The idea of creating
virtual worlds in which we can explore a place that looks
as real as our own was popularized in William Gibson's
book Neuromancer.
That was 10 years ago, long before any computer was
capable of creating a true virtual world for us to fully
experience. But since that time, advancements in
computers have given us the ability to portray worlds
which, while not totally immersive like Gibson's
'cyberspace', have come amazing close to those of the
real world. People like John Carmack have brought us the
ability to create a virtual space where we can experience
places and phenomenon that would be otherwise impossible
in the real world - instead of going to a movie and
watching the hero defeat the villain and save the girl we
can take an active role as the hero.
This analogy
between movies and level design is a good one. In much
the same was as movie director creates a movie, a level
designer creates his 'virtual world'. They both must
start with the basics: A set has to be built where the
action will take place (Building a level) , a plot must
be developed (setting the theme and background story) ,
actors and props must know their places and cues
(Monsters placed, traps laid.). Once all that is done
then the real magic can take place. The movie will be
filmed; the level will be played. Both the movie and the
level will only last a couple hours at most but the work
behind the scenes is enormous by comparison. The goal of
both these people is to provide the customer with the
most intense, most profound, and most amazing 2 hours
possible. In this analogy Worldcraft is the director's
tools. It does the job of workers who build the sets, the
people who run around with cameras, it get the special
effects ready , organizes the actors, and makes sure
everything goes smoothly - now if only we could get it to
cater.
The aim of
this Tutorial is to start people off into editing and
creating their own worlds. It will explain the tools and
their most effective use in designing a level. It will
also explain the basics of the Quake engine and some of
the quirks and rules that level designers have to live
by. I've made every attempt to be as thorough as possible
while keeping things simplistic enough for even the total
newbie. I hope that in finishing this tutorial you will
be well on your way to creating worlds of your wildest
dreams ...or nightmares.
Note: This tutorial has been made over
the course of several different versions of Worldcraft.
Not all screenshots will look exactly the same as your
screen will in all cases. Don't panic and start e-mailing
us or throwing yourselves off cliffs :)
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