Minecraft Forums

Quote from Mr_Darko

I think that depends on what you mean by 'Minecraft map', as various, wildly different things fall into that criteria. That includes just straight builds, with no connecting story or gameplay, as well as mini-games and full-blown adventure maps.

I can only speak for myself, but I'll say what I feel constitutes a good 'Minecraft map' in each type. As far as a straight build is concerned, obviously the most important thing is really aesthetics. That applies to a lot of elements that go into the map - the scale, the block choice and detail, the overall atmosphere, as effected by the previous two elements as well as the placement of things and lighting, and uniqueness. People are generally very impressed when all of those elements are top-notch, but opinions vary on what makes each element good. Some people might like a map more if it's very realistic in style, while others may want something more over-the-top and fantastical. Personally, I prefer the more grounded style as it requires a balance between creating lots of detail with unique usage of blocks and trying not to be over-the-top, and that's just my taste in general.

As far as more specific builds go, such as adventure maps, there's also further criteria to consider. Aesthetics are a little less important in this case, as the build must also serve gameplay and any other needs the map requires. When it comes to adventure maps, I feel that their purpose is largely to provide a designed experience that cannot be had normally in Minecraft -- they should be treated like videogames of their own right, using Minecraft as their basis but expanding upon that to be something else entirely (CTMs are a little different, as they make greater use of Minecraft's basic components, but they still provide a fresh experience and can be seen as a sort of 'extreme' form of Minecraft).

As a result, I feel good adventure maps try to be a unique experience for the player, that is fun and engaging. That's easier said than done, especially when it comes to making yours stand out amongst all the others, but that's what it ultimately boils down to. It can be built upon an intensely story-driven experience, or it can simply be fun gameplay that makes creative use of Minecraft's map-making features such as the latest commands. Really sit down and think about what will make the gameplay interesting in your map. And it doesn't have to be the first time such an approach has ever been taken; you can look at proven elements from other successful adventure maps and add them to your formula, with your own spin of course. No blatant plagiarizing obviously, but it's okay derive somewhat from great works to build upon your own ideas.

Obviously the most amazing maps have builds that are very pleasing to the eye, have very creative, unique gameplay and stand out from the crowd by using all of Minecraft's latest features to breathtaking effect (consider Jespertheend's The Code series, arguably some of the most unique and challenging adventure maps in Minecraft history), but there's no need to be so ambitious just yet. Just practice making maps, whether they're just builds or full-blown adventure maps, even if you don't plan on ever releasing them to the public, because practice is probably the most important element, as boring as it sounds. However, if you plan on becoming a great map-maker yourself, a certain amount of creativity as far as building and creating gameplay goes should be rather intuitive, and with experience you can bring that out.

As someone who wants to make and release some adventure maps myself, I've had to think about this a lot. I'm rather confident in my ability to make interesting, unique, and engaging adventure maps, but it's the effort taken to actually do it that's the hard part. If you want to know the absolute biggest element behind creating great Minecraft maps, it's just that: effort. Have a certain amount of innate creativity in addition to that effort, and it'll show. And when the map is finished, be sure to take just as much effort into its presentation so that people will be interested in it.