Portal 2 level design guidelines
Interesting. I take the exact opposite approch when I map. I try to make it a challenging puzzle, but once you know what to do, it's easy. The challenge should be in figuring out a puzzle, not actually doing it. This is what makes portal fun; it isn't about having fast reflexes or perfect aim. It's about thinking, and problem solving. (Some people like rediculous jumping puzzles and things of the nature, where there is little thought involved, but it personally appauls me when I know exactly what to do, but have to try 50 times to do it.)
I agree with Killerblonde. Players get frustrated if it's "easier said than done". I try to lay everything out, but make it medium difficulty to figure out and solve. It's a balance that's hard to achieve.
[spoiler][SP] Alternate[/spoiler]
I'll agree that balancing the puzzle elements and difficulty is hard. But then again I wouldn't want to make a map that was too easy to accomplish. But then again, different people have different views on an excellent map is.
My Work
[spoiler]Maps:
Revenge of the Angry Turrets
Capture the Cube [Co-op]
Capture the Cube 2 [Co-op]
TPWEGTH Sample Map
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center 2
Aperture Time Testing Center
ML's Halloween Trick - 1000 downloads!
ML's Halloween Treat
ML's Combination - 1000 downloads!
ML's Jailbreak Labyrinth
ML's Tricky Teamwork [Co-op]
WIP:
"Capture the Cube 3"
Workshop Maps Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008890579/myworkshopfiles/[/spoiler]
In my point of view, an excellent map is one that has a solution where the player doesnt have to do anything fancy, (like placing a portal while flying through air at the exact right time into a tiny crack,) but the player has to think a LOT about what they have to do. That way, when they have their AHA moment, that quickly solve the map, and not have to try over and over to get to that ledge that they can just barely jump to.
The puzzle should be challenging. The solution, though challenging to figure out, should be medium difficulty at most to carry out.
What if there were some intentional traps in a map? For example, a faith plate launches the player in a different direction than it normally would after completing a part of the puzzle. The trap room would be possible to escape and wouldn't be too difficult.
My Work
[spoiler]Maps:
Revenge of the Angry Turrets
Capture the Cube [Co-op]
Capture the Cube 2 [Co-op]
TPWEGTH Sample Map
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center 2
Aperture Time Testing Center
ML's Halloween Trick - 1000 downloads!
ML's Halloween Treat
ML's Combination - 1000 downloads!
ML's Jailbreak Labyrinth
ML's Tricky Teamwork [Co-op]
WIP:
"Capture the Cube 3"
Workshop Maps Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008890579/myworkshopfiles/[/spoiler]
That's a good idea; a puzzle that takes an unexpected turn, forcing the player to quickly adapt their solution, or have to start over or die.
A word on dieing. In singleplayer, death-obstacles like crushers and slime pits should be easily avoided, because loading a save is required if the player dies. The player should only die if they do something really, obviously wrong. In coop, however, death isn't as hard to recover from, so it can be applied more liberally. The same is said on the valve developer wiki, and MOST map makers abide by it.
So if a faith plate launched a player in an unexpected direction, then death should not be the consequence of not making an action, unless it is really obvious what the player should do, and they have a few moments to do it. In coop, you could have a faith plate launch you into a grinder, because it takes seconds to respawn, and then you could work out a solution from there.
What I was thinking for one of my maps was to have the player put a box on a button to open the exit by using a faith plate. Not only does the button activate the door but also changes the faith plate's launch direction toward a room with a portalible panel surrounded by crushers. Since portals were used to get to the button, it would be impossible to not escape this trap using portals. However, if the player doesn't act fast enough to place a portal on the panel they would get crushed (similar to Wheatley's "The Part Where He Kills You").
BTW: There would be an auto-save before this event would happen.
My Work
[spoiler]Maps:
Revenge of the Angry Turrets
Capture the Cube [Co-op]
Capture the Cube 2 [Co-op]
TPWEGTH Sample Map
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center 2
Aperture Time Testing Center
ML's Halloween Trick - 1000 downloads!
ML's Halloween Treat
ML's Combination - 1000 downloads!
ML's Jailbreak Labyrinth
ML's Tricky Teamwork [Co-op]
WIP:
"Capture the Cube 3"
Workshop Maps Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008890579/myworkshopfiles/[/spoiler]
I like that idea. If you also make so it that the player would survive if they decided to jump off the panel, then you will have created a moment that will startle most players momentarily, but almost every player will then manage to avoid the death trap.
(As for the auto-save, I'd make it trigger just moments after the player gets airborne, so they know that they didn't fuck up by stepping on the faith plate, but still have plenty of time to react the second time, should they have to reload.)
Other Portal 2 maps: Medusa Glare
Portal 1 maps: Try Anything Twice | Manic Mechanic
Yep, I agree with the above. I do have a question for the mapping community though. How do you think of puzzles? The valve developer wiki has a section on it, but it's not very helpful. Right now I just throw random stuff together, start playing to see how I can solve it, then put I/O's together without a solution in mind, try to solve it, and then reconfigure I/O's to make it possible. It's unefficiant, and usually I don't get that great puzzles. How do you make your puzzles?
You work from either one of two approaches. You write up puzzles in a logical step by step order such as 1. Put cube on button - activates funnel 2. jump in funnel and redirect etc. with a little diagram of locations of the puzzles. OR you just experiment with a variety of different game mechanics and see how a puzzle forms from it. I usually do the latter inadvertantly because my original puzzle either turns out to be not as fun as envisioned or I just prefer my spur-of-the-moment puzzle ideas.
Just think of something that Valve has done, and corrupt it into an idea that has seen little or no usage in the game or other custom maps. For example, in my next map one player has to be in a funnel heading towards several laser fences while the other one uses a laser to turn off each laser field in order. It takes the awesome idea from the single player level with the laser field and laser switchon/switchoff thing and changes it up a bit. Alternatively, come up with a completely revolutionary game mechanic which is often massively appreciated by the community (or fails from impracticality).
.. bleh.