Forge Like a Pro Contest Winners

[Fritzster]

Thanks to all who participated in the Forge Like a Pro contest.

Hosted by Fritzster & Kon Artist





Winners







Two-Base:
Map that contains one line of symmetry or multiple lines of symmetry of two bases.

Vanguard
Created by
Pulse Killer


Prize US 1600 MSP

Four-Base:
Map that contains one line of symmetry or multiple lines of symmetry of four bases.


There was not a map that was fit and compatible for MLG gametypes.






Asymmetric:
Map that contains free flowing transitions where no mirrored replication is seen throughout the map, yet remain balanced.

Cenotaph
Created by
Iv0rY Snak3

Prize equal worth of 1600 MSP





Forge Like a Pro Contest
Best Overall

Cenotaph
Created by Iv0rY Snak3

We have felt that Ivory Snake's map Cenotaph was something special since we first laid eyes on its flowing and well thought out transitions and play areas. Ivory Snake embraces the competitive nature of MLG design without losing an ounce of his world famous ingenuity. Cenotaph easily separated itself from the ocean of entries in the "Forge like a Pro" contest which consisted of veteran forgers and competitive gaming enthusiasts.

Those that have shied away from user created content; yet reminisce about Halo: Combat Evolved will be eager to explore Cenotaph. Ivory Snake thinks outside of the box, when building with the box-- which enables a player to envision an environment and playing area that seems far superior to a shinny old warehouse. Dropping into Cenotaph for first time will bring back good memories of long nights of LAN playing hang 'em high. Cenotaph is an Asymmetrical playground that consists of two unique bases and many high rise catwalks. Cenotaph plays all major MLG game types, and is a representation of the understanding that Ivory has for level design and competitive gaming.


Congratulations Iv0rY Snak3 on this well deserved win.

Enjoy your prizes you two.

Interview with
Ivory Snake

Kon Artist: Welcome to the Forge Main Frame everyone! Today, I'm joined with my good friend Fritzster. We will be interviewing Ivory Snake, the Winner of the Forge like a Pro.

Fritzster: Hello, Welcome Snake.

Ivory Snake: Thanks for having me.

K: How are you guys doing? For those that don't know Fritzster, he was a Co-host of the forge like a pro contest, hosted on Forge Hub, and creator of MLG maps Amplified & Regicide.

I: I'm doing great.

F: Same here, doing great.

K: Let’s get started-- Go ahead and introduce yourself Snake.

I: Well ok, Hi, I'm Iv0rY Snak3, my real name is Arlo Beaumont-Edmonds, I'm only 14 years old and I'm from Sydney, Australia

K: Hum, well it seem that Ivory Snake might be a little easier for me to pronounce

I: Yeah, just a tad.

K: Down in Australia, how did you get into Halo and how big is it down there.

I: Well, I originally got Halo CE because it came with the original Xbox. I got it the year it came out and even though I hardly understood it I fell in love with the campaign. I remember calling grunts little dudes and elites big guys whilst playing with my friends because that's all we knew at the time.

F: Yes, every hardcore Halo fan should know that campaign, good times.

I: Then of course I continued with the series, buying halo 2 and 3, but I only got Xbox live in February of 2008 so I never got to really experience the Halo 2 online play that so many people speak of. And then in halo 3 I became really into forging because since I had no XBL for the first few months after release, it was a good alternative to continuously running through campaign.

K: Explain to our subscribers what it’s like in Australia, regarding the video game industry. Xbox is big in the US. How big is Xbox down there and what types of games do most kids play in Australia?

I: Xbox is pretty big, there are some minor local tournaments and such every now and d again, but the Nintendo Wii seems to be the preferred console down here. As far as halo goes, I know a few kids from my school who play it; I remember one time turning up to a local tournament and having to play a kid from the year above me in school in the second round I won, but got knocked out the game after.

K: Well, that happens. It's nice to see some of the western type studios expand their circle of influence.

I: Yeah, well Bioshock was partly developed in Australia, so I guess we're getting more into the market as it were.

F: The Video Game Industry is exploding with talent; can you tell me what other games you enjoy playing, or other genres that most interest you?

I: Well currently I'm really into Fallout 3, the possibilities in the game are endless, I've also quite enjoyed games like mirrors edge and Call of Duty but they don't really compare. I also enjoy the odd song on Guitar her World Tour, but that's more for when I have friends round.

F: Looks like you're a well rounded Gamer with some nice taste in videogames.

I: I'd like to think so.

K: So what were your first impressions of Halo 3?

I: Well I had mixed impressions, I loved the game but without having XBL or any nearby friends to LAN with, it eventually got replaced by GoW and Oblivion. That all changed (obviously) when I got Live, and it's still easily my most played game.

K: When you first loaded forge, what did you think?

I: I was kind of disappointed at first, seeing as I first loaded it up on Sand trap and you couldn't really do much there =P. But when I eventually got round to playing around on Construct and on Guardian my views started to change, I remember going into forge with a friend trying to build impenetrable bases and then attempt to know each other's base down, or trying to swat the hornet out of the air on construct with a turret case. Stuff like that really heightened my interest in forge.

