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Map Information
DM-Glacier was a runner-up
in the Human Head mapping contest. This map is a small map for 2 to
6 players set in a ruined temple on a plateau on the edge of a deep
precipice. An encroaching glacier has crushed one end of the temple.
The map incorporates a range of game play environments, including an
open area for duels and more confined spaces for running battles.
Background Scenario
Once every year warriors from across Midgard brave the treacherous weather
of winter solstice to travel to the ruined temple of Ullr - a god of
winter. The temple rests at the base of a glacier, which marks the entrance
to Ullr's domain. The perilous environment and the harsh conditions
of the ruins make it an ideal location for a test of strength and courage.
Now as the glacier gradually reclaims the temple, the torches are lit
one final time for the greatest test of all: who is the one true warrior?
Interview
Tricia "Kazi
Wren" Harris conducted interviews with the Rune Mapping contest winners
and runners-up. The whole interview is available at Runegame.com.
The excerpts relating to DM-Glacier are provided below.
RuneGame.com:
How did you come up with the concept for your map?
Plutonic: The concept for DM-Glacier started as the central feature
of a large, outdoors CTF-style map for Rune. It occurred to me that
the layout of the temple lent itself to a small DM map.
RuneGame.com:
When deciding what to create for the contest, there must have been a
million ideas floating around in your head. What tips can you give others
for narrowing down their ideas?
Plutonic: While I am sure that everyone does things in slightly
different ways, I tend to sketch and write my ideas on paper first.
I find this helps to make my ideas more concrete, particularly in terms
of connectivity, flow and scale. For example, the concept for this map
started as a full temple atop a mountain spire. But as I drew the layout
of the map, I knew that I didn't want it to be symmetrical and that's
when the idea of the glacier became part of the design. After that,
everything else - the damage and the collapsed areas - became clear
and it was time to start mapping. My advice to other people is: sketch
and plan the general layout of your map first. I have written an article
on is process, it is called "From Paper to Pixels" and is available
at OzUnreal.
RuneGame.com:
What did you like most about the map you created?
Plutonic: I think the thing that I most like about this map is
its 'atmosphere'. The fog and snow effects in Rune are just awesome
and in conjunction with the game's great textures, they bring Glacier
to life.
RuneGame.com:
Looking back, what did you like least, or what do you wish you could
have changed/added?
Plutonic: To be honest I would have liked to play test this map
so that I could be confident that the item/pickup placement was okay.
RuneGame.com:
Tell us about yourself. What's you mapping background?
Plutonic: I originally started mapping for Marathon 3 using a
Macintosh. When I bought my first PC, I tried mapping for Quake 2, but
got completely and permanently distracted by UnrealEd when Unreal was
released. To this point I have made six maps for Unreal and eight maps
for UT, including CTF-Conquest which won the CTF category of the Make
Something Unreal Contest. Over the last couple of years I have also
had the privilege to make maps for three commercial projects, including
the now defunct "Werewolf: The Apocalypse - The Heart of Gaia", Digital
Extreme's "Dark Sector" and a hush-hush project for Digitalo Studios/Epic.
RuneGame.com:
Tell us about your real life. What do you do for a living? How old are
you?
Plutonic: In Real-Life(tm), I am a high school teacher .... yes,
really! How old am I? Well, I am old enough to remember when the only
way to play a Viking, was in paper-based role playing games like Dungeons
and Dragons and text-based adventures on Commodore 64 computers. I only
started mapping seriously with UnrealEd, so I guess that means I began
October/November 1999.
RuneGame.com:
What did you like about mapping for Rune? What is the most difficult
thing for a Rune mapper to learn/deal with?
Plutonic: There are a number of things that I like about Rune.
Aside from the new game play possibilities and the best third-person
camera function I have seen in a game, I would have to say that the
environmental features that Human Head have added to the Unreal engine
are awesome. The new fog system and particle effects, such as snow and
rain, appeal to me greatly because I really like maps that include atmospheric
effects. I have been using UnrealEd 2 a great deal lately, so for me
the hardest thing to deal with when using RuneEd is the absence the
new vertex tools that I have come to rely on!
RuneGame.com:
Rune is still relatively young as far as its community goes. How does
creating add-ons (maps, skins, etc.) work to build the community?
Plutonic: In my opinion, releasing the level editor for a game
is one of the smartest things that a company can to ensure the growth
of a lively community. I also think that regularly updated game-related
sites like RuneGame.com help to foster active communities. Of course
running competitions helps too :D
RuneGame.com:
Did you have a favorite Rune map that helped guide your ideas? If so,
which one? And if it wasn't a Rune map, which game/map and why?
Plutonic: I was still playing through the Hel levels when I made
DM-Glacier, but a couple of friends had shown me the mountain and Thorstadt
levels at a LAN game. That was enough to fire up my imagination. I have
since got to the Thorstadt levels myself and they are even better than
I thought they would be!
RuneGame.com:
What's next for you?
Plutonic: Hmmm .. the possibilities :) At the moment I am deciding
between another DM map set in a ruin that includes the rain effects,
or a single-player campaign. But I think I will finish the game first.
Opinions
of others ....
Got a comment? ... please email
me.
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