Here is a guide for map makers that are having trouble figuring out "How do I make a good map?"
Here's some things to AVOID when making maps for Portal 2.
* Don't use too many buttons or require too much running between parts of the map without shortcuts or portalable surfaces.
* Use what the game itself already teaches. Don't expect players to know everything, pretend they are dumb and only know what the game tells them through the single player game.
* Test. Your. Maps. I can't stress this enough. If you can't get it to work, chances are other people will not be able to as well.
* If your map has turrets, give the player a way to avoid them or destroy them. Nobody likes the two second "avoid the turret" game unless you specifically want to make a difficult challenge.
* Make sure every part of your map can be seen and every mechanism understood at a glance, if someone has to noclip to figure out your mechanism then it isn't a good mechanism. Give a player a visible, tangible acknowledgement that pressing a button did something. Show, don't tell.
* Go the extra mile, make sure everything needed for a test is a little more that it needs to be. Make that drop needed to make a jump one block deeper than you think it needs to be. Make sure that the player makes it to where they want to go.
* Use lighting to point the way, if something isn't clear to a playtester use lighting to point them in the right direction.
* Give a player time to complete the map. Don't put unnecessarily short timers on things, forcing players to hurry. Hurrying means missing your map's full potential.
* Give a player multiple avenues for success. One solution to the test means searching for the exact way to beat a room, every player solves a challenge differently. Allow for that and you'll have a better map.
* Your players should not be lost as soon as they enter your room. Start them off with hints of how to solve the room. Lay out all your cards, then tell them to start solving the puzzle.
* Never use a solid flip panel to hide a button or a devise, use glass so players know that there is something they need below or behind it.
I hope these tips help players make better maps because I'm getting tired of grading maps and not being able to solve a test because of obvious flaws in design. It makes a map look sloppy or too much of an asspain. This isn't just about challenge, it's about fun as well.
