Navigation:

Navigation is the first interaction between the environment and the actions of a player. The basic layout of a map is fundamental to its value, so attaining the right balance is vital. No mechanics of the game will compensate if you get it wrong.

Connectivity:

Connectivity is about creating the right balance between the two extremes of open space and enclosed space. There is no "Balance Point", it is more a case of context, i.e. how open you want an area to be, and how this area will then operate with its surroundings. For the most interesting gameplay, connectivity should involve all three axes.

An empty, round room can be considered hyper-connected, because there is no obstruction between any two points. Such homogenised locations are typical of first attempts at mapping. Wide open areas, repetitive and confusing mazes, and blank rooms are all novice hall-marks, and they're no fun at all.

One way routes should be avoided under most circumstances, but there are exceptions. What makes them acceptable or unnaceptable to most players is the difference between a natural and an arbitrary reason. If a door closes behind you and won't open again from the side you're on, that may seem arbitrary. If that door allows you to exit a flag base but not enter, it then has a logical reason for working that way. Gravity is also a good rationale for one way paths, because it is a part of the whole environment; if players drop down, they know in advance that they might not be able to get back the way they came.

Cover and concealment:

Cover stops weapon fire, and most often obstructs vision too. Concealment just obstructs vision; examples of concealment are thick foliage, thin wood, and vehicle bodywork. Cover must be placed carefully. Repeatedly getting snagged on bits of geometry while running around will annoy players.

Many mappers use crates and barrels to provide cover. Almost invariably there is something other than such clichés that can be used, such as architectural projections, door frames, vehicles, rocks, low walls, ruins, trees, furniture, and machinery. Crates and barrels may be appropriate to your chosen setting, but often there are other possibilties.

Obstructions:

A well placed obstruction adds tactical possibilities. Obstructions can split paths, provide cover and concealment, punctuate larger areas, and enhance aesthetics. It's easy to get them wrong though; a badly placed one is simply in the way.

Symmetry:

This is only applicable in team game-types that feature bases. It is boring and confusing in game-types such as deathmatch. Many works of art and design are asymmetrical, yet balanced.

Clichés:

Popular clichés in level design include crates, barrels, lava, slime, castles, space platforms, bones, and industrial areas. Any of these clichés could theoretically be fine, they're just overdone. People allow them to dominate when they should simply be accents.

Hazards:

There's nothing wrong with lava and slime, just their overuse. Here is a list of possible hazards, many of which are seldom used by level designers:

• Fast flow, undertow.
• Poisonous algae.
• Chemical pollution.
• Heat.
• Acid.
• Slime.
• Acidic vapor.
• Tar.
• Oil.
• Quicksand.
• Fire.
• Lava.
• Molten Metal.
• Radiation.
• Boiling fluid.
• Falling.
• Gravity wells / vortices / forcefields.
• Moving objects (e.g. rockfalls, machinery).
• Pressure.
• High winds.
• Wind-borne objects (e.g. hurricane carrying stones and bits of wood).
• Creatures.

Hazards must be placed with foresight. Having to run away from someone while also making precarious jumps over slime from ledge to ledge can be no fun if the route is a main flow of the level. If it just leads to a big powerup though, then a mixture of a hazard and exposure is probably a good idea, because if a player gets into trouble it will be their own greed and lack of caution that's to blame.

Path speed:

The most basic path is a straight vector between two points. Such paths can be sped up or slowed down. For instance, a terraced area may be very easy to get down, but getting back up to the top may entail a much longer route, switching back from end to end. Steps or ramps could make that climb faster. Blocks, walls, twists, bridges, lifts, and changes in elevation could slow a player in getting from point A to point B, and the most important question to consider in employing any of these devices is "will this actually improve the map?"

Visibility and Audibility:

Lowering visibility creates tension, because it brings the unknown closer. Sensation can become more intense under those conditions, and concentration elevated. Of course, like any other aspect of design this involves balance.

Visibility can be closed down by physical objects, e.g. doors, walls, ramps, steps, etc, but it can also be closed down by less physical environmental factors, such as fog and darkness. When spread across a whole map, such things will increase the overall tension, whereas small patches will create smaller situations and areas of tension.

The less sound there is, the more auditory sensation is opened up. Silence, or relative silence, can make camping spots and hiding places feel much safer than they actually are (especially if visual range is up), partly by making it sound like less is going on, providing a greater degree of conceptual isolation from the rest of the game, and partly by leaving greater sensory "bandwidth" for detection and interpretation of signals. Conversely, loud ambient sound can be used to make nearby players more vulnerable.

No element or idea in level design leads to automatic fun or value when added; that's why it's vital to think beyond any syntax. Gameplay emerges from a design approach in which all aspects are considered according to context.

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