tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27429952771019291282011-09-14T18:46:03.675-07:00Hi, this is my blog. I'm using this to publicly document my progress as I design maps for various games, for now it's just Half Life 2. There's mostly a lot of pictures and a few written tidbits here and there, I try to update when I can with what screenshots I like.klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.comBlogger661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-50030397762318923502011-06-16T21:40:00.000-07:002011-06-17T10:19:56.910-07:00

Okay, so the last eight months of my life were spent searching for that perfect job in the games industry, you know, any job. If you've tried seeking industry positions this past year, you might know just how frustrating a process this can be. The economy is improving at a snail's pace and it's not like we're getting any younger here.That being said, I feel like I've honed my job searching

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-74838861773428569702010-12-12T03:46:00.000-08:002010-12-12T03:54:00.994-08:00

It was pointed out to me earlier today that I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. I think my updated website makes up for it. I threw in all the bells and whistles, and since I'm still a novice I can only assume I threw in a few handfuls of bugs as well!Please, give it a look if you haven't seen my portfolio yet.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-43397331950457176192010-09-01T03:22:00.000-07:002010-09-01T03:35:53.533-07:00

It's that time of year again: PAX is happening in two days and the Spiral Game Studios ambassadors and I are gearing up to represent Orion. There's a lot of potential for growth as a developer over these three days, and as such I am doing my utmost to prepare for the event. That being said, I still feel woefully unprepared as I busy myself cramming every last gadget and piece of electronic

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-50603643568273777992010-09-01T03:14:00.000-07:002010-09-01T03:21:17.669-07:00

...at something coming soon.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-46675792767629276122010-07-19T01:13:00.001-07:002010-07-19T01:35:48.463-07:00

I sat down and drew up a few concepts for possible future buildings for use in-game. They are pretty basic, but they depict a couple versions of a similar setup: two separate buildings that are connected by an elevated walkway.The first picture shows a smaller building with an inset room for player spawning, etc., as well as stairs leading up to an elevated walkway. This is a more basic setup and

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-64535031291090633622010-05-29T11:32:00.000-07:002010-05-29T11:45:08.027-07:00

It's good to be able to post some work again. I've had quite a bit of work these past few months and it breaks my heart to say that there's really nothing that I'm allowed to talk about, leaving just a few trickles of things that I do on the side for me to post on. That's enough of that, though, I'm taking the time to educate myself with new techniques on a new engine. These screens are from a

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-5898000150347161152010-03-13T03:27:00.000-08:002010-03-13T03:41:58.485-08:00

I'm working with a team of artists right now to generate content for the maps I'll be working on. The people on our team our very skilled artists and I've found that my own skills are, well, lacking! I'm trying to create a setting with a bit of an industrial feel, albeit whatever industry would look like four hundred years from now. With that I've come up with a few drawings I wanted to share for

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-23093671022787519442010-02-20T16:34:00.001-08:002010-02-20T16:53:01.187-08:00

My last seven months or so have been spent developing content for Orion, an ambitious total conversion for HL2's Orange Box Engine. The mod itself is a fast-paced multiplayer game set on the fictional world of Orion, which is a fertile world that is reminiscent of an infant-earth. The multiple maps in the soon-to-be-released 1.2 patch will feature a number of locations across the planet; all of

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-11367887585146642932010-01-14T16:43:00.000-08:002010-01-14T16:55:26.870-08:00

For fun I thought I'd try my hand at the Unreal Development Kit, a FAR, far superior editor to the Source SDK (sorry Valve, but it's true). The UDK comes loaded with a few textures and static meshes (models essentially) and a light version of Unreal Tournament 3 to test your creations with.This was just a couple of days of effort last week and I have to say that I was blown away by what the

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-86302914789802759482009-12-26T03:54:00.000-08:002009-12-26T04:09:42.321-08:00

Maybe three or four days ago, Podcast17 interviewed some of the members of the Orion mod team to discuss our feelings about the game postpartum. Praz (lead designer), Ezzy (lead level designer), and I (a guy they found passed out in the gutter) talked about upcoming changes to the mod with our Monday patch, various challenges with level design and design of the project as a whole, and our

