19 January 06 · Turn A Square

I seem to have a problem putting my mapping thoughts down onto paper. Albeit papper of the digital kind. It's not that I have an issue coming up with ideas for articles. In fact I have quite a backlog of ideas I need to write down. It just seems that when I sit down in front of a computer everything seems to leave me. I think partially it's because when I sit down in front of my screen there are so many other things to divert my attention: software projects, mapping projects, weblogs, games, socialising etc. Sometimes I'm amazed anything gets done by anyone connected to the net. What with several million people pursing m4d l3wt on WoW.

Anyway one of the things I have been thinking of while not sitting in front of a screen is the nature of design methodologies in level design, or the lack thereof. I'm not talking of technical tutorials so much. That side of things is well covered. But more so the kind of articles that explain the aesthetic and gameplay options and patterns. It seems strange that in a community as well connected and multi-skilled is our own that there isn't more information on these topics. At the moment most knowledge is gained through imitation and trial and error.

Fortunately weblogs have the opportunity to be a major influence on the direction of level design literature. Unfortunately most designers seem to comment on what they are doing, and not how they are doing things. That's quite unlike other communities such as the software industry which takes entierly the opposite direction. Still the area has seen a lot of growth recently. Especially in the HL2 arena, and I have a feeling that the current trickle of articles will expand into a flood very soon.

Of course all the blogs in the world can't replace creativity, nor would I want them too, but I think more and more, the discussion will prove to be an important base for the current community.