The Most Important Aspect in Making Maps!

[Thwart]

Hello there,
I wanted to share with the DW community a TED video/talk titled "Why light needs darkness" by architect Rogier van der Heide. I originally was just going to send this to my brother because making maps is his passion as some of you know, but I felt this topic deserved to be shared with all other aspiring map makers. I would be doing a great disservice to those by withholding the idea, in my opinion, that the most important aspect in map making is the "Lighting." This is what distinguishes the line between amateurish and great maps. Now, I don't want to confuse this with gameplay, because how well the gameplay is is determined by the overall experience of each possible aspect, and what I am simply stating is the lighting is what enhances the gameplay more so than any other contributing factor. The link is as follows:
http://www.ted.com/talks/rogier_van_der ... kness.html

In this video, Heide explains how important lighting is in our building environments and in the world, but never mentions games as this is not the kind of field he is in, but it could easily be connected to this subject. Although, Heide doesn't connect his topic to map making, he does use a painting as an example towards the end of his lecture in which he explains how the "suspense" of the painting is created through darkness and in the light. "We should start making the light out of darkness and use the darkness as a canvas." The gaming world is just another fantasy environment that we may choose to spend a certain amount of our time just like in a book or any other artistic avenue. In this sense, we try to create maps that, although they are fictional, are as real as we can make it seem. But how do we do that?

I want to quote you some Key points in Heide's lecture that supports this idea of how important lighting is in our lives:
1.) "There is no good light without proper darkness."
2.) Heide explains in Le Corbusier's work that, "He created this gorgeous building where you can see the sky and where you can experience the sun that gives us better life in the building environment just because of the relevance of light in its brightness and in also it's shadows."
3.) "The beautiful dynamics of the sun bringing these into the building creates a quality of our building environment that truly enhances our life and this is all about darkness as much as it is about lightness, of course, because otherwise you don't see these dynamics."
4.)"The human eye turns out to be remarkably adaptable to all these different light conditions that together create an environment that is never boring and never dull."
5.) Heide also explains the concept of "Focal glow-Ambient luminescence-Play of brilliants" which he explains "make a beautiful experience." These three concepts can be very useful in how you can establish lighting in your maps! He also says, "These three distinctive elements together make a lighting environment that helps us feel better and we can only create that out of darkness."
6.) "Darkness is for our imagination, for contemplation, and to help us relate to everything."
I've enjoyed even the most simplest maps, because of the lighting as they give me a feeling of comfort. Perhaps this could be the reason and a key ingredient of why such maps are popular.

It is out of our subconsciousness that we may enjoy a room/building/map environment because of the lighting, and it is often times overlooked in creating a map. Although I never have created a map myself, I have had the privilege of experiencing and seeing photos of my brother's maps as he works on them before he puts in the lighting. Also, this concept of "lighting" is in everywhere such as art and even through music. As I compose music, the darkness and light are the minor and major keys in music, and the most poignant is the chord only because of the chord it follows.
:salute:

[DW_WailofSuicide]

I don't totally agree, but strong lighting can really bring an average looking map to life. That said, there are other ways to make really good maps, and lighting is only a piece of the puzzle ultimately.
Good geometry can turn a single light into a cool play of shadows across the floor. And you need good textures to complement your lighting (some materials will look really poor when lit with some colors).

And then there's gameplay, something that doesn't really come into play in real life (presumably there's some similar things that can be done for optimizing real life buildings, but it's a very different set of considerations).

[DW_Ant]

There isn't a one way solution to make a map beautiful. Yes, there are many other things that makes a beautiful map, but I do find that lighting is one of the most contributing factors that impact the atmosphere if it's done properly. So much science and theory to talk about in lighting. I can find many answers in theater as he briefly discussed in his lecture.

"No good light without proper darkness."
I can relate this quote how we cannot smile without shedding a tear.

Also as a side note: Valve used lighting techniques to direct players. The focal points of lighting can be very helpful when directing players where to go next.


Gameplay, too, has a great impact in a 'good' map. I could list my opinions about gameplay, but I fear that people consider a simple box map with some sort of bunker is a good map. Should that be discussed here?

Edit: I can't seem to vote.

[Thwart]

Edit: I can't seem to vote.

I re-setted the poll as I wasn't sure if it wasn't working because of a setting I had.

Anyway, regarding Gameplay, how would you define gameplay exactly? I realize that it is the interaction between the player and the game, but in that sense, gameplay would be different for each player. Furthermore, a map may better suite certain players depending which gameplay it supports. Small maps with a bunker has great gameplay for the beginner, camper, and for anyone else who likes a slower pace of play. And I suppose a map with great gameplay has balance, meaning that it would have all options available for the different types of players. However, in my opinion, without the presence of environment, which also contribute in gameplay, and even if the map does have all the possibilities for different kind of players, you will find yourself bored after a while.

Crumpet comes to mind when I think of simple maps. Anyone probably could re-create this map, but what made it popular was because of the combination of ingredients the map maker used, despite the notion for the reason being because that it was an easy map for low-levels. Regardless if it being simple, I couldn't help but find myself to enjoy it from time to time and not get bored with it after I played it for the first time. Killing monsters for this map was painstakingly effortless at moments so that wasn't the reason why I enjoyed it. It was the presence of environment which allowed me to enjoy the entire experience of invasion which is a combination of killing A.I. and interacting with other players. Im sure many of you will disagree with me on this one. :sbigsmile:

In conclusion, I don't think you could say that a map is a great map without the proper lighting. You can allow a player to mistakenly think that a map was done by a professional when it wasn't because of the lighting. I tend to have the mindset of maps being a work of art in the sense that you are creating your perception to others of what you see in the reality around you, whether it is more impressionistic, expressionistic, transcendental, or just plain romantic.

Great discussion :ssmile: