The first two projects that I tried to run and design were Half Life 2 mods. I spent hours in the toolset playing with physics, lighting and brushwork. I made clockwork gadgets using world brushes. I created indoor and outdoor environments and learned about optimization. Most of my level design work was lost when a hard drive went bad. The two maps below are early versions of some of the projects I worked on. The first map, named de_airwaves, is a Counter Strike Source map made to MLG requirements. The second video was the start of a personal mod, taking place in a prison, that I never finished.

This goal of this project was to create a tournament map for submission into the MLG and to eventually have it included in their map rotation. I had the benefit of working with a professional tournament player while designing and building the level. We looked at the current maps in rotation, and tried to take elements that were successful and bring them into our map. We wanted to work more with vertical space as well, so the idea of a radio tower stuck right away. The map was to feature one objective at the base of a radio tower, and the other at a relay station across the map. This map was never finished.

From the start the setting for the map was the Middle East. We choose this location so we could use a similar texture set as the most popular map in tournament scene. The texture set allowed for both teams, no matter what outfit, be easily be spotted and recognized. Reaction time is important, and identifying the enemy helps.

Vertical space was the next thing we wanted to work with, both in playing with the player's vertical movement, and with the locations through which players could traverse. The most subtle example of this is the tunnel below the mosque. The tunnel was made round to play with players reactions. As the tunnel bends, or the player strafes, they need to adjust their aim to account for the change in elevation. This is shown throughout the map in many places. The radio tower that was located at the end of the tunnel is the more extreme example. Sadly, this is not in this version of the file. We wanted to provide a sniping spot that could reach over most of the map for the defending team, but provide little cover for the sniper to restrict movement, or grouping. We also split the spawns up, having some players start elevated and separated from their teammates. The defense team would be chopper lifted in and spawn on top of buildings, while the assault team would be split.

Spacing for the level was difficult to get right. Being able to work with a professional tournament player helped give insight when I was laying the level out. View points from each position needed to be adjusted. The tunnel, for example, was remade several times so that the bend would choke gunfire, while allowing for a small gap for vision. Every viewpoint had to be considered. In one example a player could see from the top of the radio tower to the other objective, through a window and out to the bottom of a doorway. A good sniper could consistently get kills by sniping the feet of the player as they walked past on the outside of the objective. We moved the walls out around the doorway, and raised the window a little so that only players entering the objective could be subjected to gunfire from that position.

This was one of my first levels made with the Hammer Editor. The project was originally going to be a prison mod for HL2, where you are a prisoner living out your sentence for 30 days. This was to be the cell block where you lived and your home for a lot of your prison life.

The big accomplishment in this level is the brush work. It was the first level I tried anything complex, and I carried this experience through to my Counter Strike level above. The ceiling in the cellblock is curved, making it more interesting. The gate area has curved ceilings that meet at the top. The hardest part in the construction was avoiding leaks and keeping the level optimized.