Industrial Rush

Industrial Rush is a Half-Life 2 map designed by Warren Andress, with the intent of making a strong but short narrative experience in a compact level. Citizens from the downtrodden City 17 are trying to sneak down the rail line to make their way to resistance. However, little did they anticipate not only being chased by a chopper, but that there would be a Combine Checkpoint along the way! Much to their luck, Gordon Freeman is here to save the day and create a safe passage for the group. Experience the adrenaline rush through your body as you narrowly evade the chopper and turn the tables around on them.

Blockout

Industrial Rush was designed within four months. I began designing the map by writing a list of HL2 assets I wanted to utilize in the scene. I drew the initial layout and began blocking the level in Hammer. At this stage, I focused on the pacing, considering the players' experience in each path. I wanted to focus on the progression and allow the player to see how far they have explored the level. I approached this by making previously explored areas visible from many locations. I experimented with including many dynamic objects players could use with their gravity gun or other artillery.

Scripting

Industrial Rush has many scripted elements that make the level feel alive and provide a well-paced experience. The game opens with a mysterious introduction by the Gman and animation from the Rebels. Both of these were included to give a narrative to the level. I also wanted enemies to have sequenced scenes where they would jump out of cover or have the helicopter reposition itself to create more engaging events. I also scripted puzzle elements in the scene that allowed the player to take a break from combat and prepare them for different stages in the level.

An excellent example is a plug puzzle I have in the factory. This puzzle allowed the player to heal and see the RPG they needed to fight the helicopter. Other scripted elements include music and sound effects, which made combat feel cinematic and the world outside the player's view reacting to their actions.

Size and Performance

Being a large map, Industrial Rush also had a lot of optimization throughout its process. My target hardware for the map was the Valve Steam Deck, and this allowed me to optimize the map specifically for a standard device. Maps in the source engine are a sequence of rooms (even ones that appear to be outside). Hammer likes having these sealed rooms when compiling to determine the visibility of objects when in a particular room and how lighting should be baked into the map. Although modern computers can run early source games without problems on unoptimized maps, I went through the effort of optimizing it for the Steam Deck.