Hello fellow mapmaker or player! I would like to start a thread to highlight what people SHOULD do in their maps and what they SHOULDN'T. Eventually I expect this to become a full beginners guide. This thread will start off with very little content, and will hopefully be grown with the community's input as I am, by far, not the best mapmaker out there. and I definitely couldn't fill out 7 genres on my own.
I will divide this into 7 genres. GENERAL, ADVENTURE, PARKOUR, PUZZLE, SURVIVAL, RPG, CTM, and GAMES. If there are any genres that I have missed please tell me. Each genre is divided into DOs and DON'Ts
GENERAL:
This section will cover all general map making information, and is the only section I will not put in a spoiler. It is meant for all mapmakers to see.
DO:
-Test it, then test it again, and again... play your map through at least 3 times before you release it.
-make your environment fit your story
-take the time to build nice looking structures. This will show your players that you put effort into your map.
- If you are going to use a challange that will kill you, have a way to store your items.
-get strangers to test your map. A stranger doesn't care so much about hurting your feeling when there may be a terrible mistake in your map.
DON'T:
-Use a story even remotely similar to portal 2
-Use lava parkour
-treat your players like enemies. The idea of your map is to entertain and reward your players, not punish and humiliate them. A level that is too hard (or too easy, for that matter) is a level that
people will stop playing.
-expect your players to know what to do automatically. Give some clues in any way you can, with the most blunt and obvious being a sign, but color coding or some attention brought to an area with lights or a block you haven't used anywhere else on the map is a great way to lead a player to where you want them to go.
ADVENTURE/RPG:
An adventure map takes the player(s) on a linear path to complete a goal or defeat the antagonist. All adventure maps have stories. Usually adventure maps feature mob fighting, large builds, npcs, parkour, and puzzles
DO:
-Have better writing. Stories are a gigantic driving force for players to want to press on. If you have an awesome and gripping tale to tell to your players, you've got a good map on your hands.
-Encourage exploration. Make your world interesting and filled to the brim with detail. Players should want to look around and take it all in. A good way to do this is to utilize hidden spots to put chests of little bits of loot in, such as a couple of iron ingots or some free torches.
-Remember that as an adventure/RPG, you are crafting (no pun intended) a full-blown experience for the player. These kinds of maps are the whole package: puzzles, monster-slaying, and a story to string it all together. Pace your map well, so the player is convinced that he or she is on a real adventure!
DON'T:
-Make the equipment that your players get unfair. Don't start them off with a full diamond set, and don't give them a wooden sword to prepare for a boss fight!
-Have sudden changes in the environment or story! It is extremely jarring and kills the entire experience when you, for example, suddenly find yourself as a test subject (again, don't be like Portal) or when someone suddenly tells you that you are the savior of Minecraftia and must stop an evil dark lord (even when all that the map wanted you to do before was get some milk and bread from the grocery store). This goes along with having better writing.
-Make little rooms with different, separate, and uninspired challenges. By this, I mean: the "parkour room" leads to the "multiple choice" room leads to the "maze room," et cetera. These are unoriginal and inconsistent. Remember, you should make a full and connected experience, otherwise the challenges feel meaningless, pointless, and detracting from the overall adventure.
PARKOUR:
A parkour map requires the player(s) to jump across blocks to reach the goal. Parkour maps usually don't have stories.
DO:
DON'T:
-USE LAVA PARKOUR!!!! NEVER USE LAVA PARKOUR!!!! JUST DON'T DO IT!!!
-use cactus or nether rack on fire jumps. Ice and soulsand is fine though.
PUZZLE:
A puzzle map prompts the player to complete a series of puzzles to proceed through the rooms. Puzzle maps usually have stories, but are not required to.
DO: -Make unique puzzles! Try to create something that you have never seen before, for example with advanced redstone techniques. If needed, try to look for redstone tutorials or ask help to someone that understands these techniques.
