Ok! so this week I got to sit down and talk with Spaz12, the creator of hl2 mod “Calamity“. Spaz shares all his secrets in this 1 on 1 interview! After reading the interview be sure to Dl and play his mod!

Whats your Name?
Bobby “Spas12″ Cardona

How old are you?
17 Years old

Where do you live?
New Jersey, United States

What made you decide to start mapping?
The 2004 SDK version for the Source engine introduced me to mainstream mapping. I was really interesting in making my own single player and multiplayer levels, and i practiced and experimented a lot and got better day by day.

When did you start mapping?
about 5 years ago

What engine did you start with?
Source engine

What do you like/dislike about mapping?
I love creating my own playable finished levels for a diverse list of Source games. I love finishing them and observe where and how much they get played. I would say the massive amount of time needed to complete high quality maps is a common dislike for me and many other mappers.

What maps / environments have you made so far?
I have made many levels for games such as HL2:DM, CSS, DODS, TF2, SiN: Episodes, and a SP mod for HL2.

What are you most well known for?
My singleplayer mod “Half-Life 2: Calamity”

Which was your favorite to work on?
Probably my SP mod because it allowed me to create many diverse combat scenarios that can only be implemented in singleplayer campaigns, as well as the opportunity to expand the Half-Life story.

Where do you get inspiration from to map?
Movies, art, thoughts/ideas, and most of all: existing games and maps

How many times a week would you say you open an editor?
Everyday

Do you provide your own custom content?
I have made some custom materials and models and have implemented some of them in my existing maps.

What do you use to make your textures?
Photoshop CS2

Do you find custom content very helpful when mapping? Especially if you make it yourself?
Yes, it can improve the originality of your map as well as having the ability to serve gameplay or story purposes.

When working on a project do you communicate with others to get feedback / inspiration?
Yes, I need to communicate with lots of people I’ve never even met before to get valuable feedback on a level layout, players performance, and reaction. Its just another part of the very long and tiring design process, but it eventually all pays off once you see how much of an achievement you made with your level. In terms of inspiration, many other great mappers illustrate their specific techniques and art styles within their own works to the gaming community, which greatly improve the skills of many other designers just like me.

Do you want to be in the game industry?
Definitely, that’s why I map.

Being 17 do you feel pressure to stand out amongst the other mappers your age?
My young age is both a barrier and also an example of how successful I have become in terms of mapping. However, I don’t feel pressured to stand out or even be the very best of my level design peers, but I do very well aim to get a job in the Game Industry, no matter what it takes. Level design is my ultimate passion and talent, and I hope to eventually get hired by a company to implement my skills in an actual video game. At 17, I have other responsibilities such as school that sometimes interfere with my design schedule, but I do manage to balance time and work ethic with just about everything.

If you could choose a game company to work for which would it be?
Infinity Ward all the way.

Whats your favorite game?
Half-Life 1

Where do you see yourself in 5 or so odd years?
Working at Infinity Ward and having the time of my life.

Download link to his mod : Here

END

Thanks for taking the time to fill out these questions Spaz! Now go out there and make us something we can all play and get inspired by! Hope you one day get to work at your dream job!

-Generalvivi

SOOOOO DOUBLE INTERVIEW!!!!! crazyness!
So uoz surprised us all with this really cool well thought out mod called Riot Act recently. The mod is all around great and I found myself playing it a 2nd time through. <---- I never do that. The mod had so man nice features in it and great "holy shit" moments that i just have to give it a 4.5/5 ! why not 5 you ask? only because i had to noclip 4 times but anyways! So yeah mods great and everyone should check it out.

download it from here :(copy the link and paste it into your browser) http://uoz.multiplayer.it/ra/index.php?content=download

ALRIGHTY!! now onto the interview!!!!!!!!!!

Whats your Name?
My name is Germano Guerrini.

How old are you?
31

Where do you live?
Rome, Italy

What made you decide to start mapping?
It was quite a natural step. Passion for games plus passion for creating things

When did you start mapping?
My first map is dated back to 1998 I think.

What engine did you start with?
A modified version of Quake 2 engine for Heretic 2 from Raven Software.

What do you like/dislike about mapping?
Like every other human activity, the best part is when you have just your empty canvas and infinite possibilities on it.
Then, you have to pick up one and made it. Take off and landing. That’s it.

What maps / environments have you made so far?
I have made over 20 levels for Half-Life, Quake III and Half-Life 2.
Gameplay wise, I made single player maps, deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and so on.

