| NICK.MOHILCHOCK Designer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Quake III Arena - Last Updated: April 27th, 2009 Checksum... OK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Well before I had started my professional career in game development, I spent a good deal of my free time designing multiplayer maps for the online Quake community under the name "Mr. Lake". Several of the levels I created as an amateur helped me secure my first job as a designer at Gray Matter Studios. A good number of my more popular levels can be found here, with brief descriptions of how they came to be and what their influences were.
The acronym "DWP" stands for two things; Department of Water and Power, and Deftones, White Pony. Both were an inspiration for this small tournament map, which was one of the first I had created and released online. The date of the release coincided with the shelf date for the new album titled White Pony, and featured a 30-second song loop from the album track Korea. Although not a popular map on most servers, it was a stepping stone to one of the biggest levels I would ever design. Back to top
Burning Reminders would turn out to be one of my most popular levels, and the level I am most proud of. I received several web awards including "Level of the Week" on Planet Quake, and top rankings on lvlworld.com. I took a lot of inspiration from active lava flows, and good old fashioned stock Quake III Arena maps. The flowing lava was created using a simple variant of the original lava shader with some scrolling coordinates added. I then applied the texture to patches and bent them into the shapes of flowing lava. This was probably the most ambitious Quake III Arena map I had ever released. Back to top
Soon after the success of Burning Reminders, I decided I wanted to work on a quick - yet technically proficient - multiplayer level geared towards bots. The Bunker was built with that goal in mind; minimal detail and simple right-angles for easy AI navigation and more gameplay-focused structural design. Not a popular offering for those craving smooth aesthetics, but a smarter map overall. Soon afterwards, I took what I had learned and applied it to another type of game... Back to top
The Bunker - CTF Edition. This modification of the original deathmatch map featured extended flag rooms with the addition of tunnels connecting to the lower levels near the center of the map, and a grenade gauntlet for players who dare take a shortcut to the flag. Again, the focus on bots allowed me to learn and take on a new challenge. Back to top
I personally enjoy Capture The Flag as an actual sport. It was with that competitive spirit that I designed Evil Gemini CTF. The level features a symmetrical layout with two towers that place the flags roughly ten-meters apart from each other, shielded by glass partitions that leave just enough room for players to exchange rockets underneath. The compact design made the level ideal for quick pick-up games of three-on-three. Once again, the level received high marks and another "Level of the Week" award on Planetquake. Back to top
Well after the success of my previous designs, I decided to spend some time using Quake III Arena as a canvas for expression. The New Sorrow was one of a few such levels where I designed more with my eyes and less with my head. Focusing only on aesthetics and the technical limitations of the engine (difficult to see the rain in the screenshots), I tried to get in touch with my "inner emo" and build a "Tim Burton-esque" gothic/urban setting. As expected, gameplay was flat and nothing special. However, I feel like it was a more expressive work than anything else and so I am happy with it. I'd probably avoid putting it in with a group of maps that I would play for the sake of having fun. Back to top
Not too long ago, I was contacted by a fellow designer by the name of Simon O'Callaghan (known by some as "Sock"). To my surprise, he wanted permission to re-make one of my previous CTF levels, Evil Gemini. Even if it wasn't Sock I would have gladly said yes, but having known the caliber of his work from past levels of his I had played, I was really excited to see what he had in mind. We wasted no time in collaborating on things we could change - things we could improve from the original. In the end I couldn't be happier with what Sock came up with. The design is simply beautiful, and adds a number of new twists to the original game mechanics. Sock and I worked very well together, and I hope in the future we can do so again on something new. Back to top | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website contents © 2009 Nikolai Mohilchock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
