Thesis Statement April 05, 2006

April 05, 2006
Thesis Statement and Stuff
Thesis Statement:

This project is about the study of common features from great First Person Shooter levels, and the development of a new map that demonstrates these features.

Description:

Being a big fan of the FPS genre, I have spent countless hours playing online. After years on playing certain levels over and over again it got me thinking about why I play these games (specifically the levels) repeatedly. There is something very addicting about the game play in these levels which people experience and that keep them coming back day after day, and in some cases year after year. My plan was to use my knowledge of level design (abet small) and deconstruct the maps from the more popular online multiplayer FPS’s to their most basic forms: Bubble Diagrams. From the bubble diagrams I can see the number of buildings, entrances to buildings, bottlenecks, obstructions, cover, spawn points, etc. for the maps I have selected. After I have studied the maps and their common features, I can use this information and apply it to a level that I will construct in the Hammer Editor (HL2). Hopefully the map will demonstrate that these features truly make the perfect map.

Intended Audience:

The intended audience is any fan of Counter-Strike formula, and while it may seem like a small audience, CS, and CS:S are still the most popular of any online FPS (http://archive.gamespy.com/stats/). I will have plenty of test subjects, as long as I can get my hands on a server to test it out. The other audience could be the Gamasutra.com community; if my findings help me prevail I would love the free publicity to prospective employers.

Expectations:

From the project I hope to better understand what makes a great FPS level, even if it is just a Multiplayer one. From this knowledge I would generate a level that demonstrates my findings and is hopefully a fun map to play.