What are you most well known for?
Not sure about that. “The Long Night”, my first singleplayer map pack for Half-Life was very successful, but even “Up & Down” for Quake III and “Backbone” for Half-Life 2 are well known.

Which was your favorite to work on?
Oh that’s impossible to say. I loved to work on every single brush I made.

Where do you get inspiration from to map?
Well, inspiration is a perspective on the world around you, the way you make it shape your mind. I’m just curious about everything and try to be as permeable as possible to new stimulation.

How many times a week would you say you open an editor?
Impossible to say. Over the past 9 years I’ve been endless hours with an editor open, but I need a vacation from time to time. Beside, I have a real life too

Do you provide your own custom content?
Whenever possible. For Riot Act, for example, I created a few texture, the bridge model and skin, and other things.

What modeling program do you use?
I’ve used Maya and, recently XSI

What do you use to make your textures?
Photoshop

Do you find custom content very helpful when mapping? Especially if you make it yourself?
Generally speaking: yes. But it all depends from the quality you can achieve.

Do you want to be in the game industry?
Skipped

If you could choose a game company to work for which would it be?
Skipped

Who’s your favorite mapper?
Well, when we talk about quality, I think it’s pretty hard (and maybe useless) to try a possible ascending or descending sort.
As a mapper myself, I’d say that a better map is generally the result of the effort of a team more than a single person today.

Whats your favorite game?
Oh, what a long list here
Ok, if I absolutely need to choose one, I’d say Double Dragon 2

Where do you see yourself in 5 or so odd years?
With a child and a lighter mortgage

What inspired you to make this mod?
It was a natural impulse. I can’t imagine me not doing that.

Are there any elements that make this mod stand out from any other mods?
- A complete sound track
- First SP mod featuring HDR
- First SP mod featuring custom hands model (not only skin)
- First SP mod featuring Phong shading (even if only on the model above)
- First SP mod featuring bugbait again
- Short but rather sweet voice acting
- Infinite passion behind it
That said, you’re perfectly allowed to dislike it, of course

what was the hardest part of making this mod?
The hardest part was to cut feature after feature because I wasn’t able to find people to make them.
I had much higher expectations for Riot Act (like being three times longer, a custom vehicle, much larger custom environments), and it was really frustrating to cut them out.

wat was the easiest part of making this mod?
To decide to make it

how long did it take you to make this?
Almost two years I think.

What is your favorite part about this mod?
The bridge scene for sure.

can we expect anything like this from you in the future?
Hard to say. From Half-Life to Half-Life 2 the complexity increased of an order of magnitude at least, and I’m not a kid anymore.
Probably I’ll go for much smaller projects. But, hey, you’ll never know

Well thanks for you time Uoz! It’s great to see good mappers like yourself in the community. The mods great and it obviously took you a good deal of time! Thanks for sticking with it to bring the community such a great mod!

-vivi

Ok so this week I got to sit down and talk with KillerWorm and interview him. He just recently released a new map called cs_meridian. A very nice map thats setting is on a boat. It looks very stylized and cool. A definite must check out map for all you guys looking for cool custom stuff.
Lets get this interview started!!

Whats your Name?
David (online KillerWorm)

How old are you?
19

Where do you live?
USA - California

What made you decide to start mapping?
I always liked to create things, so when I got a copy of Duke Nukem 3D and saw that it had a “world” editor I decided to try my hand at it. To give myself some “extended play” lol

I always liked making maps for Half-Life games so when I bought CS:S I started mapping for it so my clan’s server could get some new maps!

When did you start mapping?
I started mapping about 5-6 years ago. (for CS:S about 2 - almost 3 years)

What engine did you start with?
Build Engine

What do you like/dislike about mapping?
I like seeing the map come along and my idea grow. I like making a fictional place come real in a map that people can play in. I also like to hear everyone have a great time when they play the map. The only thing I dislike (about CS:S mapping) is that the compile takes so long and I have to wait sometimes up to a couple hours or so to preview my work. haha

What maps / environments have you made so far?
cs_meridian (a Yacht) (newest),
cs_topsoil (a underground old mining facility),
aim_amwoods (a pretty river map in the northern California forest),
de_coldfire (a zombie infested city) ,
bethlehem (… just as it sounds lol),
de_rotterdam_css (a fictional place in Rotterdam),
cs_maimi_css (a bank)

What are you most well known for?
Well, as far as mapping goes, I am known for having unique environments and also having unique features in my maps. (such as the fade-to-black in de_coldfire. Or the landslide in cs_topsoil). Also a lot of secret (or really good) hiding places.

