Overview
Crater Industries is a third-person shooter multiplayer map developed on and for the CORE gaming platform. I created the level, from the paper concepting stage all the way to its final implementation, over the course of 15 weeks.
In order to win, teams must vie for control of three capture points organized diagonally across the map. Each team has one point on their side of the map, with an additional point located in the middle of the map.
While the side points are favored by each team, it is also very easy for the opposite team to cross the map and take their opponents’ point using the paths along the level’s flanks. The center point is easily accessible by both teams, but can only be reached by passing through the narrow buildings surrounding it. As CORE’s default weapons are quite accurate, the level includes a number of obstacles to block cross-map sight lines and force players to keep moving.
Final Level
My goal with Crater Industries was to create a level that would force players to cycle through point control and keep moving. Playtesting revealed that the original level plan achieved this goal effectively, albeit with two major tweaks.
The first correction to the level architecture was adding buildings to the center point. The original plan left the point wide open, allowing campers to punish attackers at very little cost to themselves. To fix this, I wrapped the middle point in a ring of buildings, adding two layers of cover and inadvertently transforming the point into a battle arena.
The second change required the removal of one of the spawn doors. Players favored flank routes when exiting their spawns, leading to teams holding points on the wrong side of the map and an empty center point. By removing the door from spawn facing the flank route, I forced players to funnel through the middle route, balancing their spread across the map.
Sydney Fonderie 