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 Features
Multiplayer Level Design In-Depth, Part 2: The Rules of Map Design
 Where Am I?
By looking at the environment, the player should be able to determine his current position and locate it on the map. In Pandora Tomorrow, the Krauser Labs map contains three rooms that shelter the mission objectives. Each of these areas is characterized by a different colour. It is therefore easy for the player to determine his current position and to guess where the passage leads him, thanks to the color light that filters through the entries to the areas in question.
In an exterior map, it is still simple to enable the player to determine where he is, by adding setting elements that are visible from a distance, as is the case in this multiplayer map of Halo 2.
The tower is visible from all points in this Halo 2 map and makes it easy for the players to get their bearing.
A second technique consists in building asymmetrical maps or areas. Long Run, a map designed by one of the level designers of my team with the free level editor of Pandora Tomorrow, is built on an inclined plane, like a gigantic staircase. Simply by noticing his position in relation to the other levels of the map, the player can immediately locate himself.
Long Run, a complex yet easily navigable map thanks to its asymmetrical design.
A third technique consists in proving the map with a simple block plan, as shown below.
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