As the title says, What makes you map, lets be honest A lot of us have been here a while. some off site some on this site, so we obviously have a reason for mapping, otherwise we would have left it a long time ago, whats the reason you all map.
I personally Map for the gratification of knowing that people are playing and enjoying something I made.
So what makes ya'll do it?
I enjoy playing with editor, combining many different pieces into a compelling whole feels extremely rewarding.
Another reason why I map is that there aren't enough maps that I'd want to play, so I'm forced to create my own entertainment :/ (I suppose I could just quit sc2, but meh..)
I normally get inspired by a theme, a certain combo of doodads or if someone is asking a question in the terraining forum to open the editor and just try things out and then i might get some ideas for something new or i just end up filling up and perfecting the first concept, either way i end up placing weirdly scaled waterfalls in an unnecessary complicated fashion to make a freaking geyser. It's just something with the gratification you get when manage to combine doodad X and Y, texture Q with texture W or w/e and it just looks so good.
I believe that all map making pursuits are inherently selfish. People want either:
A) Recognition/fame for their work.
B) Money.
C) Pleasure derived from bringing your aspirations/dreams/creative vision to life into a SC map.
This is why you don't see too many campaigns: if nobody plays it on battle.net, then who the hell cares? It's even worse with SC2 and "regular" maps because if you're not on the first page, then good luck. I've decided to work on a campaign, because even though it may take a long time, it's good stress relief, and fulfills my main motivation of telling a story. I've always been a creator, and to me this is no different from back when I was a kid making LEGOs. So I guess I'm in the C category, though A would be nice too.
I just enjoy the process of coming up with optimal solutions to a given programming problem. I also find that there's a lot of interesting things to discover about the editor, and there's always one way or another one can further their knowledge of it.
The reason I got into map making was becuase I love creating new ideas, and asking what other people think. With the editor, I can actually create the idea(s) myself, so people can actually see the thing I was talking about. Also, bouncing off of Gradius, I love telling stories. Being able to make my own story that goes along with a game is pretty freaking aweome. Finally, I agree with Ducky. There aren't many maps that are good right now. I feel that all of the maps that have good potential are exacvtly the same as the one's that are already out there. In other words, some peope might take so long creating a map that looks amazing, and the gameplay is perfect. that by the time they spread the word, a game that has the exact same concept and gameplay is already out there. I think, personally, most creators get way too complex with their maps, because they try so hard to make their games unique, when if you simply make a map with a brand new concept, then you can actually enjoy making your map with little competition. Anyways, I think it's fun, and like Gradius said, it's a relief to be able to make something, and call it yours.
It's simple. Do you want to make games as a hobby? Mapping is the easiest possible way to cut past the technical hurdles and dive right in to making a game.
-Has a well built API that is easy to learn
-All art and sound assets have been made for you
-Has a distribution system to deliver your work to other people
I don't know of any other way to create games as a hobby that doesn't cover all of these. The trigger programming is so easy to learn, a kid can figure it out. I don't have any art skills and I'm not about to render models or create textures for a 2D mobile game. And the last one is the big one: the distribution system. You could make a 3D mod for any game, but without a site or community to distribute your work, no one will play it.
In the SC2 editor, you can have a vision in your mind for the game that you want to make. With enough skill and dedication your vision can come to life, and it makes you feel ten feet tall. I don't know how else to get that without a assembling a dev team, artists, or a community to fill in the gaps.
I map because I love to tell stories and I love creating terrain. The SC2 editor is by far one of the best designed editors/game engines I have seen, hence the reason that I use it the most. Source SDK also quite good but it is more complicated to learn. In the SC2 editor, the terrain editor while somewhat restrictive, allows very easy creation. The trigger editor is simple yet comprehensive and the data editor... well it works. I enjoy scripting the story that goes with a map and designing how the terrain will affect how the story plays out. The beauty to game design is, depending on how much work you put into it, it is rarely (if ever) the same way twice.
