Date: December 2017-April 2018
Roles: Level Designer, Environment Artist
Tools: Hammer World Editor, Source Engine
Guava Gulf is a 3-stage Payload Race map for Team Fortress 2. Started in late 2017, beta 1 was released in April 2018. I have continued to work on it on and off since, with a new version being released in February 2019.
This map was designed for the #14th major mapping contest on TF2maps.net, the Connect 5 Contest. All maps entering the contest were required to fulfill at least five requirements in a line from a 6x6 tile board. The requirements I chose included: having the main objective of the map pass through (or be located within) a cave, the layout being symmetrical, and the themes "Night," "Jungle," and "Seaside."
Of the 25 maps submitted to the contest, Guava Gulf placed 3rd after both public voting and evaluation from judges. For my work on the map, I was awarded a Map Maker's Medallion, an in-game item which "is rewarded to members of the community who have contributed greatly to the advancement of custom maps in TF2."
An early version of Stage 1
Contest version of Stage 1
An early version of the final area
Contest version of the final area
An early version of Stage 3
Anther early version of Stage 3
Block-out of the contest version of Stage 3
Contest version of Stage 3
I sought to create a unique gameplay experience by working these constraints directly into the layout itself. The development of this map involved over 40 drawings and sketches of 14 different potential stage designs. Seven of those designs had work done in hammer, and five of which were completed and tested. The final map contains three of these stages.
Stage one starts by the ocean, while stage two is farther inland and set in the ruins of an ancient civilization. The final stage shifts the map into a unique and custom-made gamemode during the first section. Both carts merge onto the same track, and teams must engage in a tug-of-war to gain the advantage and have a shot at winning the map. Around a month of development was devoted to perfecting this cart-merging mechanic using the I/O system available in hammer.
