Forging Lessons ***UPDATED*** Lesson 7 (8/15/2010)

[GodlyPerfection]

Lesson 1: First Impressions (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-1-first-impressions.html)
Lesson 2: Knowledge is Power (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-2-knowledge-is-power.html)
Lesson 3: Path Manipulation (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-3-path-manipulation.html)
Lesson 4: Perspectives (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-4-perspectives.html)
Lesson 5: Deterrents (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-5-deterrents.html)
Lesson 6: Incentives (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-6-incentives.html)
Lesson 7: Combat Congestion and Traffic (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-7-combat-congestion-and-traffic.html)

The next lesson I will be releasing on Tuesday. Please keep an eye out for it to assist in any way you can.

Alright so I am preparing a set of level design articles for all Halo forging communities. I need as much assistance as possible with reviewing my lessons and finding spelling errors, grammatical errors, and anything else you may find. Assistance with heading suggestions or comments on writing style will be greatly appreciated as well.

This set of lessons will be coming out over the next couple months and will cover all sorts of theories such as spawn placement, path manipulation, incentive balancing, etc. in order to prepare the forging communities for the new Forge. Forge 2.0 promises it to be easier to build maps which means the design competition is going to be high. Please share with any of your forging friends that you feel would benefit from this. Please share with any communities that could benefit from this.

Thank you for any assistance you guys offer, when a good amount of these lessons are finished I will be presenting them to community leaders as guides to help improve the quality of all maps to come.

[Paranoia_uk]

I have quite extensive knowledge of writing up forging guides covering many different aspects of map design and construction. I would be happy to help in any way I can.

[GodlyPerfection]

That would be great Paranoia. I would love your opinion on it. Any suggestions on how it might be improved, comments on the subject in particular, etc. It's great to have those who have written guides before look over your guide. I can look over yours if you would like as well.

[Paranoia_uk]

thats cool man, im looking through it now.

edit - my thoughts so far.

I really like your writing style. Its different to alot of help threads you see which sound like they are written by robots. It is personal and it brings in real life comparisons to make it easier to understand. 'encourage your players to go on that second date' is a good example of this.

I think every thing you wrote about is spot on and also quite original. When I read the OP I thought you meant guides on the obvious elements of level design - forging techniques, weapon placement etc.. You've gone for the often over seen areas which are really important factors towards getting those downloads we oh so crave :)

overall it was a good read. Im looking forward to reading more. Is that a word press thing BTW? People have been going on about them a lot to me, im thinking about making one to showcase my maps and designs.

[GodlyPerfection]

thats cool man, im looking through it now.

edit - my thoughts so far.

I really like your writing style. Its different to alot of help threads you see which sound like they are written by robots. It is personal and it brings in real life comparisons to make it easier to understand. 'encourage your players to go on that second date' is a good example of this.

I think every thing you wrote about is spot on and also quite original. When I read the OP I thought you meant guides on the obvious elements of level design - forging techniques, weapon placement etc.. You've gone for the often over seen areas which are really important factors towards getting those downloads we oh so crave :)

overall it was a good read. Im looking forward to reading more. Is that a word press thing BTW? People have been going on about them a lot to me, im thinking about making one to showcase my maps and designs.

Wow that was great feedback. And thank you for the compliment I've always believed in making a read interesting because I hate long boring monotonous reads. I am starting from what I feel are the basics that cover all of level design and I will be getting more specific over time. The next one I plan on is coming out Thursday.

As for the site, it is actually blogger. I liked blogger more because it allows you to edit the code behind the scenes for free. And the domain name only costed like $10. I would be down for following your blog and your designs if you start one up. People with blogger accounts can follow people quite easily.

[Paranoia_uk]

nice one man, im going to look into it. Im a bit of a noob when it comes down to coding and stuff but i would like my own personall little space to decorate how i want and showcase my content. I will let you know how i get on.

[GodlyPerfection]

nice one man, im going to look into it. Im a bit of a noob when it comes down to coding and stuff but i would like my own personall little space to decorate how i want and showcase my content. I will let you know how i get on.

If you ever need help feel free to ask. I plan on showcasing my stuff as soon as reach comes out on my blog as well. And I also plan on showcasing my favorite gametypes and maps by friends on their too. Hopefully I can make regular readers out of everyone :).