-Put enough time into creating an environment! Make the walls, ceiling and floor connect to the atmosphere that you're trying to create! This will make the environment aesthetically more pleasing than for example just smooth stone.
-Try to incorporate a story element. Even puzzle maps benefit from a story that is an incentive for completing the map. Even if it is just a total of 10 signs it's perfectly fine, just make sure that the player knows why he is doing certain challenges and puzzles. On that note, DON'T use a story that is "you must do these puzzles to escape the facility," come up with something original, even if It's short.
DON'T:
-Torture the player. for example; give him diamond armour and a weapon to defend himself at the beginning of the map, but when it comes to a puzzle that requires defending yourself from mobs, you take away the armour and weapons.
-Rush your map. Nobody likes to play a map that is full of bugs or is not even complete. Spend enough time on it so that the map is fun to play.
-Put 'boring' challenges into your map. for example: One of these chests contains a lever that you need to place next to the iron door to proceed to your next puzzle. And then put 100 chests in a room. These challenges are not fun.
SURVIVAL:
Survival maps give the player an environment to survive in and a series of goals. The player wins by completing all goals. Survival maps almost never have stories.
DO:
-Make an interesting location, try to make it feel real and expansive so the player has to explore a bit.
-Make sure everything is do-able, if you don't know where certain resources are then chances are no-one else will either.
DON'T:
-Cheat by just finding an island in an ocean and placing a tree and some reeds. You may still use an island, but make it interesting, otherwise players may as well just find an island seed. CTM:
Complete The Monument maps require the player to complete a monument by collecting various types of wool getting to the end of dungeons. CTM maps almost never have stories.
DO:
DON'T:
GAMES:
Games are usually arcade-style maps with lots of redstone! games almost never have stories.
DO:
DON'T:
Please leave a comment with content for me to add to this! They need to be in bullet point form. Again, I can't do all 7 genres alone!
here is a list of people who have contributed to this topic:
For adventure and RP (though all benefit from it), make sure the environments are aesthetically pleasing. I see far too many 'ancient ruins' that are just a 2x1 block path underground or 'villages' that are just wooden boxes (use the existing villages if you have to).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
No, there has never, ever been a sandbox game with a story or ending... except Grand Theft Auto... and Saints Row... and Red Dead Redemption... and Crack Down... and Assassins Creed...
For adventure and RP (though all benefit from it), make sure the environments are aesthetically pleasing. I see far too many 'ancient ruins' that are just a 2x1 block path underground or 'villages' that are just wooden boxes (use the existing villages if you have to).
yes, I agree. I think I'm going to put that in the general section because it applies to just about all map types.
Have better writing. Stories are a gigantic driving force for players to want to press on. If you have an awesome and gripping tale to tell to your players, you've got a good map on your hands.
Encourage exploration. Make your world interesting and filled to the brim with detail. Players should want to look around and take it all in. A good way to do this is to utilize hidden spots to put chests of little bits of loot in, such as a couple of iron ingots or some free torches.
Remember that as an adventure/RPG, you are crafting (no pun intended) a full-blown experience for the player. These kinds of maps are the whole package: puzzles, monster-slaying, and a story to string it all together. Pace your map well, so the player is convinced that he or she is on a real adventure!
DON'T:
Make the equipment that your players get unfair. Don't start them off with a full diamond set, and don't give them a wooden sword to prepare for a boss fight!
Have sudden changes in the environment or story! It is extremely jarring and kills the entire experience when you, for example, suddenly find yourself as a test subject (again, don't be like Portal) or when someone suddenly tells you that you are the savior of Minecraftia and must stop an evil dark lord (even when all that the map wanted you to do before was get some milk and bread from the grocery store). This goes along with having better writing.
Make little rooms with different, separate, and uninspired challenges. By this, I mean: the "parkour room" leads to the "multiple choice" room leads to the "maze room," et cetera. These are unoriginal and inconsistent. Remember, you should make a full and connected experience, otherwise the challenges feel meaningless, pointless, and detracting from the overall adventure.