I make maps because I'd like to think making a successful map in SC2 would give me good chances in the future, when looking for a job in the game industry. And also because I like doing so.
I'd just love pushing my mind the furthest possible, that being problem-solving of mathematic problems or to push my creativity beyond what I thought I was capable of. I could, and I do sometimes, just paint a picture or code an application or a website to satisfy those needs, but I just love mapping because I can use all my skills, or sometimes some of my skills combined with other peoples skills, to create something technical impressive and visually, artistic, beautiful.
When everything finally just work together, that is a great bonus to all the things you've learned on the way to the final map.
mostly i map because i get an idea in my head and i think it might be cool to create even if its really stupid or simple. like for instance, i recently felt like making a piano in the editor that you could play by clicking units or using the qwerty keys. due to technical issues im being prevented from getting bagpipes and choir sounds :(
I'd just love pushing my mind the furthest possible, that being problem-solving of mathematic problems or to push my creativity beyond what I thought I was capable of.
These. Mostly. It's a challenge, we (programmers) love it.
And a bit of this. It feels good when ppl appreciate things you create.
Generally, I'm just a creative person, I compose music, write fiction, write programs, build castles of sugar pieces when I have nothing to do and alot of sugar cubes. Just for fun. Was a matter of time for me to realize, that there is the editor exists and it can be used to create games.
Im fairly certain we had a similar thread a year or two back, lol. Oh well, don't mind seeing another one :p
As long as I can remember I've been thinking of stories and making games, starting with nonsensical kid stuff and building "levels" out of lego bricks and having my little brother play them. In school I actually created a sort of turn-based game on paper that over half my class played during free periods/german lessons (7th grade. 8th grade I improved the game but only played it with a couple of friends. In high school I was already on wc3 and then the sc2 beta came) During the summer before high school my friend had to go to hospital (And stayed there for most parts of 6 months), and we decided to start writing fiction together. I've been writing fiction and modding since then.
I just really like to put my imagination into something that others can see - even if no one else sees it (I got over 1k A4 pages of fiction on google docs I wrote myself) The reason I like the sc2 editor, and the data editor in particular, is because of the nice feeling you get when you get something to work :) At first it was simple stuff like giving the mothership the colossus attack, and by now it evolved into complex systems of missile movers, site ops and so on. It's just a lot of fun seeing how awesome things look that I made simply by putting in a few values, and I love trying to "overcome" obstacles and get complex stuff to work (Look at the video in the starmon thread, quite a few of those attacks have one or more hidden models I use merely for their attachment points/site ops)
And while I do not actually do it for recognition/fame, it's still nice getting some of that :)
I started starcraft when I was about 8. I loved it so much I used to sketch my own SC units and ideas and see other people's and just wanted to add to it so badly. I had a few mods for Brood War but it was extremely hard to do and took forever to do so I abandoned it. After this editor came out I could essentially do and make whatever I wanted. So the reason I guess I'm back to mapping is because that dream campaign I made up as a kid I can make now. It's funny most of the story and characters I made up in like 99 are still going to be there when I finish. But most of all I map because I like seeing pretty stuff :)
@Zolden
Thought about it. But that's 1k A4 pages divided onto multiple seperate stories. 300 in one, 300 in another 1.5 (They are sort of seperate, yet sort of related. The main characters of the two are brothers and oftentimes meet/mention each other). And I suck at editing, if I ever wanna publish anything I have to do a lot of editing and fix a lot of things... I also read some blog posts and so on from my favourite authors about getting published, and it wasn't particularly encouraging...
If anyone wants to read what I have though, post here/message me, and I can chuck you a link.
A few paragraphs of my stuff if anyone's interested
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I hope this works. He thought, dropped the hook onto the floor, and threw himself off a building once more. He fell longer than he was comfortable with, but he was relieved when pain shot through his arm and his entire body slammed into the wall as the rope reached its full length. He looked to his right and saw the windo--
It’s a bloody arrow loop! He realised and swore. There was no way he was going to get through that.