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-64087839843701606122009-12-13T01:57:00.000-08:002009-12-13T02:19:58.669-08:00

The project that I've spent the last six months mapping for is releasing in just 1/3 of a day from now and I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty good show. Progress has been steady and I have to say that I'm proud to be part of a team that's able to get so much done in such a short period of time.I'll be posting more on the game and my map after it's released tomorrow. In the meantime, here

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-61539168108221552832009-11-01T23:21:00.001-08:002009-11-02T00:07:37.634-08:00

This is by far the best duo costume I've seen yet. I say yet because if someone were to post a good boomer costume they would be the winner hands down.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-2591343904637147002009-10-28T01:34:00.000-07:002009-10-28T01:40:29.894-07:00

I didn't want to say too much initially about the mod team I had joined, mostly because I didn't know right off the bat what kind of contribution I would be making and I didn't want to overstep my bounds as a new member. Now that I am making steady progress on my map and have been a part of the team for some months now I am confident and happy to say that I am a level designer for Orion Mod,

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-51924135051375005672009-09-11T17:28:00.001-07:002009-09-11T18:01:13.261-07:00

Four days now since PAX and I'm happy to say that I'm swine flu free. I wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that nearly 100 people got the disease while I was there, seeing as how I caught a cold the day I got back. I think my associates managed one synchronized eye-roll when I became that "I think I might have swine flu" guy for a day. I at least like to think I was acting cool and collected about

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-29506166332201633502009-09-08T11:05:00.000-07:002009-09-08T11:34:23.195-07:00

Wow. This was without a doubt the greatest gaming venture I have ever participated in. There's too much for me to talk about in one post without rambling, so I thought I would write about the experience in a few short bursts. This is easier for me since I have to get to work in an hour anyway.I wanted to write about the games I played through first. I'll start with the bigger ones first:Starcraft

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-38707304505229245042009-09-03T18:32:00.000-07:002009-09-03T18:48:39.696-07:00

As I type this I am gathering up every last thing I'll need for PAX tomorrow and the two days after. This is harder work than I realized, what with all the hyping of this event that the internet and my brain are doing to me right now. At first I thought, "Okay, I've got clothes and a toothbrush. I'm set!" Oh yea and I need my Magic cards too.And my DS...And the Gameboy Color just for the hell of

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-47201522506247402282009-08-30T01:53:00.000-07:002009-08-30T02:10:58.295-07:00

This year I'm heading to PAX. If you're unfamiliar, PAX is a weekend long gaming expo that takes place in Seattle every year. They cover consoles, PCs, board games, card games, the list goes on. It's my first year driving down to Seattle to participate and I'm utterly blown away by how much is going to be going on down there. A few snippets from the various panels they'll be showcasing (at least

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-5934462871954273562009-07-30T00:48:00.001-07:002009-07-30T00:57:55.903-07:00

Things tend to go awfully bizarrely when you move into a new place. Specifically the internet connection goes completely insane!Okay... not that bad. But not fun either. I just went and bought myself a new 75' LAN cable to make sure I don't have any more problems with a slow connection with a love of disconnecting itself./rantSoooo... now that I'm connected again, I'm working on some serious

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-23783223634169987502009-07-09T01:12:00.001-07:002009-07-09T01:15:42.377-07:00

L4D Sackboys! They fill me with glee and terror at the same time!

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-70861891324030797422009-06-30T03:47:00.001-07:002009-07-30T23:53:46.236-07:00

dm_villa_b3, the third beta version of my map is finished and is available for download.dm_villa is a deathmatch map for HL2 that spans three levels vertically and spreads across a diverse playing field. Players will fight both in tight hallways and in open arenas, with interesting variations in texturing and lighting to make it more interesting. The bulk of the gameplay will take place in and

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-60772184012085825742009-06-16T21:07:00.000-07:002009-06-16T21:14:25.780-07:00

