VECT0R — LD
Overview
An arena built for source-engine movement — bunny-hops, surfs, and air-strafes as first-class traversal. The layout rewards verticality and punishes idle centers, tuned across five blockout passes to keep fights brief, legible, and spatially symmetrical.
Contributions
- Arena layout — five blockout iterations to tune scale, sightlines, and center pressure.
- Movement-first traversal — verticality, ramps, and no sharp corners to preserve speed.
- Lighting language — color-coded zones for spawn, lower level, and the central arena.
Initial Guidelines
Early arena sketch
Four rules for the arena
Before the first blockout, I locked a short list of constraints that the level had to serve — movement came first, and every geometry decision had to read against these rules.
- Ample vertical spaces — multiple ways to move up.
- No sharp corners — accommodates high movement speeds.
- Symmetrical maps — balanced, competitive play.
- Edges that punish — knockback and jumps can send players off.
Design Iterations
Blockout 01 — top view and 3D
01 · First blockout
Exceeded the optimal size for a 2v2 — corridors were too long, and first contact took too much dead time. Sightlines were dominant over movement.
Blockout 02 — reduced scale
02 · Second blockout
Scale came down, but the geometry pulled players toward the center by default — flanks went unused. Needed a reason to leave the middle.
Blockout 03 — metrics-driven alpha
03 · Metrics & alpha
Introduced blockout metrics — standard cover heights, ramp angles, and corridor widths — so every pass could be compared against the same baseline. Spatial flow tightened up fast.
Beta — brutalist concrete pass
04 · Beta & final
Adopted a brutalist concrete style. Heavy masses frame movement lines and make the map read at a glance — the player always knows where up is, and which wall to wall-ride.
Lighting Rules
Blue and orange team spawns
Spawns — read instantly
Each team spawn is lit in its signature color. No text, no HUD — a player dropped in mid-match can locate themselves by wavelength alone.
Red lower level · White main areas
Zones by temperature
Red marks the lower level — a riskier flank. White covers the main arena, where fights resolve. The switch in temperature tells the player where they are without ever leaving the first-person view.