KAELAN sIMPSON

The Problems I Wanted To Solve:

Easily create a wide range of maps

Our team wanted to create a game with a wide range of themed maps.  Creating maps was a massive bottle neck because they had to be hard coded.  This meant that the our level designer had to draw up the map on the paper then pass it to the tech team to be implemented.  I knew I could greatly increase the productivity of our level designer by empowering them to implement the maps on their own in engine.

Easily edit existing maps

One of the issues with our original method of map creation was that iteration was slow.  The level designer had to make changes, then a programmer had to implement those changes, then a designer would have to test those changes.  By making an editor I knew could shorten this process such that rapid iteration could be made by a single person.  The level designer could make and implement changes at the same time then test them immediately.  

 

Major Iterations:

Making the editor 2D

My first designs were to make a 3D editor where the level designer could paint a 3D set of terrain.  However, I ditched this idea in favor of a 2D editor for two main reasons.  The first was that presenting the map in 2D allowed the designer to better visualize the symmetries/asymmetries in the layout.  The second was that a 2D editor could be done in quicker time.  Since there wasn’t clear evidence that a 3D editor would be more effective for our project, the best option was the one that could be implemented the quickest.

Adding height mode

The one draw back of a 2D editor was displaying height.  I initially used numbers but feedback from our level designer showed that it was very difficult to visualize the height of a map based just on a 2D grid with numbers.  My solution was to add a height based heat map that would color the 2D grid based on height.  This made visualizing where high and low points were much easier.

Adding Symbols

Later in the project I needed to add support for multiple game modes to the editor.  In order to do this I created a set of symbols that could be mixed and matched in the editor to craft different modes.  For example, placing two flags of opposite color would function as capture the flag while placing one flag of a neutral color could work as king of the hill.

​

What Went Right:

Maps were quickly created and edited

The map editor solved the initial map pipelines problems.  Our level designer created and iterated several maps without needing to rely on other departments.  The added productivity greatly benefited saved our team countless hours.

Brush shapes and modes worked well

The brush shapes and modes I created were used a lot more frequently then I anticipated.  I originally made them thinking that the default brush would be used the vast majority of the time.  But to my pleasant surprise, feedback from our level designer revealed that all the brushes were used regularly.

​

What Went Wrong:

Future compatibility issues with character spawns

The major failing of the editor was that it didn’t adapt well to future technical requirements.  Specifically the ability for players to pick from a series of spawns was never well supported.  Since the pipeline for map creation was so dependent on the editor, the spawn picking mechanic never made it into the game despite testing well in prototype form.

​

What I Learned:

Not to over extent the ability of one tool

The main thing I would change about this tool would be off loading some of the features such as placing spawn points onto another tool.  If I had split up certain certain features then it would of been easier to adapt the pipeline to future technical challenges.  By forcing the solutions to all map related issues into one editor it made adapting the tool more difficult over time.