So now that I'm 95% finished with my map, I've discovered that I'm willing to spend 95% percent of my effort on the finishing touches. The villa looks exactly like I want it to visually, and the graphics aren't taking up too much memory. I've been testing it and retesting it, and so far, it looks like it should run much more efficiently than the last version. In terms of file size, the map is one

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-19127737028541815612009-06-04T00:58:00.000-07:002009-06-04T01:18:39.852-07:00

It looks like my latest version of the villa is almost finished! Visually, it is close to what I want it to look like. I went through yesterday, taking all of my nice pristine architecture, and I covered it all with trash, graffiti, and wear and tear. It was quite satisfying!As far as work needed, I need to optimize weapon and item placement, and I need to play through with different groups of

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-16172062355076436182009-05-27T03:08:00.000-07:002009-05-27T03:13:26.660-07:00

I've got a couple more pictures that I took just playing around with different lighting settings. If only this weren't too dark, I actually like this level of ambient lighting. The dark foreground with the brighter background produces quite the strange effect.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-5373342255421337412009-05-25T23:33:00.000-07:002009-05-25T23:44:08.598-07:00

So now it looks like I'm stretching my poor self even farther! Ah well, I asked for it. I've gotten myself involved with another project, and it looks promising so far. I'm making a map for a HL2 mod, which shall remain nameless until further notice, but I can say that so far this project looks like it will be giving me plenty of opportunities to flex my creative muscle. I'm still working on the

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-54343969542863212382009-05-14T00:46:00.000-07:002009-05-14T00:56:09.014-07:00

For the most part, the third version of this map is complete. As far as overall layout and gameplay goes, there are just some minor details that need to be ironed out. For the most part, there just needs to be some optimization and graphical details added.I am uploading new pictures of the most recent additions. The caves beneath the map have had some minor lighting changes and the tunnels are a

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-78660138528089624652009-04-30T00:56:00.000-07:002009-04-30T01:11:03.560-07:00

I've worked pretty hard for the last few days to finish up the bulk of what I want include in on the third beta version of this project.The backyard is close to what I want it to look like. It's a bit bigger now, and the addition to the house itself is pretty close to complete, if it isn't already. The building addition isn't much more than a visual addition, but there is a significant extension

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-8083991344156149662009-04-22T20:18:00.000-07:002009-04-22T20:30:13.618-07:00

Learning a new skill set can at times take an amount of patience that you might never have known you had. The villa map I'm working on is still my first major solo project that I'm aiming to release to the public, and it's the first major project I've done with the latest version of the Hammer Editor. That means that some days I'll spend five, maybe six hours working on a room that's roughly the

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-14868603881384892202009-04-21T00:51:00.000-07:002009-04-22T20:32:01.059-07:00

It's felt like maybe a few months, but the villa has seen an update.The back yard is a bit bigger, and the building extends around the whole yard now. I liked the two-tone look of the villa, with the courtyard done up in brick and red paint, and the outer portion with stones and browns. I played around with a number of different configurations for the building itself and I ended up dividing the

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-46317437025094416772009-04-20T16:23:00.001-07:002009-04-20T16:28:47.619-07:00

Finally I am going to have something worth writing about! I've worked for weeks and have added (and deleted) large portions to the villa map, and after all that, I've made slight progress. The entire frontal addition to the map I deleted.  I felt like it's openness and size contrasted with the overall small, tight, and fast design of the previous map.  The back yard and the underground portions

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-43570989949626226422009-03-25T01:41:00.001-07:002009-03-25T01:44:27.262-07:00

Yep, I'm back home and ready to get back to work. If I have it my way, I will have the third beta version of the villa up in three weeks. That's a semi-serious goal right now.As for now, it's late and I should most likely go to bed, but before I do I will show off the terrible moustache I had for three minutes earlier today before I freed my face of facial hair.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-84005205575604225972009-03-20T01:51:00.000-07:002009-03-20T01:53:53.724-07:00

Tomorrow is the first day of a five day vacation in Canada. I may be wrong, but I think Whistler just might be a little nicer than heaven. We'll soon see.I'll be back in a week. With pictures.Adios!