That's all that comes out of the top of my head. Anything else? Comments? Revisions?
EDIT: As a side-note, I think adventure and RPG maps are very similar in nature and should be treated as such. Dos and don'ts for either of these map genres usually fall into the other, as well.
Have better writing. Stories are a gigantic driving force for players to want to press on. If you have an awesome and gripping tale to tell to your players, you've got a good map on your hands.
Encourage exploration. Make your world interesting and filled to the brim with detail. Players should want to look around and take it all in. A good way to do this is to utilize hidden spots to put chests of little bits of loot in, such as a couple of iron ingots or some free torches.
Remember that as an adventure/RPG, you are crafting (no pun intended) a full-blown experience for the player. These kinds of maps are the whole package: puzzles, monster-slaying, and a story to string it all together. Pace your map well, so the player is convinced that he or she is on a real adventure!
DON'T:
Make the equipment that your players get unfair. Don't start them off with a full diamond set, and don't give them a wooden sword to prepare for a boss fight!
Have sudden changes in the environment or story! It is extremely jarring and kills the entire experience when you, for example, suddenly find yourself as a test subject (again, don't be like Portal) or when someone suddenly tells you that you are the savior of Minecraftia and must stop an evil dark lord (even when all that the map wanted you to do before was get some milk and bread from the grocery store). This goes along with having better writing.
Make little rooms with different, separate, and uninspired challenges. By this, I mean: the "parkour room" leads to the "multiple choice" room leads to the "maze room," et cetera. These are unoriginal and inconsistent. Remember, you should make a full and connected experience, otherwise the challenges feel meaningless, pointless, and detracting from the overall adventure.
That's all that comes out of the top of my head. Anything else? Comments? Revisions?
EDIT: As a side-note, I think adventure and RPG maps are very similar in nature and should be treated as such. Dos and don'ts for either of these map genres usually fall into the other, as well.
Thank you very much for your input! I do agree about the RPG and adventure being similar in the way of their content. I will combine them.
-Make unique puzzles! Try to create something that you have never seen before, for example with advanced redstone techniques. If needed, try to look for redstone tutorials or ask help to someone that understands these techniques.
-Put enough time into creating an environment! Make the walls, ceiling and floor connect to the atmosphere that you're trying to create! This will make the environment aesthetically more pleasing than for example just smooth stone.
-Try to incorporate a story element. Even puzzle maps benefit from a story that is an incentive for completing the map. Even if it is just a total of 10 signs it's perfectly fine, just make sure that the player knows why he is doing certain challenges and puzzles.
Don't:
-Torture the player. for example; give him diamond armour and a weapon to defend himself at the beginning of the map, but when it comes to a puzzle that requires defending yourself from mobs, you take away the armour and weapons.
-Rush your map. Nobody likes to play a map that is full of bugs or is not even complete. Spend enough time on it so that the map is fun to play.
-Put 'boring' challenges into your map. for example: One of these chests contains a lever that you need to place next to the iron door to proceed to your next puzzle. And then put 100 chests in a room. These challenges are not fun.
Thank you, Kinglau3! I hope you don't mind that I added to your 3rd one on DOs
DO
-Make an interesting location, try to make it feel real and expansive so the player has to explore a bit.
-Make sure everything is do-able, if you don't know where certain resources are then chances are no-one else will either.
DON'T
-Cheat by just finding an island in an ocean and placing a tree and some reeds. You may still use an island, but make it interesting, otherwise players may as well just find an island seed.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
No, there has never, ever been a sandbox game with a story or ending... except Grand Theft Auto... and Saints Row... and Red Dead Redemption... and Crack Down... and Assassins Creed...
No, there has never, ever been a sandbox game with a story or ending... except Grand Theft Auto... and Saints Row... and Red Dead Redemption... and Crack Down... and Assassins Creed...
