Analysis of specific concepts related to level design, what works, what doesn’t and why.
Journey through The Dark Project: Part 2 So… Constantine hired Garrett to steal a sword from Constantine’s own mansion to prove that Garrett was the right person to steal The Eye from the abandoned Hammer Cathedral. Unfortunately, the Keepers sealed the Cathedral after an undead uprising. Now in order to gain access to the Cathedral […]
Journey through The Dark Project: Part 1 I obviously love this series for its level and systems design, yet I think I might actually love the way it handles narrative design even more. It manages to be incredibly rich with such economy; nothing serves only one purpose. Somewhat pretentious, but – film noir influences aside – […]
So, it’s about time I finally did it. Join me as I play Thief: The Dark Project; I’ve never got further than The Sword before. Thanks to the No Spiders mod from Andy Durdin I hope to actually finish it this time. I’ll be playing Thief Gold, I have multiple copies of The Dark Project […]
Note: This was originally posted as a comment on the Sparky Clarkson article I link to. As I was writing I realised there was a broader point to be made, so I extended and adapted that comment into this article. Sparky Clarkson didn’t like Remember Me as much as I did; reading his analysis helped […]
The first issue of Sneaky Bastards: The Stealth Gaming Magazine is now on sale, available to purchase in either .PDF or print editions the magazine features 100 pages of full colour ad-free content on Arkane Studios’ Dishonored. Alongside interviews, a stealth focused review, and critical commentary, the magazine features 48 pages of level design analysis […]
In order to promote my work on Groping The Map: Book 1, I have decided to release a .pdf sample of the first nine pages of the chapter on Nova Prospekt from Half-Life 2. Consider this a “vertical-slice” of the book, as you can see I have made some changes from the traditional format that […]
Since I started them in 2010 my Groping The Map articles have proven to be some of the most popular work I’ve written. In those three years however I have only been able to complete my analysis of three different levels, this is both a significant reduction from my original goal and a personally disappointment. With […]
“Greetings, Garrett! Thou art expected, though not precisely… welcome.” Conclusion: Coming two thirds of the way through The Metal Age the infiltration of Angelwatch in Life Of The Party would make a fitting location for the finale. Unlike the actual final level the Mechanist tower of Angelwatch was foreshadowed as far back as the second level, […]
“These are strange times indeed when the builder’s chosen must cater to the folly of the unworthy.” Annotated Walkthrough, 7: After avoiding any wandering guests on the stairs the sixth floor landing offers some shadows in which to wait before you enter the ballroom. The door is unlocked and the light illuminating the area immediately […]
For the past year, along with occasional posts here, I’ve been writing for Sneaky Bastards: The Stealth Gaming Blog. The work I’ve produced there has been similar in form to my Groping The Map series. Now Sneaky Bastards is looking to develop beyond the website into a print on demand magazine, and we need […]