The first stage of mapping for me starts off in the design phase. This is the phase where I sketch out a bunch of layouts and design concepts in order to allow my head to brain storm. I usually go through enough sheets of paper to run a mini rain forest until I have a layout that I think will work.
"Paper cuts, imminent"
I didn't always do this, I would just randomly go into Hammer and throw stuff together and allow that to be my brainstorming, but that would often lead to frustration and alot of unused maps. When I worked on my Senior Project map (which was a source engine based replica of my school) I found that frustration and confusion decreased dramatically when I had a already planned out layout that I could add to and alter.
Considering how heavy level design is actually needed in Left 4 Dead maps, I decided to scrap the technique of randomly playing with stuff in hammer and actually work on sketching out layouts. It turned out to be alot more productive and fun and is probably going to make the mapping far more enjoyable.
Anyways, after I'm done irritating Captain Planet from the amount of notebook paper I used, I transfer the designs and layouts I did on the sheets of paper to this goliath thing:
"A notepad for a king, or a earth giant"
You see, the problem with notebook paper is that it's relatively small. It's made to carry notes, homework, and stupid letters to friends. Blueprints get kind of gimped when put on notebook paper due to the size that most blueprints usually demand. Usually you'll have to rely on multiple sheets of paper and just kind of put them together like a Dungeons and Dragons game board map or something in order to plan map layouts and blueprints on them. Rather than having to do all of that, I decided just to use this huge sized notepad to allow me to transfer all of my layouts from notebook paper to a scale that the layout can actually fit in.
Because of the epic size of this notepad, it should also have a higher quality blueprint. So I try (emphasis on try)to use my ruler to create straighter lines. But sometimes I just suck at straight lines.
"As you can see from the rest of the lines, I'm pro at straight lines. Seriously."
While at a workdesk designing your map's layout, it's usually a good idea to have a Personal Media Player with you to play music and/or podcasts, because you aren't just gonna listen to silence while you layout some plans.
"Beware the Giant Zune Riverboat of Death!"
It's important to note that, just because you "finalized" your map layout on the notebook sheet paper doesn't mean you can't make changes. As you might soon realize, you might get sudden epiphanies and sparks of brilliance, either thanks to you or Coheed and Cambria, so you should make changes accordingly.
"4 Cans of Dr.Pepper optional."
As you may have noticed in the photos, I planned my layout from a top view perspective. While this is good enough, the best method is Isometric designs. But you see, I suck at Isometric designs. Why are isometric layouts better? Well, they are able to capture height variation much more accurately and makes it less confusing. There is a way though to overcome this if you're creating a layout from a top view perspective. Just have platforms or whatever that are at a higher elevation to have thicker lines and lower elevation plaforms have thinner lines. It seems to work just as good.
Once you got your layout down it's time to go to the blocking stage. More on that later. Likewise, I'll probably make a post about the decisions that went into the design of the layout. Stay tuned.
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