The GimSolvian Way To Good Map-Making

I already made a poll, and ~80%~ of the voters wanted me to make a guide, so here it is! :blue_heart:


Try not making a simple idea, :yawning_face: then making it sloppy, which is probably why you delete them, because you don’t like it. Having 10 bad/mid games is worse than 1 awesome one and this applies to a lot of things in life, not just Gimkit Games.
So try planning it :memo:, think of an idea. Think of details, plans, easter eggs and all the criteria of making a good game, then make it, with your list, so it turns out good.
Think :thought_balloon: :brain::
Is it neat :bubbles:?
Does it have details :boom:?
Does it have side quests ?
Does it have a clear main story and instructions?
Is it eye-catching :eye: and :star2: unique :star2:?

If it has most of those or all of them, your map should be pretty good. :+1:


At this point, even if it is a good game and you end up publishing it, you need to…

  • Test for bugs :beetle: every once in a while.
  • Playtest it :joystick:
  • (OPTIONAL) Get your friends to play it! They can usually find or rate your guide differently as they didn’t make it, their input could be helpful!

If you need ideas, but want them to be unique, try this…

  • Search up on Google or Safari (or some other web browser) and look at games, then narrow it down to games that could be made in GKC and/or are fun and easy :green_square: to make
  • Think of games you’ve played before, and try to recreate it, or just make a variation of it.
  • Maybe even try to combine multiple games into one! You can always look at other Gimkit Discovery games for ideas.

If you need ideas, but don’t necessarily want them unique, try this…

This text is blue, :blue_heart: click on it to bring you to the guide. As you can see (or will see) there are many options, you could recreate one of those options, combine them, or use them as inspiration.
Remember, ideas are endless :infinity:


Examples for Above :point_up_2:

Neat:To conclude if something is neat, make sure there are no random or misplaced props in the middle of the map, it also helps while during editing, that all or some of the devices are somewhat close together so you don’t have your gim running a marathon to get to a certain device
Details: Your map should stand out, meaning maximum effort. If there’s a stairway for example, and it’s just terrain, maybe add some windows, some flower pots, and other props just to make it look a little better, even if the player doesn’t directly notice some details, it will look a lot better if you just add a few more props here and there. Make sure the props fit the mood!
Side Quests: There should generally be a tiny adventure the gim can go on to earn more currency in the game or some other sort of advantage, it could be like minigames, or like finding certain things, there’s not much to it!
Clear Main Story + Instructions: Instructions don’t have to be in the game, but a little tip here and there for the player to know what they’re doing can’t hurt (or can it :smiling_imp:). You could have a tutorial in the start, or little pieces of text explaining what to do so the player doesn’t rage :rage:. For the main story, there should always be a main set path, unless you’re making an Open-World game, and you have to make sure the player knows what the main story actually is :grey_exclamation:
Eye-Catching: You need to catch eyeballs :eye:. Maybe have some thought into the map name and description, have a good thumbnail that represents your game so people will click on it! No point of doing the above if no one plays your game (other than honor and integrity but yeah…).


Image-based ideas

Neat:
Before image After Screenshot 2024-03-19 4.48.42 PM
Details:
Before
image After image

This concludes “The Stachian way of good map-making”, I hope you enjoyed it and it helped you, and until next time.

Time to go rob a ba- Wait, and I still on here writing?

26 Likes

nice
might want to change stachian for something else though

2 Likes

Well to be fair, not all maps need this for it to be a good and well-made game, some games don’t require them like racing games or board games, or maybe an ARG sort of game where you have to learn as you play and sort the puzzles, clues and bits of lore together, spoonfeeding everything to the player is bad, you have to give the right amount for the player to work in the game and to learn more things.

not off-topic but just a small note

well, i saw this from a youtube video but let me shorten it:
“the reason why minecraft has been such a good game is because it has the right amount of details and strategy to be fun, gives you very little to work it, which makes players go on youtube and search online.”
This can also be applied to GKC and many different games, tbh.

Also, since I think a fair amount of this guide (i’d say around half) was copy-pasted from your help post (and before that a post in a topic), maybe try putting a little more effort in it? (By the way, I’m not trying to attack you or telling to delete your guide, I’m just giving suggestions.)

Here are more ideas you could add:

Barrier Screens!
In my opinion, barrier screens are extremely underrated and they can be used to set up cutscenes, tint terrain, simulate a game screen or just set the mood in general.

Property Efficiency
Instead of using a true/false property, you can just use a number property with 1 (not default value) indicating true and 0 (default value) indicating false.
You might ask, “why?”
Well, true/false properties’ value can only be changed with blocks, while number properties’ value can be changed with counter-(linked)-properties, saving you 500 memory or about 0.5% memory and can be a lifesaver in some maps.

also add concat :stuck_out_tongue: (just look at this)

Overall, great guide!

Might just need a little more work and some pictures. :)

3 Likes

Yes, @Cellofive can I add what you wrote as well with :star2: emojis? :star2:?
I’ll credit you.

thanks.

Yeah, but this guide is totally optional and the reader can choose certain factors that they need and work for them, they don’t need to use the whole :burrito: lol.

4 Likes

WOW!! This is very helpful for the development of great games. It’s also very good to make original ideas so there aren’t just copies upon copies upon copies. Overall great guide! :+1:

2 Likes

Sure

2 Likes

Thanks, the emojis take a long time but they’re worth the effort.

5 Likes

Seems like everyone likes the format of my previous guide.
I should trademark it though, to be safe.
Just kidding! Glad I inspired you! :rofl:

2 Likes

Slowly updating this, I have to read a lot of books, have a bunch of homework then focus on GKC Platforming and all.
This might take some time :yawning_face:
Ah, this might take longer than I thought, something… well… happened…
I feel like the other 3 steps don’t need photos.

Photos for the other 3?
  • Yes, work more, MORE!
  • No, this guide is fine as it is
0 voters

Does anyone know if this qualifies for idea-catalog?

BUMP?

8 Likes

Bump? You sure, well…

Bump I guess?

Bump.

1 Like

This really helped, my map was an absoulte mess… now gotta go replace wires with channels so you don’t get disoriented…

2 Likes

BUMP we need better maps


STACHE IS BACK

1 Like

well
look what we have here
a guide that has an itch
iÄşl just use my words to bump it

Bump

Bump

Bump! New users gotta read this :>

bump
idc if it is only 4 days

bump

But reusable :D

Bump! Sorry the reusable didn’t work