Portal 2: [Coop] Freefall Developer Commentary

Freefall is my first published Portal 2 map. Designed and mapped out over the course of a month, the project's goal was to test my Source mapping capabilities and break the "first maps are always sucky" stigmata that floods mapping communities. In this developer commentary, I will be going over a few of the processes that I used to bring Freefall from a conceptual sketch to a fully playable level.

Using Google’s SketchUp program, I made a rough outline of what I wanted. I decided to make a cooperative level so I could make the puzzles a bit more complex and reliant on a partner. This is only a concept – the map changed a lot since this stage.

Once the concept was finished, I hopped into Hammer and started to “block” out the level. The important rule for me is that I only focus on shape and functionality. If I had detailed anything, I would have wasted a lot of time if I wanted to change something about the level. Also, I started play testing the level as soon as possible (with either myself using sv_forceuser binds or a friend). That allowed me to catch puzzle elements that weren’t that great in practice or see exploits I didn’t think of.

The blocking stage in Hammer.

After blocking, it was time to start creating the aesthetics to give the Wheatley “bottomless” pit look. I punched out panels, added framework, connected electrical wiring beneath the walls, decorated the structures in the pit, textured and aligned walls and added sounds, overlays and lights.

Adding details to [Coop] Freefall.

Once the level was aesthetically and functionally up to my standards, I polished it (checking carefully for misaligned textures or bugs) and ran a final compile with built cube maps. I uploaded to my favorite Portal 2 hosting site and waited (impatiently) for the feedback. I watched out for bugs/exploits that people found and updated the map accordingly. The map currently sits at a 5/5 vote with 15 votes.

The final look.

You can download “[Coop] Freefall” in the Maps/Mod section, under Portal 2.

Posted in: Design