Dit keer geen interview over hoe je levels maakt, maar een gesprek met twee van de bekendste leveldesigners, Levelord en CliffyB over de principes van het mapmaking.

Het is geen al te lang interview, maar er zijn een aantal erg intere ante vragen in verwerkt samen met het nodige fotowerk. Isn't level design an underappreciated art? How many casual gamers can really appreciate the difference between a well designed level and a poorly designed level so long as there are things to shoot at?

CliffyB: There are 2 key things that the casual gamer can easily spot, even if he/she doesn't realize it. One, is this a neat looking game/environment? Two, am I having a good time? These are two basic things that are inherently tied to good level design. And you're damned right level design is an underappreciated art. When you're playing an otherwise good game and you can't find your way around and you're frustrated it's because of bad level design, this can be a real deal-breaker for a gamer. I've quit many games in frustration over bad level design.

Levelord: Actually, I believe the opposite! We seem to get most of the credit related to games, at least within the online community. I often get praise for work that is really the artist's or programmer's merit. You'll never catch me admitting that, of course, but they are the unsung heros of the industry. We level designers just slap stuff together ;) Die paashaas is trouwens niemand anders als CliffyB zelf. Om jullie niet al te erg te laten schrikken heb ik de foto van Levelord maar achterwege gelaten.

Deze laatste geeft trouwens wel een stuk slimmere en doordachte antwoorden als onze CliffyB.