Hello everyone!I am 19 years old going on 20, and I am a novice mapper. For many years, I have aspired to make maps in HL2 after going to a relatives house and using steam for the first time. My uncle showed me counter-strike: source and source sdk, and I was hooked ever since.
at that time i was around 13 or 14 years old and barely had any knowledge of level editing at the time, but i learned the basics. after i came back home i learned my shitty dell has the worst graphics ever (integrated). i was never able to even get hammer to work correctly, let alone half life 2.
But I found another game that kept my interest for mapping alive all these years, and that was the legendary DOOM. I got a lot of practice in with doom builder, and it got to the point where me and my cousin were making deathmatch maps and then fighting each other on them. I didn't ever make any campaigns or anything, but the one thing I loved about mapping was adding detail. most of my maps on doom are focusing on design more than map flow. that is still one of my weaknesses in mapping to this day; I will lose steam on a map because I spent hours on one room. but it looks awesome!
my family has never really had a lot of money, so I've been using that same shitty dell for almost a decade before my friend recently gave me a laptop. its nothing special, (an acer 4730z from '05 i think, could be newer) but it runs half life 2 and source sdk good enough to make maps in. and because of my experience with doom builder, (its eerily similar, and maybe even harder to understand!) I have been able to pick up a lot in the past few weeks.
so to get on to the point of the matter, I am mainly here to learn and participate in the community. after seeing how well people communicate here in the forums, and learning of the mapping contests that occur, I felt I had found the forum I needed to speak to people if I needed advice on mapping, or anything else related.
most of my inspiration right now is coming from Shadgrimgrvy's abstract map series, and the matrix. I figured that abstract mapping would be the best practice, as it deals with many different environments and allows more creative freedom. eventually I will move on to more detailed environments with more practice.
I am working on a few maps right now, and will be posting some WIP pics soon, for constructive criticism.
Thank you, and have a good one!