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-51737386609552535932009-03-12T15:19:00.000-07:002009-03-12T15:31:03.511-07:00

I'm extending the back yard right now to add some breathing room to my map. I'm adding a total of three new areas that will wrap up the design of the map, and I would say I'm maybe 25% through with the back yard. These are some (very) rough drafts of what I have in mind for now.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-76251523169430502752009-03-09T23:58:00.001-07:002009-03-10T00:01:43.278-07:00

I've made some progress tonight. The first screen shows off the new frontal area of the villa where the gate and main door will be located, the second is of the stairway arch connecting the old backyard to the new location. Tomorrow is a day off, so I'm planning on making a full night's effort on this thing.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-32987836271407800552009-03-09T22:13:00.000-07:002009-03-09T22:19:20.735-07:00

Right now I'm working on making a full addition to the backyard-soon-to-be-front-yard. The addition will include a gate with a road entering the complex, to add realism, a full frontal addition to the villa, and a large archway connecting the new and old portions of the yard.This is a screen I took of the arch as it is in my editor:

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-5708550159205206922009-03-02T02:57:00.000-08:002009-03-02T03:08:27.769-08:00

I started work today on the third version of the villa map. I haven't worked on this project in nearly a month, but in that time I've been directed to a couple of sites (fpsbanana and HL2DM University) to promote the map, and both have been immensely helpful. I wanted to get feedback from outside sources and sure enough, there were at least a dozen pretty important issues that most likely never

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-78580324700853625212009-02-22T18:00:00.000-08:002009-02-22T18:08:22.290-08:00

I've made a comic to spread some interest in my current project, the villa. It follows the misadventures of two friends as they seek refuge from the combine. Enjoy!TROUBLE IN PARADISE, PART 1

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-50433844358160994092009-02-14T01:20:00.000-08:002009-02-14T01:23:02.573-08:00

Since the completion of the second beta release of my map, I decided that I needed a break. Well, now I need a break from my break, but I want to work on something other than my map until I can get some feedback on it. I don't know what I'm going to work on in the meantime, but whatever it is, I will be posting pictures of it soon. God knows you can never have too many pictures!

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-83210670814772947512009-02-04T21:56:00.001-08:002009-02-04T21:59:41.991-08:00

The second beta version of the map is ready for download!You can find it right here.To install, simply download the .rar and unpack it wherever. I've included a readme with instructions inside.If you have any questions or comments you can email me at klyemar@gmail.com or you can leave a comment here. Thanks for reading, and happy playing.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-10727047439649337642009-02-04T02:26:00.000-08:002009-02-04T03:19:52.413-08:00

I feel like I have spent far too much time working on this second version of the level. The work involved with adding the extra content has been fine, and for the most part it's been fun. I'm talking about the process of wrapping up loose ends that comes after the addition of said content. I must have spent hours just adjusting the lighting to make sure the shadows were cast right, or fixing two

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-39131113698134442762009-01-30T10:54:00.000-08:002009-01-31T01:40:59.223-08:00

I've finally made a video demo of the villa. I'm going to try to make a higher quality video later when I have a chance to play test the newest edition. Enjoy!

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-31498186427305217212009-01-30T00:10:00.001-08:002009-01-30T00:17:10.899-08:00

I thought I would post some pics of what else I've been working on. In my spare time I like to paint plastic figures for one of my games that's sitting in my closet. I've been working on them with the ever-so-lovely RachelKiah, and we've already finished four of them in just a couple of weeks.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-12718720999427540222009-01-29T23:39:00.001-08:002009-01-30T02:23:25.219-08:00

The results of an all-night, all-day, all-night session. I need to get faster at this...The scenic villa...A trap door...No point in wasting time, let's bash it apart!Probably should've looked before leaping...A whole new area to explore...I added the cliffs because I was bored...I can't say why, but I just love this look...

