Level Designers Discuss Doom (2016) and SnapMap

Before the start of E3 2015 Bethesda announced Doom. The new game is to be released next year, together with the incredible level editor SnapMap. This tool allows to build and customize various arenas for multiplayer and even mess a bit with game logic to create original game-modes. 80.lv talked with some level designers and environmental designers and tried to figure out how Doom and SnapMap will influence the world of community made maps.

New Doom looks very bold and contrasty. It does hold up with the competition quite well I’d say The lighting and materials seem to have improved with the introduction of PBR, which makes sense. Looks good and modern to me. Of course it’s difficult to day since we don’t have a live demo still. SnapMap is also a good addition, especially if they offer a more fully fledged editor alongside it for seasoned level designers to use. I would definitely say it’ll inspire more people to create custom content, which is always a great thing!

Hans Palm, 3D Artist at Edge Case Games and Born Ready Games

Doom © id Software, 2015

Doom looks to be a GOTY contender to me. I really welcome the more fast paced gameplay of shooters from years ago making a return. In regards to the visual design I think they’ve done a fantastic job keeping things gritty while not being hesitant of injecting mood through its color palette. All of the environments feel rich and full of atmosphere thanks to the use of plenty of ambient effects. It’s not just lava; it’s lava, heat distortion, amber floating around, smoke, and the lighting to go along with it. Then you’ve got pieces and objects moving around, sci-fi architectural designs that make structural sense, and weapons that feel just right. It’s all looking very polished already. I think this is the Doom everyone has been waiting for!

Doom Evolution © theverge.com, 2015

The new tech looks to bring a powerful punch and it looks like it’s bringing in everything you’d expect out of a game this generation. It’s definitely a leap from their previous games in terms of tech.

Snapmap should be a really cool draw for a lot of people and a smart move by ID (Bethesda). My interest in environment art actually started off making simple custom maps for games such as Starcraft, which really brought a lot of ideas for me to create thanks to its ease of use. So I’m always happy when companies provide a platform for people to get creative and share that with the community, which is how a lot of fresh ideas start up.

Ignacio J Guajardo, Environmental Artist at BioWare

Doom © id Software, 2015

I saw the Doom conference and I was immediately in love! I love a good running and gunning game by that I mean one that makes me feel as cool as a guy with sunglasses and a cigarette! As for the design I was almost instantly immersed I’m not a fan of sci-fi but I love good artistic design. The environments and creatures in the game gave me a sense of wonder, I wanted to know what was going to happen next, what was going to pop up next, and how will I kill my next enemy. I can’t wait to get my hands on the game it has a great look and it has awesome pacing. I would compare Doom to Destiny as far as competitors go both flashy, both thrive off of flashy effects but Destiny is way more PG-13 and Doom is definitely not the game you let your kids play, it’s dad’s game for after a long hard day at work and you just got to let out some of that frustration and you want to look cool doing it!

Doom has a seemingly vast number of finishers and these finishers look like they may be based on where you attack your target if that’s the case like in Dying Light, I’m going to pour hours of my time to see how I can kill everything and how I can look the coolest doing it. Doom also appears to have a lot of environment pieces that can be used as weapons to improve the players play through, the tech appears to be just what it needs to be.

Snapmap much like Fallout 4’s building tools remind me immediately of RPG Maker, Infamous 2, and Far Cry 3 and their building systems. I love it, I play video games with my friends all gathered together in a room and we love building maps that are just terrible and hilarious. I believe that the power of tools like Snapmap is that it’s working towards replay value allowing players to finish campaign and to have their fun on multiplayer and they decide “I want to make my own fun!” and then they do.

The idea that Snapmap game elements will encourage players to want to be in the game industry is interesting because it’s a small but large industry, but a lot of people don’t even know that getting into game design is a thing. I think elements like Snapmap really serve an awakening it unlocks the inner love for design and prepares some players who already have an unknown pre-existing desire to design and create, so in short yes.

Morrissey Alexander, Environment Artist at Underdog Interactive

Doom © id Software, 2015

I really enjoyed what I´ve seen so far, because even if you are watching top notch visuals, you can still smell the DOOM franchise, and this is something difficult to achieve because the technology leap from the original game to nowadays is quite important. I see differences with RAGE and I think ID Tech 6 has improved a lot since RAGE came out in 2011 (ID tech 5). SnapMap is an amazing feature as well that many developers should learn from! This could bring a new wave of future level designers.

Miki C Butler, Lead Environment Artist at SKARA – The Blade Remains