Which was your favorite to work on?
de_coldfire. Even though it took me a year or so to make it (due to tons of errors).. I think this was my most fun map to make due to the theme. A zombie infested city. Its a huge download but is really fun!

Where do you get inspiration from to map?
Everything.. from a cool looking building that makes me think it would make a good map, to movies, to other people’s maps.

How many times a week would you say you open an editor?
I open it very often. But when I am in-between work.. not too much.

Do you provide your own custom content?
Yes, a lot of it.

What modeling program do you use?
I don’t know how to model =/ Wish I did.

What do you use to make your textures?
Paint Shop Pro / Photoshop

Do you find custom content very helpful when mapping? Especially if you make
it yourself?
Ohh yeah. I can find a texture or picture of something specific that I want and be able to use it.. instead of being stuck with default textures.

Do you want to be in the game industry?
I have always wanted to be. But I want to keep it as something I can do for fun and keep it fun and not have it just be “Work”

If you could choose a game company to work for which would it be?
Hmm… that is tough. One that pays well? Haha… but no, really I am not sure. I would have to look into it.

Who’s your favorite mapper?
Hmm… I don’t really have a favorite mapper. To tell ya the truth I know most of the people by maps not names. But I guess the Dimension Studios team and Alex Royce have really good maps.

Whats your favorite game?
Hmm… CS:S (but tied close with any game that is extremely fast-paced like Unreal 2004).

Where do you see yourself in 5 or so odd years?
Still making maps! But whether for free or getting paid for it… lol

Thanks for the enlightening there Killah! It’s always great to learn about mappers and how they think and stuff! Once again thanks for filling out the interview and ill see you next map!

-vivi

So this week I was browsing forums and I came across this new rats map called De_Sunstroked. The map looks really nice and well thought out. I thought Id give a lil ring to catfood and see if he would be so kind to answer some questions so we could get into his head a bit more on what he likes about mapping and how he maps and stuff. Here is the interview *anticipation*

Whats your Name?
Rick, online known as catfood

How old are you?
20 years young

Thanks again for the interview and keep making those maps!

Where do you live?
the Netherlands

What made you decide to start mapping?
i wanted to do more with the models that i made then just… building them and putting e’m away
so i thought it would be a cool thing to make models for maps, something like that hehe

When did you start mapping?
about 3 years ago

What engine did you start with?
i was building deathcookin in the 1.6 engine and during the building progress hl2 came out,so i converted it to the source engine,

What do you like/dislike about mapping?
i like the progress thing.. you start with an idea and you see it grow step by step
and when it’s done it’s fun to see other people wandering around in the map
what i dislike?.. i guess when something doesnt turn out the way i wanted

What maps / environments have you made so far?
well my real first map is deathcookin before that it was just playing around a bit after that crimson, that was a speedmap made it within a month or so forsome kind of contest… ended first but never got my reward..thanks to pcgamer… then boskoop a little bit of an overkill if you ask me hehe but it was a good learning progress
and now ive just released de_sunstroked new rats map and soon cs_bourbon will be released got a little problems with the little bugger hehe

What are you most well known for?
my most popular map is deathcookin,

Which was your favorite to work on?
boskoop was fun to build taking pictures etc, and i walk around in the city everyday and now i can wreck the place hehe

Where do you get inspiration from to map?
about everywere, movies, music surroundings etc

How many times a week would you say you open an editor?
a lot, when im working on a new map but ill take my breaks hehe

Do you provide your own custom content?
all of it

What modeling program do you use?
3dstudio max

What do you use to make your textures?
photoshop

Do you find custom content very helpful when mapping? Especially if you make it yourself?
yes there no limits, and it gives your map a special touch

Do you want to be in the game industry?
yes, i almost got a intern in Triumph studios

If you could choose a game company to work for which would it be?
i guess Thriump Studios, because there not to big “yet”, and there growing fast

Who’s your favorite mapper?
i dont know many mappers, but i saw heyo’s work and i must say, very very nice,

Whats your favorite game?
at the moment, doom3

Where do you see yourself in 5 or so odd years?
the gutter or behind the computer in a gamestudio

Well that’s pretty cool! Thanks for taking the time to interview with me and all that. Your map is really awesome and it just goes to show what you can do when you can make your own custom content. I’ve been trying to push people towards this for some time and it just makes me smile to see other mappers making their own stuff. ^_^

SOOO I got a chance to have an interview with Heyo! A very talented individual that made De_stratocorp. This map has very nice visuals and seems pretty well balanced. If your a mapper you got to check out this map! Take a look at how he did rooms and stuff its pretty cool :). Anyways I figured id ask him to an interview so we could celebrate him releasing his map and all ^_^! Lets get it started!

