Michael Crawford
Level Design
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Level Construction and Balance When Designing for Class-Based
Shooters
When building a multiplayer map,
designers have to plan encounters for
This map took roughly four months to
the game offers a variety of classes that
iteration. The biggest challenge was to
players using different playstyles. When
have different player stats, this can add
another layer of difficulty. This thesis set
out to deconstruct a multiplayer map in
order to determine what techniques to use
to ensure no one class has an advantage
or disadvantage throughout the map.
I wanted to do this thesis to examine
the different techniques used to balance
12
all of the classes in Team Fortress 2.
LEVEL DESIGN
complete, from initial designs to the final
incorporate all of the testers’ feedback
quickly so I could begin the next round of
testing as soon as possible. This thesis
helped to reinforce some techniques
such as drawing the players’ attention
and differentiating pathways to separate
locations.