Inspiration

[VolumetricSteve]

I've been bumping around here for years, then the big crash or whatever happened back in 2005ish and I just drifted away from the community. As long as I can remember I've been seeing absolutely amazing maps get produced by people around here and I have to wonder what inspires you all. Where do you get ideas from? What influences your map making process? People who've been mapping forever should use this thread to brag (disucss) their thought process behind their map-making.

[monaster]

That might interest you: Infernis revived the leveldesign-page, and there's even a subforum dedicated to "Inspirational": http://leveldesign.nl/viewforum.php?f=10

Also:

Where do you get ideas from? What influences your map making process?

Note: That doesn't include porn shot in antique castles and other inspiring settings, does it?

[VolumetricSteve]

Note: That doesn't include porn shot in antique castles and other inspiring settings, does it?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH

man, if it works, it works.

[obsidian]

Movies, art and photography. I think most people here don't have an issue with ideas, but rather time to do them all.

I have all sorts of ideas that I've never finished due to either time or more often because the mechanics didn't work out for game play.

[VolumetricSteve]

Does any kind of art specifically do it for you?

The architecture of Tado Ando actually kicked off Razztazzmagoria. (at the same time, I was looking into the Chernobyl disaster a lot, so that added in too)

[Noruen]

Yes. I'm highly inspired by dark postapocalyptic and "organic" pictures. Because I doesn't like "four walls, one floor and ceiling" type arena. Thank Carmack for this engine, which allow me some "organic style". I'm also advocate of opinion that every map should have instead of great gameplay really dense atmosphere. You know - it is better to play in arena "stomach of the cow" instead of same arena, but without "fun details".

[VolumetricSteve]

@ Noruen:

It sounds like you take the "each map is more of an art project than anything else" approach. (but as I recall, that ctf map you released like a month or two ago was amazing both visually and gameplay-wise) What are the most important things to you about creating a dense atmosphere?

@ Obsidian

In all of my years of lurking/posting I don't think I've ever seen a completed map of yours, but I'm sure you must have done a ton of them. Are yours up for download anywhere?

[Noruen]

Volumetric steve:

Yes! Because, there are many of great maps with super gameplay, but that look... Simple gothic, or tech environment. You can play it hours and hours, but it is boring for your "visual spirit". You must feel the arena - that's why Epic did UT3 so much HDR (but I think too much HDR) - originality and atmosphere are 50% of arena.

And to make dense atmosphere.. I think it is important to make it believeable, to let arena tell some story (I used latin sentences). Not only "this high-detailed complex is here for your entertainment, created by Mr. X". Ask yourself - why Half-Life 2, or Doom 3 are so atmospheric? Both tells the story.

And when you talk about that it is true I probably do not know any map form Obsidian

[obsidian]

The vast majority of maps were for Q3Map2 testing. I built a few for LAN games, I have those back up some place but am too lazy to find them. There used to be some screenshots that I've posted here. I also had some really old Half-Life and Team Fortress (non-source) maps from before Q3 which are probably lost in the folds of time.

[ShadoW_86]

I think most people here don't have an issue with ideas, but rather time to do them all. I have all sorts of ideas that I've never finished due to either time or ...

THIS

Tbh I don't need any kind of inspiration really. I have tons and tons of ideas all the time. It's very easy to get up new things all the time in case of old mappers as some of us here are, we know pretty well the engine and what exactly we can do with it. We can pretty much predict what will work well and look nice. Of course all games/movies/books/comics/blahblah we encountered in the past have impact on what we do, and our creativity, but I would say in my own case, it's just tiny voice somewhere in the back of my head, rather then my main 'inspiration'. Years ago I probably needed inspiration too, I had times when I couldn't put together nothing worth looking at, I was burnt out in few moments. I don't have such problems for long time now. If I only could, I would sit all they and spawn new maps . I have dozens of layouts drawings laying around, and many idea written in my documents, and the only problem is time...

If I would advice anything to you about inspiration - practice. And in that case it's meaning - work. Make maps, work with textures, with layouts. The only way to get good effects is to work hard. In time you will have no problems with getting inspired. It's like playing the guitar. At first, when you can't really know how to use it, it's hard to play anything. After some time, when you know how to handle it, music comes to you itself.

[VolumetricSteve]

Oh, I wasn't trying to imply that I was feeling uninspired or anything, I was just curious what kept a lot of the people here running. I have plenty of ideas my self, they're all just meant to break quake 3. So I'm kinda looking in from the outside, as virtually everyone else here is making maps thinking "this will be fun" or "this will look beautiful" where as I make maps thinking "screw the player, I want to make this as overbearing as possible" or "screw the compiler, I wanna see how far this thing can go before it breaks". I've had some interesting results but it's all totally different from the kinds of things that go on (as far as I've seen) in the mapping community at large. So I come in here, and I see the absolutely breath-taking things people are working on...because they're artists....and I have to wonder what triggers that. What I do really just feels like a process of assembly and it's all based on rules and standards that I kinda maintain (which is why almost all of my maps look the same) and it's just really rigid.

[Bliccer]

I was in an expressionism exhibition, yesterday and the architecture during this era looks so cool. You really can copy some elements from the buildings. Just google!