A new article (scholarly misfits apply!)

[[BTF]Jehar]

Feedback is appreciated\wanted\needed\required under threat of pantsing.

http://jehar.tastyspleen.net/realism.html

[[BTF]Defiant!]

Feedback is appreciated\wanted\needed\required under threat of pantsing.

http://jehar.tastyspleen.net/realism.html

I like the breakdown and examples. 

Other effects affect realism, such as sound, gravity, environmental effects, etc..

To me, it all comes down to what you are trying to evoke in the player.. games, generally, do a pretty poor job of evoking emotions and purpose.  People get bored quickly, setting that tempo between realism and flow is tough to achieve.   

In maps I've made, sometimes they just don't "work".  Or they just work in a totally unexpected way.. such as the "main room" not being used at all, rather some side area is where everyone gathers. 


Def

[[BTF]Jehar]

Yeah, I figured that all that other stuff was a bit too much for one article, so I stuck with the purely architectural for now.

[Whirlingdervish]

as a mapper, I found that to be an interesting and informative read.

You seem to really have a grasp of the concepts behind level design, and I found myself learning to classify bits of my maps a little better, due to your simple, but poignant explantations.
It also helped me develop a sense of how a level can be designed/imagined/laid-out in order to portray a consistent degree of realism (or unrealism).


Good job!