TF2 Map

Showcase Video

Steam Link

Project Overview

This was my first attempt at designing a level, I found it quite challenging at first but after understanding more about the editor and thinking from a player perspective I improved a lot and started to enjoy it towards the end. There were many areas to consider when creating a map that would be used in a PVP setting especially when accounting for different characters moveability/height/weapon.

A large part of learning about level design from this project came from doing frequent playtests within a group, this project was done as part of a university module which gave me and my peers the opportunity to do playtests with a large enough lobby size to observe how players use the map in match scenarios.

I did go into this project very inexperienced and looking back on the early blockouts the issues they had are now very clear but I'm proud of how much improvement I made in just 8 weeks of learning level design, from creating an unplayable mess to something that players could enjoy.

Skills Used

Level Design
Hammer Editor
Playtest Iteration

Rough Concept

Slightly Polished Concept

Early Layouts

Before getting into engine I needed to mock up level concepts on paper, I made a few concepts but the one that I went with was inspired by Viaduct which had elevated platforms around spawn.

This was a map that I encountered a lot when getting familiar with TF2 as I only had around 10 hours in it before designing a level.

Comparing these concepts to the final layout in the fly through video shows how much had to be changed as it was playtested and my understanding of level design grew, as these concepts were missing a lot of cover and the scale did not match that of usual TF2 KOTH maps.

Block Out-ing

Using the Hammer editor was a weird experience at first with how unfamiliar navigating around a level felt and I only became aware of Hammer++ (a more modern version of the editor) and its quality of life features much later into the project.

After a couple weeks of using I got much more comfortable with the editor and was able to start making meaningful improvements post playtests.

First Block Out

Post Playtest Block Out

Post First Playtest

My first playtest showed the (now) clear issues with the lack of cover and sightlines in the map. The map needed to be rehauled which needed to be done before the next playtest opportunity.

To improve my map I added a lot of new cover and played more TF2 to understand how its official maps are designed. I learnt why there are often so many buildings in the maps and how they not only break up sightlines or add cover but work with the different character types such as giving Pyro a lot more utility.

I added more cover but also more levels of elevation with hopes of giving players more options for maneuverability and better flanking routes for Spy/Scout/Pyro. In the playtest it was hard to recapture the control point after it had been taken so I added more routes towards it and fixed some sightlines from the point itself.