Don't let any novice designers (or Quake level designers) fool you -- making Wolfenstein levels is no small feat. Good Wolfenstein levels, that is. Anyone can design garbage, and they have. I've seen more of it than I can stand. 85% of the Wolfenstein add-ons I've played are lacking something, usually it's a sense of design and realism -- have you ever loaded up a Wolf3D map set and discovered that almost every level was one huge 64x64 room with 149 SS in it? Or 149 chainguns? Or maybe nothing at all? That's the worst case scenario of course, but that's not all that makes a level look like garbage. In an endeavor to help raise the bar in Wolfenstein level design, several years ago I wrote a large, involved document on Wolfenstein level design. Unfortunately I never publicly released it. Realizing my mistake, I have provided it on this website for the level designers out there, in the hopes that more cool add-ons like Schabbs 2000 and MPIXSOD might be created.

   If you check out my design tips file, you may come to realize that I prefer the look and feel of the original 60 levels of Wolfenstein. I don't care too much for weird stuff, like invisible guards, guys walking through walls, a huge wall of all Hitler portraits or other decorative texture, anything weird that would keep the player from getting 100% ratios in all categories, etc. I experimented with such effects in my first level set, and now when I go back to play them, they are so cheesy. I now prefer a more realistic and practical approach to level design. I like to make the player feel like they are somewhere. To recognize rooms as having a function or purpose. And to be able to relate the atmosphere and playability to that of the original game. For those who think like me (or don't know what to think), you should find my design tips informative, and they may give you something new to consider.

   I've also provided the level design tips file shipped with the Mapedit/SODEdit editors, written by Warren Buss. I read it through before I ever designed any levels, and it was the knowledge base I started out with myself. If nothing else, please check this file out. It provides some essential tips if you want to cross the line between assembling a cornucopia of garbage, and creating some good, fun levels for Wolfenstein 3D!

Level Design Tips

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