DO
- Use all sorts of parkour. With that, I mean come up with different things you have got to jump on, like cactus or netherrack on fire or ice.
DON´T
- Use parkour over lava in a cave system. This already has been done before.... like 1000 times!
- Make a map that only lasts for about 10 minutes. Anyone can easily do something like that.
Also, if you use a puzzle/challenge that could likely kill you then it's best to have a way to store your items.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
No, there has never, ever been a sandbox game with a story or ending... except Grand Theft Auto... and Saints Row... and Red Dead Redemption... and Crack Down... and Assassins Creed...
Does the OP still actually care about this thread?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
No, there has never, ever been a sandbox game with a story or ending... except Grand Theft Auto... and Saints Row... and Red Dead Redemption... and Crack Down... and Assassins Creed...
I've noticed a lot of bad Parkour maps lately. Here's some good tips, although they can be used for any type of map.
DON'T:
-treat your players like enemies. The idea of your map is to entertain and reward your players, not punish and humiliate them. A level that is too hard (or too easy, for that matter) is a level that people will stop playing.
DON'T:
-expect your players to know what to do automatically. Give some clues in any way you can, with the most blunt and obvious being a sign, but color coding or some attention brought to an area with lights or a block you haven't used anywhere else on the map is a great way to lead a player to where you want them to go.
DO:
-get strangers to test your map. The worst tester is you, because replaying your level repeatedly makes it become so easy you won't have a grasp on the difficulty. The second worst testers are friends and family. You can't always trust them to be honest, or even brutal when they need to be. A stranger doesn't care so much about hurting your feeling when there may be a terrible and unfun mistake in your map.
Sorry I haven't been on in a day. I will add everything now. Also I have a few things to add to the parkour section when I have the time. I'm a bit rushed now.
DO
- Use all sorts of parkour. With that, I mean come up with different things you have got to jump on, like cactus or netherrack on fire or ice.
- If you are going to use a challange that will kill you, have a way to store your items.
DON´T
- Use parkour over lava in a cave system. This already has been done before.... like 1000 times!
- Make a map that only lasts for about 10 minutes. Anyone can easily do something like that.
sorry but I don't really agree with your tips except for the 2nd one on DO. I actually might turn some of your DOs into DON'Ts. As for 10 minute maps, if its a good 10 minute map then it really doesn't matter. I made a 5 minute parkour map that has over 10,000 downloads and over 50 videos on youtube.
DO
-Make an interesting location, try to make it feel real and expansive so the player has to explore a bit.
-Make sure everything is do-able, if you don't know where certain resources are then chances are no-one else will either.
DON'T
-Cheat by just finding an island in an ocean and placing a tree and some reeds. You may still use an island, but make it interesting, otherwise players may as well just find an island seed.
I've noticed a lot of bad Parkour maps lately. Here's some good tips, although they can be used for any type of map.
DON'T:
-treat your players like enemies. The idea of your map is to entertain and reward your players, not punish and humiliate them. A level that is too hard (or too easy, for that matter) is a level that people will stop playing.
DON'T:
-expect your players to know what to do automatically. Give some clues in any way you can, with the most blunt and obvious being a sign, but color coding or some attention brought to an area with lights or a block you haven't used anywhere else on the map is a great way to lead a player to where you want them to go.
DO:
-get strangers to test your map. The worst tester is you, because replaying your level repeatedly makes it become so easy you won't have a grasp on the difficulty. The second worst testers are friends and family. You can't always trust them to be honest, or even brutal when they need to be. A stranger doesn't care so much about hurting your feeling when there may be a terrible and unfun mistake in your map.
Thank you very much, sushin! I took out the middle part of your DO because I do still want people to play their own map before giving it to strangers to test. I do agree with you, though.
Good to see your back, Shgecko.
