Coming up with game ideas:
If you want some mini-game-ish/arena style game idea, here's how I like to think:
In real life, when it comes to building design, two general groups of people are involved: architects and engineers. The architects visualize a design and draw it out. The engineers look at the drawings and figure out how to efficiently design it (stress analyzation of beams and columns, types of materials to use, cost estimations, etc). Both are essential to erecting houses and buildings.
I feel as though map making can be related just like this. The first part is visualizing/planning your map, and the second is actually designing it. Both steps involve one to sometimes have to think outside the box or use creative methods. Well here's how I like to think when it comes to making maps:
FIRST PART:
So for this first part, we're going to be architects. Don't necessarily worry about your map's resources (units, locations, terrain, triggers, etc) just yet; that'll be for the second part.
- For what purpose will this map be for? Is it to be spread and popular throughout battle.net? Is it something in which you want to impress people with? Is it something you want to enjoy with your friends? Is it going to be for comical or humorous purposes? Or is this going to be a mini-game or side quest in your map? Decide on your motive first and then u can move on.
- Decide on the genre (like whether it be defense, rpg, bound, assault, arena, etc)
- Next, DO NOT decide on how the game play will be like, first decide on how you will WIN the game. Is it by score? Last person standing? First to teach a certain destination? What will your conditions consist of when you initiate the victory trigger? Again do not think about the gameplay yet; just think about the objective first.
- Now how will this map be different from other maps gameplay wise? What will make me want to play it rather than something else? Conceptually what's going to be different in it. This is the part where you can (or actually should) refer to other tutorials; impeaches' is a good one.
- Characters. No starcraft game is going to work without any units. With your gameplay and objective in mind, what types characters do you see best suited. Note that this is different from specific characters.
If I am stuck on finding a map idea, I tend to go directly to this last step. Spent time thinking about each specific starcraft unit and think about what it is capable of doing. For instance you can start with an SCV. "Ok what can this SCV do? It can harvest, it can build units, it can even attack. It's a small unit, what kind of special effects can this unit generate with a trigger? What will happen when I use EUD triggers on or with it? What can this unit do that other units can't?" I like to spend time analyzing each unit like this and sometimes I'll generate a map idea.
SECOND PART:
Now you change your role to an engineer. This is where many people seem to do much better in; infact a lot of people are much better than me at this -_-. Now comes the actual construction of the map; this is where you use ur analytical skills to make ur map possible. We have to use what we've come up with in our first part to do or worry about things like units, locations, terrain, triggers, size of your penis, etc. Knowledge of triggers, units, map properties is essential here.
Engineers in real life like to use charts which contain essential information like strength of certain materials, shear and bending moments in beams, deflection and differential equations for certain shapes and styles of structures, etc. Likewise we map makers can also use map making tutorials, reference guides, wiki, map making forums when it comes to designing our maps.
So yea, that's also how I like to think when coming up with map ideas
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on May 29 2008, 4:48 pm by MillenniumArmy.
None.
