“Angelwatch? Is this how our arrangement is gonna work, you coming up with ways for me to get myself killed?” “Is this really Garrett the Master Thief I hear talking? If danger is going to be a problem for you, then…” “Just– give me the details.” The third instalment of Groping The Map will be […]
Category: Level Design
Analysis of specific concepts related to level design, what works, what doesn’t and why.
“Don’t think you know something about the Lady I don’t. My dad did tours out here.” Conclusion: There’s one word whose use is all but unavoidable when discussing Deus Ex: ‘possible’. The path across Liberty Island I have described is only one of many available routes, though all players start and end their paths at […]
“A shame, isn’t it? The French terrorist group Silhouette claims that France was wrong to give the U.S. the Statue. We think they planned the bombing.” Annotated Walkthrough, 4: With two objectives and at least two separate entrances the Statue itself represents a higher level problem encounter than those you may have come across while […]
“I warned him, you know. I said right to his face, ‘Don’t take weapons into the Lady. That makes you as bad as UNATCO.’” Annotated Walkthrough, 3: Heading to the right after leaving the South Dock you will pass the corpse of another UNATCO Trooper, this one armed solely with a Pepper Spray. So far […]
“Everything was clear an hour ago. Then, BOOM!” Annotated Walkthrough, 2: Stepping up the ramp from the South Dock, the first sight to meet you is likely the dead body of a UNATCO Trooper, lying on the path ignored by the patrolling NSF. Directly ahead there is a stone pillar of some sort, despite not […]
“They’d’ve replaced his whole body if it would’ve improved performance. If that’s how you judge a man — by performance — then eventually it’s not about people but upgrades, versions, functionality…” Annotated Walkthrough, 1: Several things are apparently from the moment you arrive on Liberty Island. The headless Statue Of Liberty is the most obvious […]
“The bots have them bottled up, sir. We’d go right in, if it weren’t for the hold-back order.” The second instalment of Groping The Map will be presented in multiple parts running over the next several weeks. Introduction. Annotated Walkthrough, 1: South Dock. Annotated Walkthrough, 2: Island exterior and UNATCO HQ. Annotated Walkthrough, 3: Island […]
“Nobody was s’posed to reside down here long term – but when you’re broke in this town, you’re not exactly swimmin’ in alternatives.” Conclusion: As the fourth level in BioShock 2 Pauper’s Drop is at once the start of the core of the game and the end of its tutorial; from here onward everything is […]
“Nobody’s supposed to live down here, city pissing on us.” Life Below The Tracks: When things go wrong for you in Rapture the only way is down, if you sink far enough you will eventually find yourself here, the home both for those without a place in Ryan’s objectivist utopia, and those who have lost […]
“‘Survival of the fittest’ that’s the rule in the Drop, the only rule.” Combat in The Drop: One of the themes at the heart of BioShock 2 is that of regaining your place in the world. You are Subject Delta, the first successfully pair bonded Big Daddy. You were once an important figure in the […]