Creativity Block

[robin13]

I need some help,im mapping for unreal a long time but now (for like 2 months already) i have this Giant Concrete block in my mind.
i have totaly no inspiration to make maps and its pretty bothering me.
i really want to go back to mapping but this block in my head,it prevents me from making actualy maps.
so is there anything i can do to get some good inspiriration.

(seriously,i tried vacation,reading a book,watching movies.) But it doesnt work

[Creavion]

Watch Video/PC Game Walkthroughs.
Google pictures of industrial facilities or whatever you want to build.
Install UT2004 or / and Unreal 2 and check stock maps in ed for architecture ideas.
Download Americas Army if you want to build something more realistic, seriuosly, I would never play that game, but for several "who could something like this done" its pretty good and worth the installation. But not for playing^^

[TheDane]

some of these maybe?

http://jeannie-ology.com/wp-content/upl ... _grave.jpg

http://reyadel.files.wordpress.com/2009 ... irport.jpg

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/imag ... 80c242.jpg

http://portfolio.neotenicdesign.net/efs ... eum_lg.jpg

http://www.visit-vaticancity.com/img/st ... silica.jpg

http://stargateunreal.com/images/Galeri ... lantis.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com ... agnell.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... Tent02.jpg

http://www.supernaturalevents.co.uk/img ... trance.gif

[Feralidragon]

Personally, either you believe it or not, I am constantly having those "creativity blocks", and my way to get around it so I keep doing stuff and doing it the best I can as I create it, is:
- Listen to some Epic music: not the ones where the choir basically screams during the whole thing, mostly instrumental only ones: it motivates your brain to "imagine" places and happennings, and all the stuff that comes in them, as it amplifies your "creativity sense", and therefore to "create stuff" in your own mind wish you can then do;
- See some arts on DA (DeviantArt), there is really good stuff (mostly scenery);
- Make an image search on google about what you want to do, all the set of images provided will give you ideas.
- Start a sketch on paper: it might happen that you don't know what to draw, but I simply started a little fuzzy sketch about some weapons, and when they were starting to have some form I kept editing them until I got something which I considered pleasant enough to see and use (even so all of them got modified a bit when actually doing them lol).

This is what works for me, and in my current project it's contantly happenning (I just sketched the new sniper yesterday, and a day before I had no idea on actually I would do it, only the "form" I wanted it to become, and the same thing happenned with all the other stuff from my project).
I had to do about 20 versions of the same effect once since I didn't like or "accept" any of them, although they would be all "acceptable"...

And what I noticed that: what's hard is really to start it, then it's just as hard to finish it and accept it as it is currently, since you will want to keep adding details and be sure everything is "perfect" (which is impossible anyway), but you have to eventually stop since you just "can't" do them, or else lol (that's why I ended up defining a date to finish it all, otherwise it would become vaporware).

Or at least what happens with me, I don't know if this applies to anyone else though...

[Kaal979]

I know one pretty unreal similar fiction scenario.

[robin13]

well,Dane,those pictures are indeed helpfull. it actualy gave me a new idea.

Ferali
1: even a 1 year old baby draws better then me .
2: Music,well thats actualy a good idea. (i listened some good music and it gives ideas totaly forgot about music.)
3: yea,i never accept what i build,i always want to improve something. (wich ends up i totaly wipe the map and start a new one from scrath,and that goes on and on and on.)

Creavion
1: i got UT2004,but when i see details the EPIC mappers putted in some maps,i realize my mapping sucks compared to that.
2: Is Americas Army a free game? (because i know we arent allowed to discusses pirated games.) and i certainly gone buy it only to make some stuff in it,and not actualy play it.

Kaal
you pretty lost me with that picture,what is so Unreal about it (im talking about the game Unreal,not Real/Unreal)

[Creavion]

1: What do you expect? Those are professional game designers, they got paid for their work. Thats normal. I also look up to several maps of other designers and just think.. damn, pretty good.

2: If I say "download" it... you can assume it is free.. YES IT IS. Honestly, do you think I would tell you to pirate software??? O_o
*at least not public... j/k*

(BTW: There are 3 games, I mean the Uengine 2 version).

[robin13]

-.- ya ya i know i know okey,they get paid. but there are loads of mappers who arent getting paid (yet) and sometimes they deliver better work then a company making a game. (Team Red Nemesis as an example,they deliver impressively good work.) or you creavion,your maps from the mappack are also hellalot good. (okey most of them.)

and no,i do not think you would tell me to pirate software.
ill try the Uengine 2 version.

[Creavion]

I meant it on this way, they really learned it (ok some of them), we watch other work and have to check it by ourself to find out what the good things are. At least they are far longer in this "business". Jesus christ, however I should describe that... also you have to consider, in todays games the mapper do not make a map anymore by them self. There are the guys for the layout, texture artists, 3D Modeller and then somebody else wo put all the available resources together and then somebody else for the quality check (if static meshes e.g do not cause problems for the gameflow. Somelike like that, I guess.

Yearh yearh, RD... I remember after releasing of the mappack I was asked for joining (because of Kamah). But in that time I had some.. trouble, dont remember anymore what it was. I said there I could try it, but I would have some RL issues, so it could take some time, but no no.. I should wait until everything would be fine again.. and somehow nothing happened anymore, was very weird. But I think it was the best. Big!mappacks and specially mods today: Most of them are futureless.

(okey most of them.).