He looked around. There wasn’t a single window in the outer wall. Climbing back up the rope was out of the question - he wouldn’t manage it before the guards came, and if he did, they’d be too close for him to escape from them.
Today was the day he, Logan van Sirius, was gonna die. He would fall fifty feet onto the grass, dirt and cobblestone below and save the kindgom a hanging. He hoped that he’d at least manage to break the crown.
He then thought about asking the gods for help, but he highly doubted he would get any from them. They weren’t really his biggest fans. Sola, the goddess of the sun and sky, fire and warmth, really frowned upon criminals. Luna, the goddess of the moon and night, of all that was dark, wasn’t directly opposed to criminals, but he was pretty sure he got on her bad side already. Then there was Jorin, the god of the earth, of forests, crops and everything else that happened to grow out of earth. He didn’t really know what to ask from him. Please make yourself softer so that I don’t die when I fall on you? He was out of the question as well. Then there was the god of life and therefore death, but everyone knew he had a grim sense of humor, and he liked the death part of his job more than life.
Then there was Stephen, the so called miscellanious god - the god who took all the unclaimed categories. Logan guessed he could give him a try.
“Dear Stephen, lord of all the unclaimed categories, I hope saving thieves from death by falling is one of them. I’d like to ask you to give me a hand here. I’m sure I’ve been much entertainment for you and the others, and if not, we can make some sort of deal. Sincerely, Logan van Sirius.”
Now that he said it out loud, that prayer sounded rather lousy. Those were the big five, the real gods. But he had other options - the so called Sherian Lords. They were as close to gods as possible -- immortal and in full control of their very own realm. They had quite a few worshippers in this world, which in turn allowed them to influence it. Ironically they proved their existence a lot more than the actual gods.
There was a large selection of Sherian Lords for him to pick from - most of them were simply rubbish. Everyone knew that Bubbles, the Sherian Lord of Cheese, didn’t do anything but babble about cheese - he didn’t even make your cheese any better if you worshipped him!
Logan quickly went through all the Sherian Lords in his mind, trying to find the right one to pray to (They weren’t fans of spontaneous polytheism). The Lords of Destruction, Plagues, Murder, Lust and quite a few more were out of the question as well - they’d probably just make his death worse than it should be. Then he remembered the right Sherian Lord to pray to.
“Dear Maderon Dness, lord of madness, I’d like to ask you for a favor. I’m sure you remember I drove quite a few people nuts - that’s more people for you to call your own! Should be worth something, right? If you could help me out here somehow, it’d be highly appreciated. Thanks, Logan.”
He waited for five seconds. Nope, no reply. Great. The gods and god-like beings really weren’t his fans. He could hear a commotion up on the walls. It was just a matter of time before they cut his rope and he plummeted to his--
You’re taking your time. A sinister voice came from behind him.
He turned around to see the the god of life and death, the Grim Reaper, stand in midair beside him. Not a good sign.
“With what?”
You know what.
“Uh... No I don’t.”
Your time has come.
“That can’t be right. Time doesn’t come. It only goes, passes and flies. Some people will say that it sometimes stands, but that’s just utter nonsense as any physicist can tell you.”
You know what I mean.
“So I take it Maderon hasn’t sent you?”
You think a mere Sherian Lord could command me?
“Uh, no. But I don’t really see a reason for you to visit me personally.”
I like to be there when people know they’re going to die. Especially when it’s by falling. Their last words can be pretty good sometimes.
“Oh really? What kind of things do they say?”
Well, a lot of them just go AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! but then there are some that say things like “Oh, my shoelace is untAAAAAAAAAAAAH--”
“Oh. So you’re just here to hear my last words?”
Yea. Well, actually, Stephen told me to give you this.
The Grim Reapers skeletal hand went into his black robe and pulled out a disembodied human hand.
He said you needed a hand for something.
Logan just laughed. He was about to die, and the gods were making fun of him. Then the rational part of his mind kicked in again.
“Hey, would you consider to cut me deal?”
What do you mean?
“Well, I get to live and you get something from me in return.”
