What makes a particular map and or level inspiring conversely what irritates you

[poopsterspappy]

Hey all,

I'm a noob to the site so hello :D. I am an environment artist/level designer and I was just curious what are some of the things about an environment that really gets your attention ? What do you want to see more of in your environments. What are some of the things you hate about the levels you play? Even though I'm a gamer also, ultimately what I do is for you to enjoy so fire away.

[Trunks]

Speaking from a FPS perspective. I think the biggest mistake most maps have are too few routes to take to get to an objective. Say if you're playing Search and Destroy, you have to plant the bomb, but there are only 3 or 4 entrances to get to that half way point across the map. Jungle from blackops comes to mind. There are only 3 ways to get to bombs and all of them can easily be covered from a distance. When you have 5 or 6 people on a team and 3 entrances, kind of a huge disadvantage for the planting team. I think MW3 has made a huge improvement to that aspect.

The biggest thing for me is making both sides of the map equal has far as cover and mobility goes.

[Hyper_Reality]

My favorite levels in FPS games have tons of hiding areas. You can't beat the feeling after you just came out of a dark corner and knifed the guy who just walked by you in MW3. When it comes to scenery, I love levels that look completely war-torn, such as Interchange in MW3. It gives me a strong feeling of fighting in a really intense battle.