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SteelTalon

JCF Member

Joined: Mar 2001

Posts: 661

SteelTalon is doing well so far

Apr 5, 2005, 11:47 PM
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A good balance between friction/frustration and silky smooth flow is the formula for a bonafide hit - though not necessarily the best map for competition. Simply, levels that have "too good" of a flow are just boring. That is all there is to it. The map needs to present itself as a tool to the player, allowing the player to manipulate it to his opponent's disadvantage. With a more "frustrating" map, the onus is taken off the opponent. A weaker opponent, for example, may feel more comfortable if he feels he can exploit the map better than his opponent, rather than just being annihilated in a simple level which exposes all of his weaknesses. Most importantly, it adds variety to the match; excitement. For instance, is snowboarding down an extremely steep hill built for speed and speed only more fun than one with jumps, trees, bumps in the way, etc.? Some may say yes, but that would be the purist crowd speaking out. The general public likes the gimmicks (though I hesitate to call them gimmicks, it could just be an especially interesting piece of architecture).

However, a level that makes itself too difficult will also flop horribly. A perfect example of a level going overboard with the "frustrations" factor is, ironically, my own level PreSenT PaST. Part of this was a design decision, as it was simply meant to be a hardcore level, but I learned the hard way that without popularity all that hard work will go to waste. Now I'm putting on a bit of a self-pity cap here (ready the little violins) but nobody ever bothered to notice the myriads of routes in my map or the painstaking measures I took to such an assymetrical map. Probably about half of the secrets went undiscovered, too. Part of that was my fault, just a poor design decision. Never, I repeat, NEVER hide key powerups from the player, even if they are positioned perfectly for balance. That does not matter - if the player cannot find them, then your whole concept of balance is thrown down the window! In fact, you should really be taking that into consideration while mapping.

The point is that both levels like PreSenT PaST (overly complicated) and overly "simple levels" do one thing: accentuate the skill gap between players. While good for "hardcore" play, this does not serve itself well to a community as small as Jazz, where that audience does not exist. The map must then be used simultaneously as a mediator, evening the skill gap, while also being a tool for the player to use against their opponent. A paradox if there ever was one. See, mapping is a lot harder then you thought, huh? Proves why I haven't released a map in 3 years.

Hmm, this looks like good material for me to post on the ELM Tree. Wow, this turned out long.
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-SteelTalon, Black Wolf
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the ELM tree
PreSenT PaST
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