This is mainly for Adventure, Survival and CTM, but can be used on any type of map (though it's kinda' useless on indoor ones). If you really want to wow the player in terms of scale and world design, it is recommended you use a program such as worldpainter. This, however, is irrelevant if you're making an entirely indoor map, but if you want to do a truly impressive RPG or survival then, if your computer can handle it, terrain sculpting really can help.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
No, there has never, ever been a sandbox game with a story or ending... except Grand Theft Auto... and Saints Row... and Red Dead Redemption... and Crack Down... and Assassins Creed...
I will divide this into 7 genres. GENERAL, ADVENTURE, PARKOUR, PUZZLE, SURVIVAL, RPG, CTM, and GAMES. If there are any genres that I have missed please tell me. Each genre is divided into DOs and DON'Ts
GENERAL:
This section will cover all general map making information, and is the only section I will not put in a spoiler. It is meant for all mapmakers to see.
DO:
-Test it, then test it again, and again... play your map through at least 3 times before you release it.
-make your environment fit your story
-take the time to build nice looking structures. This will show your players that you put effort into your map.
- If you are going to use a challange that will kill you, have a way to store your items.
-get strangers to test your map. A stranger doesn't care so much about hurting your feeling when there may be a terrible mistake in your map.
DON'T:
-Use a story even remotely similar to portal 2
-Use lava parkour
-treat your players like enemies. The idea of your map is to entertain and reward your players, not punish and humiliate them. A level that is too hard (or too easy, for that matter) is a level that
people will stop playing.
-expect your players to know what to do automatically. Give some clues in any way you can, with the most blunt and obvious being a sign, but color coding or some attention brought to an area with lights or a block you haven't used anywhere else on the map is a great way to lead a player to where you want them to go.
ADVENTURE/RPG:
An adventure map takes the player(s) on a linear path to complete a goal or defeat the antagonist. All adventure maps have stories. Usually adventure maps feature mob fighting, large builds, npcs, parkour, and puzzles
DO:
-Have better writing. Stories are a gigantic driving force for players to want to press on. If you have an awesome and gripping tale to tell to your players, you've got a good map on your hands.
-Encourage exploration. Make your world interesting and filled to the brim with detail. Players should want to look around and take it all in. A good way to do this is to utilize hidden spots to put chests of little bits of loot in, such as a couple of iron ingots or some free torches.
-Remember that as an adventure/RPG, you are crafting (no pun intended) a full-blown experience for the player. These kinds of maps are the whole package: puzzles, monster-slaying, and a story to string it all together. Pace your map well, so the player is convinced that he or she is on a real adventure!
DON'T:
-Make the equipment that your players get unfair. Don't start them off with a full diamond set, and don't give them a wooden sword to prepare for a boss fight!
-Have sudden changes in the environment or story! It is extremely jarring and kills the entire experience when you, for example, suddenly find yourself as a test subject (again, don't be like Portal) or when someone suddenly tells you that you are the savior of Minecraftia and must stop an evil dark lord (even when all that the map wanted you to do before was get some milk and bread from the grocery store). This goes along with having better writing.
-Make little rooms with different, separate, and uninspired challenges. By this, I mean: the "parkour room" leads to the "multiple choice" room leads to the "maze room," et cetera. These are unoriginal and inconsistent. Remember, you should make a full and connected experience, otherwise the challenges feel meaningless, pointless, and detracting from the overall adventure.
PARKOUR:
A parkour map requires the player(s) to jump across blocks to reach the goal. Parkour maps usually don't have stories.
DO:
DON'T:
-USE LAVA PARKOUR!!!! NEVER USE LAVA PARKOUR!!!! JUST DON'T DO IT!!!
-use cactus or nether rack on fire jumps. Ice and soulsand is fine though.
PUZZLE:
A puzzle map prompts the player to complete a series of puzzles to proceed through the rooms. Puzzle maps usually have stories, but are not required to.
