Archive for August 2007

Random Difficulty Setting

The Right Question! In Poll Question 045 I asked “Would you buy and play a game that only had one difficulty setting?”. It was a badly worded question because I meant that the only level available was the HARD setting. Whilst posting a reply comment I had a flash idea….

26th August 2007 8 Comments

Dawn’s Early Light: Combine Facility

for Half-Life 2

Author’s Notes

“Dawn’s Early Light is a single-player map pack for Half-Life 2, spanning three continuous maps. My map is the first, and involves a member of the human resistance assaulting a Combine facility, only to be part of an event that releases hordes of zombies into the Combine-controlled city. We stuck with the Half-Life 2 visual style and universe for this map pack in order to fully utilize the game assets already available to us.

A major part of this project is working with other Level Designers in order to maintain consistent visuals, especially when it comes to accomplishing seamless level transitions. Even seemingly smaller details, such as the time of day that the events take place in, affect the decisions that we make while creating our maps.

The main thing that I learned from working on this map pack was how to properly populate a 3D game space with fun, scripted enemy encounters. I learned that something as simple as where an enemy attacks from can mean the difference between a player being frustrated or excited about the gameplay experience. Also, along with the Nitrate mod that I worked on, I became very proficient with the Hammer editor and learned how it differs from a subtractive editor like UnrealEd.

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Total Downloads: 2,02924th August 2007
21 Comments and 11 recommendations, most say "Play It Now!"

Poll Question 044 – Have any FPS games managed to create moral dilemmas from which you learnt something?

I remember reading a preview about the soon-to-be released Bioshock. It seems that the player has some moral and ethical choices to make regarding his escape from Rapture and inhabitants of the underwater city. This inspired this week’s poll question.

Have any FPS games managed to create moral dilemmas from which you learnt something?

Me

Personally I don’t recall any FPS games that made me seriously consider morals but I have quite a bad memory.

What about you?

17th August 2007 13 Comments

Poll Question 043 – Are Single Player FPS games too violent?

I have a feeling that this week’s poll will divide PP readers. Without wanting to predjudice the comments and votes I have a feeling that the younger readers will say No and the older readers will say yes.
This week’s poll question is:

Are Single Player FPS games too violent?

10th August 2007 35 Comments

Poll Question 042 – What is your pet peeve regarding Single Player mods?

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

The quality of some SP mods is incredibly good and then some are incredibly bad! Even though I haven’t ever released a map I know that SP maps take more effort than MP maps. I’m sure we all have our pet peeve when it comes to SP releases and now is the time to express them!

This week’s poll question is:

What is your pet peeve regarding Single Player mods?

3rd August 2007 27 Comments

City Rebellion: Chapter 1

for Half-Life 2

About As a citizen of one of many Combine occupied cities, you are a member of the city Rebellion (CR) organization. Your numbers are small, but you all have a dream of a free city. It is your job to electronically spy on the Combine, to relay the information you gain back to the CR… Read More

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Total Downloads: 7341st August 2007
26 Comments and 10 recommendations, 5 say "Play It Now!"