What could I want from a mere mortal like you?
“I don’t know, but those Sherian guys do it all the time, don’t they? Probably just for their own amusement.”
And...?
“Well, how about I do something you find amusing, and for that I get to live?”
Hmmm... The Grim Reaper hmmmed.
He heard the door of the nearest tower open.
“A decision sometime soon would be nice. I don’t have all night.”
Alright. You get to live, and in return you take over the world.
Before Logan could protest, the guards cut the rope.
“Cap’n?” The guard that cut the rope asked.
“Yea?” The cap’n answered.
“What would you say if I said that a pile o’ hay just suddenly appeared down there?”
“I’d say you’ve had too much to drink. Why do you ask?”
“Well, our thief just landed in it.”
I suppose my main reasoning for editing overall has always been about the same, I wasn't happy with what I had to play with. I have been dabbling with map making a very long time, making maps for doom2, quake, quake2, brood wars, and now SC2. Along the way did a lot of web page crap, some art, some SERIOUSLY messed up comic book renditions, lol. I only really ever released the one map for brood wars, Elements 6: NW.
Main reason for being an SC2 modder though, I decided the hell with Everquest after 10 + years of that off and on, prefer to use my time creating something rather than maintaining some stupid rank on there. That is how it started anyways, now I think when I finally finish my project it will look good on my resume. That and I've worked on it for so damn long that I would never be able to sleep until I finished it now.
I guess overall my main reason is option D, #%#% Everquest, I'm doing something else.
I believe that all map making pursuits are inherently selfish. People want either:
A) Recognition/fame for their work.
B) Money.
C) Pleasure derived from bringing your aspirations/dreams/creative vision to life into a SC map.
I would add
D) Pleasure derived from solving complex problems and challanges of game development to show how cool you are
I enjoy creating things and since I'm not really good at creating other stuff, I create maps. I have to create stuff regularly or else my brain just starts classifying everything else as boring. I would never be able to spend a longer time just playing games on my free time. I have to work with the editor as well or else I get horribly bored and unfocused.
And then there's everything other people have said already. I like the technical challenge. I like the fact that it's an easy way to do game development without having to do all the different art/sound assets and publishing framework yourself. I enjoy the fame and the community that is growing from a game I created. I enjoy reading the reviews(which are mostly 5-star these days) which praise the game I spent so much time on. I enjoy thinking about the future of my game and how to develop it further.
But most importantly. I enjoy using the editor. The feeling when you're "in the zone" while developing some system. You know what you're trying to accomplish and you can see it slowly taking form in front of your eyes. That is an amazing feeling.
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As the title says, What makes you map, lets be honest A lot of us have been here a while. some off site some on this site, so we obviously have a reason for mapping, otherwise we would have left it a long time ago, whats the reason you all map.
I personally Map for the gratification of knowing that people are playing and enjoying something I made. So what makes ya'll do it?
I map because it makes me happy.
I enjoy playing with editor, combining many different pieces into a compelling whole feels extremely rewarding.
Another reason why I map is that there aren't enough maps that I'd want to play, so I'm forced to create my own entertainment :/ (I suppose I could just quit sc2, but meh..)
I normally get inspired by a theme, a certain combo of doodads or if someone is asking a question in the terraining forum to open the editor and just try things out and then i might get some ideas for something new or i just end up filling up and perfecting the first concept, either way i end up placing weirdly scaled waterfalls in an unnecessary complicated fashion to make a freaking geyser. It's just something with the gratification you get when manage to combine doodad X and Y, texture Q with texture W or w/e and it just looks so good.
I believe that all map making pursuits are inherently selfish. People want either:
A) Recognition/fame for their work.
B) Money.
C) Pleasure derived from bringing your aspirations/dreams/creative vision to life into a SC map.