DO: -Make unique puzzles! Try to create something that you have never seen before, for example with advanced redstone techniques. If needed, try to look for redstone tutorials or ask help to someone that understands these techniques.
-Put enough time into creating an environment! Make the walls, ceiling and floor connect to the atmosphere that you're trying to create! This will make the environment aesthetically more pleasing than for example just smooth stone.
-Try to incorporate a story element. Even puzzle maps benefit from a story that is an incentive for completing the map. Even if it is just a total of 10 signs it's perfectly fine, just make sure that the player knows why he is doing certain challenges and puzzles. On that note, DON'T use a story that is "you must do these puzzles to escape the facility," come up with something original, even if It's short.
DON'T:
-Torture the player. for example; give him diamond armour and a weapon to defend himself at the beginning of the map, but when it comes to a puzzle that requires defending yourself from mobs, you take away the armour and weapons.
-Rush your map. Nobody likes to play a map that is full of bugs or is not even complete. Spend enough time on it so that the map is fun to play.
-Put 'boring' challenges into your map. for example: One of these chests contains a lever that you need to place next to the iron door to proceed to your next puzzle. And then put 100 chests in a room. These challenges are not fun.
Survival maps give the player an environment to survive in and a series of goals. The player wins by completing all goals. Survival maps almost never have stories.
DO:
-Make an interesting location, try to make it feel real and expansive so the player has to explore a bit.
-Make sure everything is do-able, if you don't know where certain resources are then chances are no-one else will either.
DON'T:
-Cheat by just finding an island in an ocean and placing a tree and some reeds. You may still use an island, but make it interesting, otherwise players may as well just find an island seed.
CTM:
Complete The Monument maps require the player to complete a monument by collecting various types of wool getting to the end of dungeons. CTM maps almost never have stories.
DO:
DON'T:
GAMES:
Games are usually arcade-style maps with lots of redstone! games almost never have stories.
DO:
DON'T:
Please leave a comment with content for me to add to this! They need to be in bullet point form. Again, I can't do all 7 genres alone!
here is a list of people who have contributed to this topic:
shgecko
23232323
Zres
Kinglau3
Glasscreeper
sushin
DO:
EDIT: As a side-note, I think adventure and RPG maps are very similar in nature and should be treated as such. Dos and don'ts for either of these map genres usually fall into the other, as well.
Thank you very much for your input! I do agree about the RPG and adventure being similar in the way of their content. I will combine them.
DO
-Make an interesting location, try to make it feel real and expansive so the player has to explore a bit.
-Make sure everything is do-able, if you don't know where certain resources are then chances are no-one else will either.
DON'T
-Cheat by just finding an island in an ocean and placing a tree and some reeds. You may still use an island, but make it interesting, otherwise players may as well just find an island seed.
Also, if you use a puzzle/challenge that could likely kill you then it's best to have a way to store your items.
DON'T:
-treat your players like enemies. The idea of your map is to entertain and reward your players, not punish and humiliate them. A level that is too hard (or too easy, for that matter) is a level that people will stop playing.
DON'T:
-expect your players to know what to do automatically. Give some clues in any way you can, with the most blunt and obvious being a sign, but color coding or some attention brought to an area with lights or a block you haven't used anywhere else on the map is a great way to lead a player to where you want them to go.
DO:
-get strangers to test your map. The worst tester is you, because replaying your level repeatedly makes it become so easy you won't have a grasp on the difficulty. The second worst testers are friends and family. You can't always trust them to be honest, or even brutal when they need to be. A stranger doesn't care so much about hurting your feeling when there may be a terrible and unfun mistake in your map.
This is mainly for Adventure, Survival and CTM, but can be used on any type of map (though it's kinda' useless on indoor ones). If you really want to wow the player in terms of scale and world design, it is recommended you use a program such as worldpainter. This, however, is irrelevant if you're making an entirely indoor map, but if you want to do a truly impressive RPG or survival then, if your computer can handle it, terrain sculpting really can help.