[Portal 2] Building Bridges

[William]

Hello mapcore!

I've gone and made a Portal 2 level for my portfolio. It took me 4 weeks and I would now like your feedback on how I can make it as good as possible!

My concept was to have compact areas where you reuse mechanics.
I also tried having the goal of each puzzle be close, but just out of reach until you figure the puzzle out.
I went with the underground theme since it felt a little underused and is probably my favorite of them all.

Here's the steam workshop page!

 

Update 02/04/17
Changes:
- The level should now be slightly more lit.
- Indicator lights in the first puzzle are now more accurately showing what devices are active.
- The second puzzle-room has had a texture change to better fit the theme.
- A lot of decals and overlays added.

Edited April 2, 2017 by William

[sevin]

Just out of curiosity, what environment themes would you distinguish in Portal? I usually just think "old" or "new" Aperture, as those are the two settings the game takes place in. Is "underground" old Aperture?

[William]

1 hour ago, sevin said:

Just out of curiosity, what environment themes would you distinguish in Portal? I usually just think "old" or "new" Aperture, as those are the two settings the game takes place in. Is "underground" old Aperture?

Hello! I went by the themes mentioned in valves developer community.

[Radu]

Well, now that I've played bowling in Portal 2, I should consider what to do with my life. That was a cool gimmick, though I'm not sure how many people will figure it out. The old aperture is my favorite theme from the game because it's so colourful and creatively put together from spare parts. My only critique is that your level is too dark and the textures in the second room are unfitting. I recommend you take a look at the official levels and take inspiration from that. Btw, I'm not sure they had the hard light bridge back then.

Spoiler

 

[William]

@Radu Thank you for looking at my map!
I was worried people would not figure out the bowling part. So i did a lot of testing and found out that most people actually figure it out in a reasonable amount of time. And it also seemed to be as tricky for "veterans" as it was for new players.
I've seen people use several different techniques to get the ball into the slot which was a lot of fun.

I can see why you think the level is too dark. I will try to fix this as soon as I have the time, thanks!

I was thinking of redoing the second room all until the end. Some people liked it though, but you are right in that it does not fit the theme correctly. I will make another version and see if i can get it right!

And yes you are right, they did not have light bridges back then. I decided what theme I wanted after  made the puzzle. I made decision to keep the light bridges even if they felt out of place. Next time I will plan ahead!