This is why you don't see too many campaigns: if nobody plays it on battle.net, then who the hell cares? It's even worse with SC2 and "regular" maps because if you're not on the first page, then good luck. I've decided to work on a campaign, because even though it may take a long time, it's good stress relief, and fulfills my main motivation of telling a story. I've always been a creator, and to me this is no different from back when I was a kid making LEGOs. So I guess I'm in the C category, though A would be nice too.
I just enjoy the process of coming up with optimal solutions to a given programming problem. I also find that there's a lot of interesting things to discover about the editor, and there's always one way or another one can further their knowledge of it.
The reason I got into map making was becuase I love creating new ideas, and asking what other people think. With the editor, I can actually create the idea(s) myself, so people can actually see the thing I was talking about. Also, bouncing off of Gradius, I love telling stories. Being able to make my own story that goes along with a game is pretty freaking aweome. Finally, I agree with Ducky. There aren't many maps that are good right now. I feel that all of the maps that have good potential are exacvtly the same as the one's that are already out there. In other words, some peope might take so long creating a map that looks amazing, and the gameplay is perfect. that by the time they spread the word, a game that has the exact same concept and gameplay is already out there. I think, personally, most creators get way too complex with their maps, because they try so hard to make their games unique, when if you simply make a map with a brand new concept, then you can actually enjoy making your map with little competition. Anyways, I think it's fun, and like Gradius said, it's a relief to be able to make something, and call it yours.
It's simple. Do you want to make games as a hobby? Mapping is the easiest possible way to cut past the technical hurdles and dive right in to making a game.
-Has a well built API that is easy to learn
-All art and sound assets have been made for you
-Has a distribution system to deliver your work to other people
I don't know of any other way to create games as a hobby that doesn't cover all of these. The trigger programming is so easy to learn, a kid can figure it out. I don't have any art skills and I'm not about to render models or create textures for a 2D mobile game. And the last one is the big one: the distribution system. You could make a 3D mod for any game, but without a site or community to distribute your work, no one will play it.
In the SC2 editor, you can have a vision in your mind for the game that you want to make. With enough skill and dedication your vision can come to life, and it makes you feel ten feet tall. I don't know how else to get that without a assembling a dev team, artists, or a community to fill in the gaps.
I map because I love to tell stories and I love creating terrain. The SC2 editor is by far one of the best designed editors/game engines I have seen, hence the reason that I use it the most. Source SDK also quite good but it is more complicated to learn. In the SC2 editor, the terrain editor while somewhat restrictive, allows very easy creation. The trigger editor is simple yet comprehensive and the data editor... well it works. I enjoy scripting the story that goes with a map and designing how the terrain will affect how the story plays out. The beauty to game design is, depending on how much work you put into it, it is rarely (if ever) the same way twice.
I make maps because I'd like to think making a successful map in SC2 would give me good chances in the future, when looking for a job in the game industry. And also because I like doing so.
I'd just love pushing my mind the furthest possible, that being problem-solving of mathematic problems or to push my creativity beyond what I thought I was capable of. I could, and I do sometimes, just paint a picture or code an application or a website to satisfy those needs, but I just love mapping because I can use all my skills, or sometimes some of my skills combined with other peoples skills, to create something technical impressive and visually, artistic, beautiful.
When everything finally just work together, that is a great bonus to all the things you've learned on the way to the final map.
mostly i map because i get an idea in my head and i think it might be cool to create even if its really stupid or simple. like for instance, i recently felt like making a piano in the editor that you could play by clicking units or using the qwerty keys. due to technical issues im being prevented from getting bagpipes and choir sounds :(
These. Mostly. It's a challenge, we (programmers) love it.
And these. As a gamer, I want both, to play something no one made yet and to create something I think would be fun to play.
And a bit of this. It feels good when ppl appreciate things you create.
Generally, I'm just a creative person, I compose music, write fiction, write programs, build castles of sugar pieces when I have nothing to do and alot of sugar cubes. Just for fun. Was a matter of time for me to realize, that there is the editor exists and it can be used to create games.