What’s your Name?
Sean Cutino, known on the internet has Heyo

How old are you?
16

Where do you live?
New Jersey, USA

What made you decide to start mapping?
Well, after I bought Half-Life 2, I was blown away with all the things in that game and the whole immersive environment.
I decided to download the SDK to make simple fun little single player levels for my friends. After that, I started playing
HL2:DM and CS:S a lot which made me want to design levels for those.

When did you start mapping?
February 2005, about 2 and a half years ago.

What engine did you start with?
I started straight into the Source engine. Before starting that I had done a bit of modeling work, that didn’t really
give me too much experience though. So at the start I was a complete noob fiddling around with Hammer figuring out what
tools did what and all that. I slowly got the hang of it over time.

What do you like/dislike about mapping?
Some things I dislike are that there’s not much you get in return for working so hard on one map, people usually aren’t
open to playing custom maps unless they’re really simple ones. It’s also very time consuming and you have to work for so
long to finally finish and have it look good. What I love about it and basically why I do it is because you have the tools
to create your own little world that you can run around in.

What maps / environments have you made so far?
Well so far I haven’t really made that much. Most of the maps I made before were all unplanned and I just did for fun.
I made the map “gm_towerofterror” which was a recreation of “The Tower of terror” ride at Disney-MGM Studios, it was a good
experience for learning the input/output system of Source engine. My newest map, de_stratocorp, which took 6 months to make
is set in an abandoned laboratory, through making that I learned a ton of new things. I never finished a lot of my old maps
though, so a while ago I decided to only make maps after a lot of planning.

What are you most well known for?
I’m probably most known for my recreation of “The Tower of Terror” map. A video of it someone made got #1 on digg, it got on kotaku,
and there even was a small thing about it in PC Zone magazine. Not many people really know that I was the one who made that tower of
terror map though. I’m hoping that I get well known for de_stratocorp and maps that I make in the future.

Which was your favorite to work on?
My favorite map to work on was probably my newest one, de_stratocorp. It was a lot of fun to work on because my creativity wasn’t
limited in any way. Because of the strange laboratory setting I could design all the textures and think of architecture ideas myself.

Where do you get inspiration from to map?
I definitely get a lot of inspiration from going to Disney World. A lot of my ideas come from the awesome themed places they have there,
you can definitely see this in my map of “Tower of Terror”, heh. I also get inspiration from movies or by just listening to music.

How many times a week would you say you open an editor?
If I am working on a project that week, then I pretty much work on it everyday for a few hours. In between mapping projects I take a break
for a few days. After finishing a map, instead of going straight to hammer and starting on my next project, I plan it all out on paper and
write down all my ideas.

Do you provide your own custom content?
Yes, I make a lot of custom content for my maps. I model, texture and skin.

What modeling program do you use?
I use the program, Wings 3d. It’s a free small program you download of the net. I’m thinking about trying to learn to use 3ds max because I hear it’s a lot easier to do things like UV mapping once you get the hang of it. Wings 3d is nice and easy to learn though so I recommend that to people new to modeling.

What do you use to make your textures?
I just use photoshop to make them. Sometimes I go out with a digital camera and get them that way, then just edit them with PS. I also just make them from scratch when I need to.

Do you find custom content very helpful when mapping? Especially if you make it yourself?
Yes, I can make the map look more like what I want it to if it has custom content made by me. I can have my own look and theme to it instead of using Valve’s and looking like all the rest of the maps. It’s not like Valve has made textures for every environment possible, custom content is needed to make new different environments and look like the real thing.

Do you want to be in the game industry?
Yes, that is my goal for the future. Since I was a little kid I have always wanted to create games, it would be great to be working for a
real company making them.

If you could choose a game company to work for which would it be?
Well of course my ultimate dream would be to work at Valve software. I love the Half-Life series with its great storyline and gameplay.
It would be so awesome to actually be able to make Half-Life.

Who’s your favorite mapper?
I’d have to say that guy “Raminator” the leader of black mesa’s level-design is probably my favorite. I haven’t really played any of his
stuff but it just looks so awesome and well designed.

