the editor, only to be the most boring, uninspiring
messes once you load them up in-game.
You'd be hard-pressed to complete a map that de-motivates you every time you load it up.
Because of this, when planning a map I don't bother with paper.
I have ideas of what I'd like to make in my mind and I put them into the editor before
playtesting them as soon as possible- this is usually within an hour of starting on an
area.
You don't want to grow overly attached to an idea that simply isn't fun to play.
Before starting with this map I took a look at previous maps I had made and from the best
maps currently out there.
In fact, I made an entire video trying to analyse what makes my favourite map, de_dust2,
so brilliant.
Click on this video right now to see my findings, it may help you in the development of your
map.
I had made several previous defuse maps.
Kyrenia was my most recent and was developed in quite a generic way, where I made the whole
layout then quickly changed and moulded the map from playtesting with bots from day 1.
By version 10 the layout was almost unrecognisable when compared with the original version.
The resulting map was one that looked like a typical Counter Strike map, but in my opinion,
wasn't mind-blowingly fun to play.
It got into the final 10 in the CEVO 2013 competition and was ranked joint 3rd by HattonGames
so I guess it isn't too bad a method for making a map.
However, for this one I wanted to try and build on a map design process that I had stumbled
upon when making de_balfour, an even earlier map of mine.
I made the bombsites as two separate aim maps.
I playtested these separately for a while with hundreds of people from this very youtube
channel, making sure that the timings and cover were perfectly placed.
Once I was happy with them I very unprofessionally smeared them together into a working map.
The result was a very small but fun to play map that was very different from everything
else.
Feedback was mixed, people criticised it for being small and different but anybody who
played a game on it would tell you that these weren't bad things.
The emphasis on close-quarters fights with a lot of cover made tactical repositioning
more exciting and faster-paced, and it gave all weapons a purpose instead of just the
classic rifles and snipers.
I still believe that this style of making a map leads to a more fun result and also
motivates you to complete it since it's fun to play since day 1.
I don't think that I'll ever make a map in any other way from now on.
Aim maps are fun for a reason and I think it's shame that most defuse maps haven't borrowed
from their style sooner.
But of course, the process wasn't perfect.
Smearing the two separate bombsites together meant that I had a map with no middle area
and it did cause a lot of problems with regard to optimisation and the placement of the corridors
connecting the two parts.
I think it turned out nicely but I don't want the uncertainty of repeating it, just in case
I was simply very lucky.
So with de_sparity, my plan was to develop the middle of the map so that it would play
like a classic aim map.
I would then add the bombsites one at a time and ensure that they were fun to play before
adding additional areas.
Once all of the areas were added I would then stretch or compress parts of the map to get
the timings right for the entry to key areas.
Then, and only then, would I start on the detailing of the map.
And that concludes the planning for this map and my reasoning behind it.
I developed this approach from previous projects of mine and have done research into what makes
my favourite areas of other maps so enjoyable to play.
I would recommend to anybody who is planning on making a map of any sort to follow the
same design process and it makes the entire project fun, since if you ever get bored you
can always sit back and play what you've got already.
There's nothing more motivating than having fun on an unfinished level, knowing that anything
you add to it will only make it better.