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-34203371336533618212009-01-29T23:32:00.000-08:002009-01-29T23:39:00.748-08:00

I have some new pics of the progress I've made. I made one big change and one small change. I'm trying to fix the scenery around my map, so I added surrounding cliffs to make the villa really feel nestled in the mountainside. I added some hills behind the town in the distance to make it look less flat (I'm from western Washington, so I'm used to seeing hills on every side of me).The change I'm

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-58056402597964690692009-01-28T17:56:00.001-08:002009-01-28T17:58:40.394-08:00

There was a little interest in a downloadable version of my second beta so my hope for my two days off will be to have a fully playable and somewhat decent looking version up and running; I'm hoping it'll be ready by Thursday night.*fingers crossed*

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-86421029791950355912009-01-26T02:18:00.000-08:002009-01-30T00:03:20.889-08:00

I've really worked on the ambient lighting on the level for the last few days and I'm playing around to see what time of day I like the look of most. So far, all of my pictures have been noontime pictures, with really bright lighting and an unappealing sky texture. I'm playing around now to see how I like other combinations of sky and lighting. The thing that is so fun about using the Hammer

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-69057063468223287822009-01-22T03:59:00.000-08:002009-01-22T04:14:06.737-08:00

I've changed a lot of the map since I started playing the beta version with my roommates. Everything feels very smooth so far and the weapon placement seems pretty natural, and these are the two most important aspects besides fun. We talked about different ways to take the map and my favorite suggestions involved expanding the map up and down, and adding some interactive traps throughout.The

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-53384036441412639972009-01-15T16:30:00.000-08:002009-01-15T17:09:12.342-08:00

The beta version is up! I'm keeping my fingers crossed now that everything goes okay. I uploaded it to this address. To install, download the map to the ...Program Files\Steam\Steamapps\(username)\Half-Life 2 deathmatch\HL2mp\maps directory. Yea, they had to make it challenging enough. It should then be ready to play using HLDM.If you download the map and play it, let me know what you think

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-16237206871479989882009-01-15T03:50:00.000-08:002009-01-15T04:58:37.301-08:00

I posted some pictures after the jump in sweet, sweet HDR:eerie...the back yardpic of the newly destroyed courtyard hallfrom the attici wonder what's up there...what would you want to do with those?more rubblecontrasting colorsthe living roomlooks like someone's been drinkin' out of a paper sack...

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-29538634271714057572009-01-15T03:47:00.000-08:002009-01-15T04:04:55.360-08:00

I really can't say how good this feels to finally have a playable build of the map after an intense month of work. I made the final preparations and played it with my roommates earlier today. It was a success! I changed a few things afterwards, some minor and some major (no more doors). I'm going to add some pics in the next post and hopefully by tomorrow I'll have a link to download the map if

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-85405768050017660772009-01-09T02:15:00.000-08:002009-01-15T04:05:09.170-08:00

I added a light to the map earlier to experiment and had no idea just how bright I made it. This is what happens sometimes when you load your new map after making some innocent changes:This first room just looks very washed out:Outside, it's even worse. It looks like a semi-truck is shining its high beams out the windows:

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-44244793406834708712009-01-09T02:05:00.000-08:002009-01-15T04:05:24.825-08:00

Today was a challenge. I've spent eight hours working only to be exactly where I was when I started today. This must be a common experience for anyone that is designing a level without much experience: I found myself working on one small aspect that I don't like, like the look of the living room for instance, making changes for hours only to have it look the same when I'm done. I must have done

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-72043174996025788622009-01-08T12:05:00.000-08:002009-01-15T04:09:49.389-08:00

I finally have a new update for the new year. I've completely redone the attic to allow players from the lower level to engage players up above, and to prevent players in the attic from hiding and camping. I added minor detailing to the windowsill, but most importantly for picture taking's sake I made the shadows on some of the walls much more detailed. I'm posting comparison shots so you can see

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-5408388096058116062009-01-07T21:55:00.000-08:002009-01-07T21:56:22.540-08:00

After a week-long hiatus with the lovely RachaelKiah I'm back to work. I'm expecting some more important updates either tonight or tomorrow, with pictures!

