Level Design

I’ve now completed and 100%’ed every DOOM (and Quake, Heretic & Hexen) game on Steam. Bring on the next ones! The amazing old-school DOOM artwork by Don Ivan Punchatz from 1993. DOOM: Eternal was the last one left to complete, and I finally finished it up last night. Since its release back in 2020, I’ve made several attempts to play it, but it never really clicked, and I would abandon it each time around level 2. However, after finishing DOOM: The Dark Ages recently (which I really loved), I decided to give Eternal another shot. ...

For the HLFallout.net mapping contest, I built a single-player map called “The Bridge”. It’s set in the lost coast, on the outskirts of City 17. It’s more of a set piece than a full level, as the competition’s goal was making a memorable environment rather than a full playable level. I’m happy to say I won the contest, and I’m very proud of how it turned out! \o/ ...

Since I’ve been itching to make more Half-Life maps, I’m building a new single-player map called “Knowren” (the name is just whatever, for now). Set deep in the bowels of the Black-Mesa research facility, I’m trying to focus on moody lighting with a lot of emergency spotlights and shadows, setting a darker atmosphere than most of the standard Half-Life maps. This is pushing the ZHLT (Zoners Half-Life Tools) to its limits, HLRAD specifically, and its taking a long time to compile the map each time already. ...

I’ve been working on a Half-Life deathmatch map these days, set in the mountainous NORAD complex. The layout is fairly simple, built around a central courtyard with two main buildings, both have multiple levels, and a shared basement/garage area. Some areas offer 3 levels of verticality, but the rocket launcher is placed in the basement by design. Getting it first and then working your way up is a good risk/reward strategy. ...