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Game Design Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Nova Prospekt – Cell Blocks A3 to A5

The cell blocks of Nova Prospekt will be the longest Gordon Freeman has spent inside in the whole of Half-Life 2, the ninety degree turns and tiled floors recalling the Black Mesa Research Facility explored in the original Half-Life. These areas also see the return of familiar elements from that game: laser tripmines and automated […]

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Game Design Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Nova Prospekt – Beach

Having obtained the antlion pheromone pod – know colloquially as Bugbait – you leave the resistance camp with an entourage composed of a pair of docile antlions; an additional pair scurries down the cave to join you as you approach the beach. Able to influence and direct the antlions, and with an endlessly replenishing supply, […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 9.

 “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, […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 8.

 “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 […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 7.

“To serve the nobility is the highest privilege in life of course but slavery is just so… distasteful.” Annotated Walkthrough, 6: Without the option to read the books sitting upon the shelves there is little to determine if the library of Angelwatch was created to serve a functional purpose or whether it exists merely as […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 6.

“Take some time to appreciate our gallery…” Annotated Walkthrough, 5: Mounting the stairs of Angelwatch is an ascent into light. Climbing out of the basement like claustrophobia of the second floor the gas lamps are replaced with electric lights, the bare brickwork hidden behind paint and paper while small balconies, extending into the incongruously well […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 5.

“The front doors are locked. Looks like Karras wants a captive audience.” Annotated Walkthrough, 4: Your entry to Angelwatch is through a hatch on the eastern side of the second floor. The air ducts you find yourself in branch after several feet where a ladder provides access to the higher floors. The safest way forward […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 4.

“No need for alarm ladies, just passing through.” Annotated Walkthrough, 3: From the roof outside Sir Cullen’s Keep there is still some distance to go before reaching the Mechanist tower at the heart of Dayport. From here at least two buildings need to be traversed before you can gain entry to Angelwatch itself, the Dayport […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 3.

“Well well… housebreakers. How quaint.” Annotated Walkthrough, 2: Offering a more circuitous route than that found by heading through the Shemenov Estate, the area of Dayport to the west of Grandmauden Road provides a look at the range of different buildings, both commercial and residential, to be found within this section of the City. It […]

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Groping The Map Level Design

Groping The Map: Life Of The Party, Part 2.

“Hey, the City looks almost bearable from up here.” Annotated Walkthrough, 1: From the moment it starts Life Of The Party feels different from the rest of Thief II. Everything is brighter, the surrounding walls no longer tower above you, even the sky seems closer. Some familiar elements remain, the constant industrial drone that pervades […]