NOW I want to know... which one^^
The most likely ones:
Sacrimossa - because of the layout and the light (version 1 at least)
Morbias 4 - because its Morbias
Ryg.. I can not even spell that mapname - also some flaws in the layout
Decay - was maybe not the best idea to imitate the orignal uc2 map layout
Compressed 3 - because its Compressed

[robin13]

I meant it on this way, they really learned it (ok some of them), we watch other work and have to check it by ourself to find out what the good things are. At least they are far longer in this "business". Jesus christ, however I should describe that... also you have to consider, in todays games the mapper do not make a map anymore by them self. There are the guys for the layout, texture artists, 3D Modeller and then somebody else wo put all the available resources together and then somebody else for the quality check (if static meshes e.g do not cause problems for the gameflow. Somelike like that, I guess.

Yearh yearh, RD... I remember after releasing of the mappack I was asked for joining (because of Kamah). But in that time I had some.. trouble, dont remember anymore what it was. I said there I could try it, but I would have some RL issues, so it could take some time, but no no.. I should wait until everything would be fine again.. and somehow nothing happened anymore, was very weird. But I think it was the best. Big!mappacks and specially mods today: Most of them are futureless.

(okey most of them.).

NOW I want to know... which one^^
The most likely ones:
Sacrimossa - because of the layout and the light (version 1 at least)
Morbias 4 - because its Morbias
Ryg.. I can not even spell that mapname - also some flaws in the layout
Decay - was maybe not the best idea to imitate the orignal uc2 map layout
Compressed 3 - because its Compressed

Sacrimossa = No,this one is awesome
Morbias 4 = Yea,i hate Morbias. (not enough weapons to chose from xD) but your version,it has nice details so no it isnt this either.
Ryigiar-III = Yea almost a copy of Dm-Rankin (ut2004) atleast it has the same textures. Yes,this map isnt one of my favorites.
Decay = wich map is this 0.o
Compressed - yep,its compressed. No,i dont like this map.
but your worst map. (okey not that worse.) Dm - Kamah,and well for 1 reason,my fps always drops on that map. (i can run every map at 200 frames a sec with S3tc,but your map just drains 180 fps,it plays like 20 fps a sec.

[Feralidragon]

-.- ya ya i know i know okey,they get paid. but there are loads of mappers who arent getting paid (yet) and sometimes they deliver better work then a company making a game. (Team Red Nemesis as an example,they deliver impressively good work.) or you creavion,your maps from the mappack are also hellalot good. (okey most of them.)

But also there's a really high difference from a professional mapper to an "enthusiast" mapper.
A professional mapper is paid to do maps within a certain "timespan", and they cannot do more than what they can specially when they're short in time and have maps to finish as their professional life.
An enthusiast (the free ones), have basically "endless" time to do it, and they do it without any work pressures and therefore they can have a bit more of care into it, since they prefer something yelling quality, than just to finish them for sell.

So anyone that does something because they like to in their spare time, it's always bound to be better than the original thing. Of course, that enthusiast has to develop some skills too, but that only takes more or less time with some dedication.
And the better turns a map, a mod or anything for that effect, it just means that more time was spent on it, something professionals can't since they have a defined date to finish.

[Creavion]

Sacrimossa = No,this one is awesome
Morbias 4 = Yea,i hate Morbias. (not enough weapons to chose from xD) but your version,it has nice details so no it isnt this either.
Ryigiar-III = Yea almost a copy of Dm-Rankin (ut2004) atleast it has the same textures. Yes,this map isnt one of my favorites.
Decay = wich map is this 0.o
Compressed - yep,its compressed. No,i dont like this map.
but your worst map. (okey not that worse.) Dm - Kamah,and well for 1 reason,my fps always drops on that map. (i can run every map at 200 frames a sec with S3tc,but your map just drains 180 fps,it plays like 20 fps a sec.

lol, THIS was unexpected. I know about the shitty fps there. But thats the only map which made me kinda "famous", the rest was 08/15 stuff. With an enhanced engine I would build for gods sake a sequel, better in many terms (starting with a better layout).

Decay is one of my "bonuspack" maps.

[Myth]

You have a creativity block because you're occupied/worried whit something else in RealLife. Take a relaxing bath/shower. Go to the park. Sit down on a bench and do nothing. Learn to focus and stop getting distracted from what you want to do.

[robin13]

You have a creativity block because you're occupied/worried whit something else in RealLife. Take a relaxing bath/shower. Go to the park. Sit down on a bench and do nothing. Learn to focus and stop getting distracted from what you want to do.

holy shit 0.o

how the hell...........are you stalking me???

the point is,i will never have rest in this place i am atm.
Park,well unless i want to die i go to the park here. (strange people...STRANGE PEOPLE!!!)

[Myth]

I'm not stalking you and forget about the park if the wrong kind of people go there in your town.

Just find a place where you can forget for a few moments your problems and worries by doing absolutely nothing. No, you don't need drugs to do this. A bath/shower can help. Artists usually don't fucking care about anything else but the art they are good at or they have a well trained brain that can separate thoughts that are counterproductive to the creative process.

You may have noticed that when you are bored, you tend to think about random interesting things. This starts like "I'd rather doing xx instead of yy. Hey, I never noticed how awesome the clouds look today and zzz"
No I'm no saying to stop your active life. When you decide that tomorrow you'll map 4 hours straight after you get home, that first hour should be what I've been describing above.

@leveldesign:
Decide what kind of map you want. Try to construct key parts of the map in your mind. Imagine how they would look like, where can you walk and jump as a player. You can put this down on a piece of paper. Anyone can draw straight lines whit a ruler and write down some words.

Looking at other levels can help. Looking at RealLife architecture can help. Looking at textures or pictures can help. Listening to music can also help. But these only CAN help and will not replace creativity.

[offtopic] so god created the heavens and the earth because he was bored... [/offtopic]