some ideas i'm throwing around in my head

Progress on the villa map I'm working on is steady, I think I'll have pics to post any day now. Right now it's in a stage of near completion in most regards. The architecture is mostly done save for one more tunnel (I'm guessing at least two more hours of work, I wish I was better at this!). I'm experimenting with different textures with an emphasis on variety. Things are more or less coming together smoothly and soon I'll have the beta up for playing.

I'm making plans for my next project now, since the main project is coming along so smoothly. I want to experiment with a greater variety of features, like texture creation, modeling and animation. If I have enough time I would like to learn the basics of scripting so I can make some novel single player scenarios. I want to make some more maps for half life but I'm starting to feel like I would like to work on something more RPG related. Maybe I'll work on Fallout 3 or Neverwinter Nights 2. I want to focus not only on level design but on the design of the story as well. What better games for developing storytelling techniques than RPG's?

I'm planning on downloading a highly-reviewed book on level design in the next few days. Let's see if I can receive its wisdom.