Whats your favorite game?
There’s many games I really like, I can’t really choose a definitive favorite. I loved Rare’s n64 games like Banjo-Kazooie and Diddy Kong Racing.
I also love all the old big Nintendo games like Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Star Fox 64, and Mario Kart 64. There’s also of course Half-Life 2 and
Counter-Strike.

Where do you see yourself in 5 or so odd years?
Hopefully in college or in a game development company as a level-designer. I still want to be making small solo maps for games though,
it’s always fun to develop a level all on your own.

SWEET thanks for taking the time to answer some random questions of mine! I hope it helps people out to see what their fellow mappers are thinking and how they map. If you guys liked this interview or would like to leave comments for Heyo just post them here ^^! Who will I interview next week!?! its a secret MUHAHAHAHA

- Generalvivi

Soooo, I’m going to kick my first interview with a mapper buddy o mind Rocket Robinhood. Since this is the first interview I tried my best to ask questions about mapping and all that junk so peeps could get a better idea of where he came from and stuff he likes about mapping. Perhaps if there is a good response on this interview and people enjoyed learning things about their fellow mappers I will continue interviews for every Friday. So lets get started!

Whats your Name?
Spencer “Rocket Robinhood” Winson

How old are you?
17!

Where do you live?
I live in Toronto Canada with my mother half the time, and in a small farming community called Acton,
with my dad the other half

What made you decide to start mapping?
When I was first introduced to Counter Strike at an internet cafe the lan game was always set to custom maps,
as I grew older, got a new pc and bought counter strike at home I played custom maps all the time. Eventually
I decided hey all these maps are good but I could make better, and eventually I learned hammer and started mapping
away. Plus I had always had a knack for making custom game content, like I did with the sims.

When did you start mapping?
Sometime during the fall of 2004, about 3 years ago

What engine did you start with?
Technically speaking, my first venture into modding wasn’t mapping, I started working in the original sims engine making custom furniture which was all done with 2d sprites, that was a few years before I went into mapping for a free game called blockland, which was built on the taurs engine. I never really got the hang of it making jagged mountains to race buggies through.Then finally in 2004 I made the move to source where I started doing some real mapping, but that was after trying to learn modeling using milkshape.

What do you like/dislike about mapping?
I like that it acts as a creative outlet, and that it challenges me, because I always want to make the best and most
real looking environment. I also have to appreciate all the great people I’ve met and worked with through mapping
communities. I dislike the fact that it takes so long, and how often many of the ugliest maps are the most popular in the gaming
communities

What maps / environments have you made so far?
I’ve worked on everything from a -z, My earliest work was surf mapping, I guess we could call that “U” for ugly, I later
worked in the futuristic world of dystopia, i’ve made caves and castles, floating castles, i’ve attempted to recreate
Mario 64’s castle as well as trying to recreate LotR’s Bagend. Most recently I’ve been working on post apocalyptic armories
and subway systems.

What are you most well known for?
I’m not known for much, my floating castle one second in addondbs mapping contest, and I’m ranked number 1 in interlopers map battles

Which was your favorite to work on?
my favorite to work on was likely the flying castle, I had always wanted to make a map set in that theme, where the world is a set of floating rocks. One of my favorite shows, skyland, is set in similar circumstances, but instead of castles its a blown apart earth.

Where do you get inspiration from to map?
Many sources, as you may have picked up lots of it comes from movies or tv, sometimes I will draw from other video games and even less common from other peoples maps, but usually tv and movies.

How many times a week would you say you open an editor?
Depends on the week, although school and family permitting I would usually crack it open every night, but because school and family are factors I would probably say 3 times during the week and both days of the weekend, I map a lot more than I actually game.

Who’s your favorite mapper?
Back in the day I always liked Nipper’s maps

Whats your favorite game?
I could answer counter strike but that would only be a half truth, really my taste changes a lot, for a long time
it was Crash Team Racing on the Playstation, then the Spyro series, then roller coaster tycoon, then the sims, then
counter strike, then roller coaster tycoon again, and then gunz , and lately I have been playing a lot of Puzzle Pirates
Oh, one of my favorite games of all time is Hot Wheels Turbo Racing on the playstation

Sweet! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions Rocket! I hope everyone reading got a better sense about what kind of mapper you are ^_^! In conclusion I would like to thank you again and ask everyone reading to please leave a comment and let me know if you liked this interview or not. Also leave any types of feedback regarding the interview such as different types of questions to ask and things like that.

Vivi signing off! thanks for reading!! PION!