[Paranoia_uk]

that would be great man. I will let you know if i have trouble, i was saying to null that i want to be an active member of this community so i will no doubt catch you on here from time to time. thanks

[GodlyPerfection]

Lesson 2: Knowledge is power (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-2-knowledge-is-power.html)



A map should teach players about it's most important features
Teaching players the map allows them to give an accurate assessment of it's gameplay
Players have a more enjoyable experience when they are taught the map and are put on even ground with their competitors

[HLG FlashPoint]

I would like to try, if I may. IxFlashPointxI

EDIT: I went to the link, It looks pretty interesting. I like the whole "If a player cannot find it, it may as well not be on the map" thing. Oh baithaway, Hai AZN

[Paranoia_uk]

Reading through it now, ive spotted a spelling mistake but im not sure if it is because there are differences to english spoken english and american spoken english.

cuz I’m tired of dieing to it

cus i'm tired of dying from it? - Thats how I would spell it, but like I said I may be wrong

The whole 'player never came back to the post to see your reply' is spot on. The amount of time someone has wrongly criticised a map of mine and then never returned to see my reply is not worth mentioning.

overall a very good read again, i agree with all the points you raised and couldnt have explained them better myself.

[GodlyPerfection]

I would like to try, if I may. IxFlashPointxI

EDIT: I went to the link, It looks pretty interesting. I like the whole "If a player cannot find it, it may as well not be on the map" thing. Oh baithaway, Hai AZN

Long time no see flashpoint. How ya doin'? Glad you like it, and that is definitely something people don't think about is that if people can not find what they are looking for (especially the first time through) then you might as well take it off the map and use that budget for something else... or just move what you want them to find.

Reading through it now, ive spotted a spelling mistake but im not sure if it is because there are differences to english spoken english and american spoken english.

cuz I’m tired of dieing to it

cus i'm tired of dying from it? - Thats how I would spell it, but like I said I may be wrong

The whole 'player never came back to the post to see your reply' is spot on. The amount of time someone has wrongly criticised a map of mine and then never returned to see my reply is not worth mentioning.

overall a very good read again, i agree with all the points you raised and couldnt have explained them better myself.

Cuz is just my typing style, you will see that often lol. Many people answer comments about the map expecting the original commenter to come back and read it. That is not always the case since some people just kind of skimmed over your map. You need to make sure you teach them their first time through, since you only have that first impression to show them. See how those two lessons pair together? That's how all of level design works and you will see lessons constantly tie together as more of them come out. I had to start with these ones because I felt that it was a good basis for the rest of the lessons.

[HLG FlashPoint]

I bez goodz. This Forging Lessons "thing" looks very interesting though. Yeah, I have been having some problems with weapon spawning and not having enough items... I put the weapons in the direct path but I cannot find the direct weapon set I want. I put the map and one other one up for map adoption... So if you want to try to finish it then just downoad it through the link on FH, sorry don't know if theirs a map adoption here. I also need to send you a friend request. The maps aren't directly on my FileShare though, their in a file set if you want to look for em, or you can follow the link on the thread.

[Paranoia_uk]

Cuz is just my typing style,

No i meant the word dieing, i thought it was dying, but i may be wrong

[HLG FlashPoint]

No i meant the word dieing, i thought it was dying, but i may be wrong
Yeah, I think it's dying but dieing looks more fluent for an odd reason. Dying to it should dying from it though.

[GodlyPerfection]

Alright I have updated dieing to dying in all instances. Also I am not quite sure if it should be dying to or dying from it. Dying to it sounds better... dying from it sounds kind of weird.

[Paranoia_uk]

i would have put from but like i said earlier it may be different here in england.

[GodlyPerfection]

Lesson 3: Path Manipulation (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-3-path-manipulation.html)



Path Manipulation is the ability to control a player's movement
Using Path Manipulation allows us to craft the experience that we want our players to have
The golden rule of Path Manipulation is that players will always take the shortest route to their current goal

[Vosca Mecoda]

make a lesson on lines of site?????

[GodlyPerfection]

Don't worry I will be covering something that does cover lines of sight... all in good time.

[Vosca Mecoda]

ok thanks man hey! how about i show you a map im making and tell me what you think and what i could improve of it!!

[Vosca Mecoda]

i mean you could add stuff to it if you like coz your obviesly experienced at gameplay in forge so.....