Im fairly certain we had a similar thread a year or two back, lol. Oh well, don't mind seeing another one :p
As long as I can remember I've been thinking of stories and making games, starting with nonsensical kid stuff and building "levels" out of lego bricks and having my little brother play them. In school I actually created a sort of turn-based game on paper that over half my class played during free periods/german lessons (7th grade. 8th grade I improved the game but only played it with a couple of friends. In high school I was already on wc3 and then the sc2 beta came) During the summer before high school my friend had to go to hospital (And stayed there for most parts of 6 months), and we decided to start writing fiction together. I've been writing fiction and modding since then.
I just really like to put my imagination into something that others can see - even if no one else sees it (I got over 1k A4 pages of fiction on google docs I wrote myself) The reason I like the sc2 editor, and the data editor in particular, is because of the nice feeling you get when you get something to work :) At first it was simple stuff like giving the mothership the colossus attack, and by now it evolved into complex systems of missile movers, site ops and so on. It's just a lot of fun seeing how awesome things look that I made simply by putting in a few values, and I love trying to "overcome" obstacles and get complex stuff to work (Look at the video in the starmon thread, quite a few of those attacks have one or more hidden models I use merely for their attachment points/site ops)
And while I do not actually do it for recognition/fame, it's still nice getting some of that :)
Yeah, I remember it too. And no one cares, indeed.
Wow, it's alot, like 4-6 medium size novels. Ever tried to publish anything as a normal book?
I started starcraft when I was about 8. I loved it so much I used to sketch my own SC units and ideas and see other people's and just wanted to add to it so badly. I had a few mods for Brood War but it was extremely hard to do and took forever to do so I abandoned it. After this editor came out I could essentially do and make whatever I wanted. So the reason I guess I'm back to mapping is because that dream campaign I made up as a kid I can make now. It's funny most of the story and characters I made up in like 99 are still going to be there when I finish. But most of all I map because I like seeing pretty stuff :)
Thought about it. But that's 1k A4 pages divided onto multiple seperate stories. 300 in one, 300 in another 1.5 (They are sort of seperate, yet sort of related. The main characters of the two are brothers and oftentimes meet/mention each other). And I suck at editing, if I ever wanna publish anything I have to do a lot of editing and fix a lot of things... I also read some blog posts and so on from my favourite authors about getting published, and it wasn't particularly encouraging... If anyone wants to read what I have though, post here/message me, and I can chuck you a link.
I suppose my main reasoning for editing overall has always been about the same, I wasn't happy with what I had to play with. I have been dabbling with map making a very long time, making maps for doom2, quake, quake2, brood wars, and now SC2. Along the way did a lot of web page crap, some art, some SERIOUSLY messed up comic book renditions, lol. I only really ever released the one map for brood wars, Elements 6: NW.
Main reason for being an SC2 modder though, I decided the hell with Everquest after 10 + years of that off and on, prefer to use my time creating something rather than maintaining some stupid rank on there. That is how it started anyways, now I think when I finally finish my project it will look good on my resume. That and I've worked on it for so damn long that I would never be able to sleep until I finished it now.
I guess overall my main reason is option D, #%#% Everquest, I'm doing something else.
Yeah, it's cool, gimme a link for more.
I would add
D) Pleasure derived from solving complex problems and challanges of game development to show how cool you are
I enjoy creating things and since I'm not really good at creating other stuff, I create maps. I have to create stuff regularly or else my brain just starts classifying everything else as boring. I would never be able to spend a longer time just playing games on my free time. I have to work with the editor as well or else I get horribly bored and unfocused.
And then there's everything other people have said already. I like the technical challenge. I like the fact that it's an easy way to do game development without having to do all the different art/sound assets and publishing framework yourself. I enjoy the fame and the community that is growing from a game I created. I enjoy reading the reviews(which are mostly 5-star these days) which praise the game I spent so much time on. I enjoy thinking about the future of my game and how to develop it further.
But most importantly. I enjoy using the editor. The feeling when you're "in the zone" while developing some system. You know what you're trying to accomplish and you can see it slowly taking form in front of your eyes. That is an amazing feeling.