so im making a fps shooter. i have plenty of ideas for the game ( in my head )
but i come to a complete brain meltdown when designing levels. i know how i want it to feel texture and mood wise. my main problem is the layout/floor plan.
the layouts ive tried feel really cramped and very blocky and was hoping someone with some experience in level design could come up with some ideas or designs. or if you some plans you dont mind sharing.
im trying to make a hospital / asylum. some rooms for padded cells. bathrooms. general rooms, lockers rooms, recreation area etc. and a foyer/reception area. a second floor. hopefully with some big bay windows ( in the foyer ) to be able to get a good view of outside the building
i dont need assets designed or anything like that… just a layout of where to put rooms and walls and corridors… ive sat here for weeks trying to plan something out, and im just not getting good results…
I think for designing something like this realistically, you should first list and design all the pieces. Padded cells? How many? What dimensions, etc. Keep in mind that real-life dimensions seem very cramped in FPS’s on monitors, so walkable areas should be oversized a bit.
Then find a program that will let you move the pieces quickly and easily and create small templates, to scale. (Photoshop, Inkscape, Dia, whatever.) Then move them around and make a logical layout for them. Then add in the hallways and such.
Now, this method will produce semi-realistic areas, but for an FPS, what you really want is a good layout for enemies to clump in certain areas. For something like that, I’d actually suggest the opposite. Design the hallways first, with a good layout, and then put things in to give it atmosphere. It probably won’t end up realistic at all, but that’s usually secondary to fun.