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-89734415317624491002009-01-01T15:24:00.000-08:002009-01-15T04:10:07.444-08:00

I spent the better part of a couple hours reworking the texturing on the level. Since the majority of the building is complete I'm trying to focus on the details. I mostly redid the texturing in the halls and I remade the stairs in all three stairwells. I added a lip to each stair which ended taking roughly one and a half hours... *groan* I like the end product however, even though I doubt that

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-1101513481870879462008-12-31T17:07:00.000-08:002008-12-31T17:14:28.661-08:00

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

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-24425909901396211802008-12-28T20:36:00.000-08:002008-12-28T20:43:18.976-08:00

I took a little break from my work to spend the holiday with my family in Vancouver and it was a welcome vacation, even if it only lasted for 30 hours.I received my highly anticipated graphics card on Christmas morning and by god it did not disappoint! I am loving the way my games look but that's only the half of it. My screenshot updates should start looking pretty professional with that high

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-794715494186040962008-12-22T01:44:00.001-08:002008-12-22T01:49:35.078-08:00

Some more pics! ^-^ That tunnel was the freakin death of me...

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-21948374907707112562008-12-19T06:43:00.001-08:002008-12-19T07:14:49.795-08:00

I couldn't sleep too well tonight, meaning I had close to ten hours before work to work on my project. I've introduced some better lighting effects, added more details to the exterior, improved the terrain slightly, fixed some of the geometry, and re-textured the entire outside of the house. I posted some pictures:

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-91154763628231208722008-12-18T18:57:00.000-08:002008-12-19T01:23:16.312-08:00

These are a few pictures I took of my project with the color correction turned on, I liked the setup with the three different colored lights quite a bit so I thought I would post a few of them.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-16541783090194706792008-12-16T22:10:00.000-08:002008-12-16T22:17:17.172-08:00

I know this looks jumbled but this is the layout for my map, dm_villa. It has a circular path with many twists, a couple side paths to connect opposite ends of the map, and many main areas with two to three points of entry. 

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-62067801506572236372008-12-16T02:37:00.000-08:002008-12-16T02:38:40.325-08:00

I've spent the last two snow days working on my developing deathmatch map. I added light fixtures, retextured the basement to make it appear danker, am currently adding a tunnel connecting the basement to the backyard, redid the living room, added a new feature to the walkway which will soon be a garden, added ivy around the premesis, built the cubemaps so the textures reflect light properly, and

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-52794835989823637022008-12-13T19:38:00.000-08:002008-12-16T01:44:11.328-08:00

SNOW DAY!

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-25978888482337177902008-12-13T03:47:00.000-08:002008-12-16T01:49:51.545-08:00

This is the first real map that I've ever worked on more than just casually. It's a deathmatch level designed like an old home for Halflife 2. Some progress was made today but most of it came from yesterday's extended effort (10 hours!), I love sick days.

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-499193413622938992008-12-13T03:45:00.001-08:002008-12-16T01:48:59.080-08:00

No it's not I just have the wierdest experience coordinating with three anonymous gamers for an hour at a time. It's not in my nature to flip out at people when they don't do what they need to do, but I certainly understand the people that do. I had one guy flip out and quit tonight--and I quote, "Go fuck yourselves, I'm done." I think it's harder trying to do this at four in the morning too, my

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-6755640900047643192008-12-11T12:40:00.000-08:002010-09-16T01:14:52.256-07:00

In the last week or so I've started working on level design with the Hammer editor used by the Valve team. I used to work with it years ago when Half Life came out, but this latest edition is more advanced. I think I'm getting the hang of it all right and at this rate I should have a fun multiplayer map in a couple weeks or so. I'm going to spend my sick day working today. My girlfriend Rachael

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2742995277101929128.post-11389532570220659062008-08-19T17:17:00.000-07:002008-12-13T03:56:43.883-08:00

I know what I want to do for a living, down to the very specifics, which is kind of a new development for me. I want to be a computer game designer. Specifically I want to end up as a lead designer. Ultimately I would love to design my own games, which I would think is the ultimate goal of anyone in that line of work.I know this isn't an original goal for someone like me but it is most certainly

klyemarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950895196925200399noreply@blogger.com0