[Canadians360]

I remember our discussions on your forge theories back in the day. If your still looking for help I'd be glad to give you feedback wherever you'd like Godly. I'll have to read up on your new articles in the meantime.

[GodlyPerfection]

Feedback on any of the lessons is always welcome Canadians. lol... I'm glad the offer is still available. And if you feel like sharing with friends and fellow forgers that would be cool too. ;) It could never reach enough people. The more knowledgeable forgers are the better quality of all the maps that are released.

[GodlyPerfection]

Lesson 4: Path Manipulation (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-4-perspectives.html)



A perspective is essentially a screenshot in time of a player's current view
Crafting perspectives to your liking can help create the decisions and experience that you want your players to have
Utilizing art theory is a big part of analyzing a perspective

[HLG FlashPoint]

Great lesson yet again... It is really well thought out and is very very useful. I really like the new font but the green looks a little out of place though.

[GodlyPerfection]

Lesson 5: Deterrents (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-5-deterrents.html)



Deterrents are things that discourage the act of proceeding
Deterrents are not very widely used due to them being "discouraging" and not always effective, however with the right tweaks they can be very effective
In level design the theory of deterrents is under-researched and there is still a long way to go to understand the concepts and differences of static and dynamic deterrents

[RightSideTheory]

You're going into way to little detail.

[GodlyPerfection]

I know, but when doing a series you have to start with the basics and slowly build up. I am just trying to give a bit of an overview first. Trust me it is better this way. Especially since this is such an unused topic. Give it time RST. And plus I don't want to touch on other areas because every little area I touch has sooo much more to it and the article will be too long for anyone to want to read. Introducing too many new things at once will just make it harder to learn.

[RightSideTheory]

No, I mean you shouldn't just define something as a lesson. You should show examples of it. Go into depth about those examples. Take pictures of what you're talking about, create examples that show what you're talking about.

[GodlyPerfection]

Trust me RST I know how to write guides. This is not supposed to cover them in great detail because I could never cover enough. If I showed an example I would have to delve exactly why it is an example making the post way too long for readers. One stepping stone at a time RST. I've written articles like that in the past on FH and they take WAY too much motivation and effort to pull off and that is why I had to change my approach. This is much better for not only me, but for those learning it gives them the time to try to formulate their own conclusions and then compare when I actually go into detial later on.

An example of the articles I wrote in the past: http://www.forgehub.com/forum/halo-3-forge-discussion/54521-forging-theory-forging-plan.html

As you can see I know how to write those kind of lessons but I learned from experience that they are not as effective since it introduces too much to people and does not give them the chance to learn. They end up having low retention of knowledge that way. So they only end up remembering a few things from that extensive article. This is a much better setup and I know this from experience.

[Null Parameter]

Trust me RST I know how to write guides.
...
An example of the articles I wrote in the past: http://www.forgehub.com/forum/halo-3-forge-discussion/54521-forging-theory-forging-plan.html

I find it ironic that you gave that example to the guy who was the fourth person to reply in the example.

[GodlyPerfection]

I find it ironic that you gave that example to the guy who was the fourth person to reply in the example.

You know that is quite funny maybe he needed to be reminded ;)... but anyways, it doesn't matter I already explained my reasoning. But thanks for pointing that out Null. I can always count on you to keep me in check... lol

[Coyote1023]

I dislike your XBL mtaf... They annoy me. Other than that, I have no problems with your guides, keep them up.

[GodlyPerfection]

I dislike your XBL mtaf... They annoy me. Other than that, I have no problems with your guides, keep them up.

As per special request I shall take the time to remove you from the msgs. Glad you like the guides though. Your approval of them means a lot Coyote.

[GodlyPerfection]

Lesson 6: Incentives (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-6-incentives.html)


Weapons and powerups are not the only incentives that exist
Most incentives are not permanent, sometimes they are there and sometimes they aren't
Don't forget that you are giving your players an advantage and make sure you account for it and balance that advantage out

[GodlyPerfection]

Lesson 7: Combat Congestion and Traffic (http://www.reachingperfection.com/2010/08/lesson-7-combat-congestion-and-traffic.html)


Combat Congestion is tons of players traversing through one area causing massive chaos and confusion, taking away from the skill required
Traffic is the analysis how players are spread out around the map
Everything comes into play when learning to control the chaos, just like everything else in level design