Development Log: DOOM Monthathon #10 - Complete

So I've finished balancing for difficulty, fixed a couple last-minute texture issues (I think there's more, but things will always slip through), zipped up the level and uploaded it.

You can download the level HERE.  You need a .7z extractor, and a copy of DOOM to play it, of course.

For those who cannot play it, here is a video showing the easiest difficulty setting, just so you can get a gist of the level without needing to watch me struggle on it:

On harder difficulties, there are demons wandering through the acid, Barons of Hell at the end instead of imps, and a Cacodemon in the marble hallway and at the end just before you exit.  Beyond that, just more enemies and less pickups.

QUICK POSTMORTEM

What Went Right: Size and Scope

I designed my level quickly and managed to make something that could be completed in the timeframe.  Usually, level ideas are vast in scope and need to be whittled down, but I'm learning to scale down when called for.

Going in, I thought that I would almost certainly design a level far too large, but as I worked I kept the scope down by simplifying and cutting out things that were becoming too big.  This had the added bonus of preventing monotony and repetitive gameplay.

What Went Wrong: Pace of Work

The design and experimentation phase went quickly so I could spend lots of time on building, and after building I had plenty of time for texturing.  However, texturing is always a slow process for me because I just find it to be one of the more boring tasks of building a level.  (In other editors, replacing brushes with models is the equivalent.)

Because of this, work slows down at this point.  What I need to do is work faster at that so I can move on to more fun parts that come later, like enemy and powerup placement, and difficulty testing.

Lesson Learned: Work Hard on Even the Smallest Projects

Usually, my game ideas are massive, and would require the resources of a big studio.  I scaled down my ambitions to make this one level, which essentially amounts to an exercise in level development for me and a way to keep my level muscles in shape.

However, though the project was small and scoped properly for just a month, that doesn't mean I can be leisurely about it.  Because I didn't budget my time appropriately, this project is one post longer than it should be.  Even though I lost a lot of progress when the editor crashed, that's no excuse, and I should have allowed time for such problems to occur, and worked harder before and after the crash.