Comments - Text_Fish

Worst ladders ever. Otherwise, cool! :)

The boar should walk on its "toes" instead of its "heels". Currently it's front hooves look somewhat human.

If it weren't for the huge community support for Diablo 2 in the form of mods it would have died a death years ago and Blizzard would have a much harder time selling the very idea of Diablo III. It's basically a big "**** you" to a once loyal fanbase and if that fanbase want to retaliate then Piracy is very probably the only way they'll get noticed. Actions speak much louder than words.

That said, I won't be pirating this game because I don't personally feel passionate enough about it to break the law.

Doesn't seem very stealthy!

Cell shading's passé anyway. Everyone and their grandma does it.

Sure, it looks as much like Killhouse as a crayon tracing of the Mona Lisa looks like an original Da Vinci.

They've imitated the shape of the original map with basic [somewhat off-scale] brushwork, but the textures are misused and misaligned and the lighting is bland.

But I digress. I've nothing against amateur mappers, I just wish people would invest their creative energy in something original instead of trying to ride other developers' coattails. All these fanboy remakes and tributes are suffocating the modding scene.

Who's going to save money? The developers and any players [if it ever sees completion] will all be cod/mw fanboys who have played the real thing anyway.

The people working on this clearly have some real skills in modding [although not so much the mapping side] and it annoys me to see them going to waste doing something that's been done already when there are so many untapped ideas in the world.

Why not make an original IP?

Although I admit, remaking a modern game using a slightly less modern engine isn't something you see very often. I wonder why?

Me 11. Problem is, I see bargains on Steam and GOG which part me with my money simply because it's so easy to click that buy button, then I often don't even install the game!

Finishing the first map is certainly a good achievement and a major step.

I would advise rethinking your textures a little bit and adding a bit more detail in the way of props and decals. The couch doesn't really look like it belongs in that room. The textures imply that it's a cold, functional space (possibly used for storage) whilst the couch suggests a comfortable, livable space (like a lounge).

The corridor suffers a similar continuity problem, as it's unlikely that somebody would put down a plush red carpet in a corridor with what look to be bare metal or concrete walls.

That's really really good, but if you're specifically going for a Maglite rather than a generic flashlight the lens needs to be clear and the switch should be on the handle.

/pedantry

Who are the Tornado Twins and what's Worminator about?

Aye, definitely needs displacements. Also maybe you could rotate the fences slightly because everything looks a bit too perfectly right-angled at the moment.

I like the lighting in this one.

There's some nice detailing here, but I don't really understand why someone went to all the trouble of building a special concrete jetty just to stick some sort of storage shed on it. It also seems like they wasted money making those wires go over the top of the roof when they could just as easily stick them in the front and run them along the inner walls.

I used to find it difficult to avoid detailing right away as well, until I found myself running out of suitable props because I'd used them all at the very beginning of my levels!

Rotate the texture on the central beam 90 degrees.

I like how 'lived in' this looks, but the little window between the kitchen and living room should have some sort of windowsill/shelf on it so that it's big enough to hold plates and stuff. It should also have a trim/frame, otherwise someone's going to cut themself on those jagged tiles.

That partition wall is too thin to be structural so it looks unrealistic. You should either fatten it and put another one opposite with a structural archway in between, or shorten it so that it looks like it's supposed to be decoration rather than architecture.

The graffiti also looks out of place, as if it's been put there to break up a dull space rather than by an actual graffiti artist. Maybe try a wonky framed picture on the wall and a tattered rug on the floor instead.

Meh. They look good, but ultimately it's the hardware behind it that's allowed them to up the resolution so much. What would really impress me is if they could do realistic looking hair. It seems fairly obvious from this picture that that's still beyond them.

OMFG, SOMEONE SET UP A SERVER!!!1

I'd say writing a design document is just as important [if not moreso] as the process of actually following it. It allows the designer to lay things out in a logical order, uncovering potential compatibility issues between various game mechanics before the team's wasted any time implementing stuff that might just need to be trashed in the future.

Whenever I embark upon building a new map or model I will prepare concepts [both visual and textual] to help me keep focus on what I want the finished project to achieve otherwise I'll invariably end up going off on some wild, off-the-cuff tangent. That's not to say a design document is unchangeable, but it certainly helps me to keep things in perspective, and sometimes even makes it EASIER to make changes, as I can better consider the potential repercussions.

I'd say it's also important to have a design document if you're implementing some original/rare game-play mechanic, just to make sure everybody on the team [no-matter how small or large] is working towards the same goal and can remind themselves of it whenever they need to.

Ultimately I guess it just comes down to personal preference and that can be decided upon by the team, but its important not to rule out the possibility that a team will change over the course of a project.

R_Yell, Broadly speaking, Halo is a generic FPS and TF2 is a generic team-based multi-player FPS, but both of them have smaller, more individual aspects that make them what they are as a whole. TF2 is a gray area because it started out as a mod and has appeared in multiple guises for years, but if a company were to remake Halo and the only difference were to be the nomenclature then I believe there would be the potential for a lawsuit.

What it often comes down to in the end is whether the 'remake' is a tribute/parody that actually favours/compliments the original or whether it's a rip-off that is trying to draw interest away from the original.

Dandi8, I think the over-reliance on storylines is exactly what propagates bad game design these days. Sure there are some fine examples of decent storytelling in games, but when you look back could you honestly say that the story would stand up in its own right as a novel or film? I'd say usually not. Gameplay should ALWAYS be the priority in a game design.

Interesting article. I agree that a prospective games developer needs more than just an imagination [if nothing else, to ensure that their precious idea gets accurately realized], but I think you've unintentionally highlighted a more grievous error on these peoples parts -- that what they think are "game ideas" are in reality just a little backstory with the vague promise of some interactive entertainment after the initial cutscene. A good game idea should probably be 10% backstory and 90% interesting gameplay mechanics/details about how it will work and what the player will get out of it.

I love the lighting and the general atmosphere of the room, though I'd lose the large companylogo decal on the lefthand wall as it really belongs on the outside of a building. Maybe you could break up that large space with some watermarks or something like a fusebox instead.

Is that an example of lighting or an example of textures? If it's the latter I'd go for top left because it appears to have more greenish hues. If it's lighting you should scrap it and start again because there appear to be absolutely no shadows, contrast, highlights or 'atmosphere'.

Are the bottom three midgets or does the top guy have really really long legs?

Very professional looking, but the gameplay looks a little repetitive.

Anna isn't standing up, she's a psychotic little girl listening to her teddy bear. She probably doesn't even know she's being bullied.

I have to agree that if all this game has to offer is a brutal school massacre simulation [albeit cartoony] then I personally would prefer the effort went in to something with more intellectual and gameplay merit.

Ultimately though, it's up to the developers to do what they want so good luck to'em.