F: Yes, as Halo first launched there were some limitations to editing maps, but with the launch of heroic map pack, did you find yourself even more dedicated and more creative in map making for Halo 3?

I: Slightly, I had fun messing around in foundry but I could never really create a fully fledged map, it was more the discovery of online communities dedicated to forging that really started the whole process, obviously Forge hub was the main site I lurked about on, and it really inspired a lot of my early forging, and to an extent it still does.

F: That's pretty cool that Forge hub was your starting point. A lot of good map designs and techniques started there. Speaking of designs, how influenced were you with previous Halo level designs, which ones particularly stand out in your style of map making?

I: Well I like to think I have a relatively unique style of forging, at least in my non-MLG days. Currently, its Halo CE maps like Prisoner and Damnation that inspire me the most.

K: That brings us to the Forge like a Pro contest! Did you make any MLG type maps before this?

I: Well apart from Xyience, no, I had mainly made competitive maps though but not any MLG maps. I did however attempt to make an MLG map earlier but it failed hard, so I went to the MLG forums looking for tips on how to start forging MLG maps, which is where I stumbled upon the Flux (Xyience) design which was my start in MLG.

F: Not a bad way to start off.

K: When looking at where you started and where you are now, how has MLG and competitive design affected your building process?

I: Well, apart from making my forge much neater, it has really changed the way I think about design aspects, such as LOS and map flow because of the different necessities in MLG maps compared to your average competitive map. I actually find a lot more fun making MLG maps just because of the challenge of perfecting all these aspects in one coherent map.

K: Good-- now you have forged quite a few maps, alone and in teams do you have a preference? And what are some of the different challenges each propose?

I: Preference between MLG and plain competitive? I prefer MLG; it has a certain feel about it that just kind of attracts me. As for the differences, MLG you have to make it play good, and aesthetics are pointless if it harms functionality, whereas in normal competitive maps you really have to include some fancy aesthetic touches to really sell the map, because otherwise no one will really take any notice. I'm not saying you don't need to think about gameplay in competitive maps, but you really have to have a pretty well rounded map. I try to take a lot of that into my MLG forging that I want my maps to at least look neat and smooth.

As for forging solo or forging with a team, I prefer to forge solo just because I can work at my own pace and seeing as I may have a different standard to a lot of forgers out there I prefer solo because it allows me to make the decisions I want whereas when I'm working with a team I always feel like I have to make sacrifices in the map to make my co-forger happy.

F: A lot of Top Forgers do feel the same way. What mostly motivated you to make not just one map, but three maps that were well received for this contest?

I: Well I didn't really feel like I was making them for the contest, (with the slight exception of Pulse which I rushed so I could submit it) but I was making them because I liked the designs or the idea of the map. Delirium for example I started months ago and put on hold to build Cenotaph (and partly cause I was having a hard time with a geo =P) but I finished in time for the contest. I never felt I was making any of the maps for the contest specifically though.

K: What kept you motivated to keep making new maps in Forge?

I: I don't really know actually, most of the time I'll forge a map because I think it has a cool design or it has one feature in it that I really like or something, but why I keep designing maps to forge I don't really know.

K: For someone that has forge many maps, seems to have endless ideas for new designs, do you see yourself pursuing a career in the gaming industry?

I: I'm not really sure, it's certainly an option, but I find all of the coding and programming really confusing, but hey, if I could get paid to design, and like physically sketch maps for use in games hell yes I'd do it, but at the moment, not really. Right now I'm not sure what I want to be so you never know.

K: Well lucky for you, the gaming industry is separated into two parts, mainly artist/ designers and programmer/ engineers.

F: Yes, map designing also shows some good qualities for a profession in game design. Well, you certainly have outdone yourself within the past months in forge Snake, are there any new maps that you're creating or would like to announce?

I: Well, I'm pretty much always working on something, so yes. Right now I've got two maps I'm getting ready to submit to atlas, and I've also got an MLG map that was loosely based off of Prisoner. After that I may actually remake Prisoner just because I love it so much and I've found a very old un-interlocked and un-geo'd attempt at it that makes me believe that it's really quite possible. After that I'll probably focus on the Matchmaking side of things and try to get a 45 or 50 in any playlist, and depending on what Sandbox brings I may have bigger things planned.

F: We're definitely looking forward to what your new maps will bring to the table.

K: Is there any tips or advice you could give to new forges before we sign off?

I: I don’t know, just keep forging, I mean, there's no real trick to forging, and no easy way to teach someone, everything I learnt I basically had to figure out on my own using tutorials and the like. But like I said you can't easily teach someone how to forge well, you really just have to take the time to figure it out for yourself.

F: Kon and I are very glad to have interviewed you. Congratulations on your kickass Cenotaph map and we both hope that you continue to kickass in level design.

I: Thank you, and thanks to you both for having me... now I'm getting Breakfast!

K: Well said, thank you for your time. Make sure to download Cenotaph. You can find in right here in the MLGpro Forge Main Frame

F: Also be sure to check out the Forge like a Pro Winners.

K: Take care everyone, and see you all online! This is Kon at the FMF with co-host Fritzster signing off.

F: Peace Mayne!

I: C ya!

[RaBBiiTTT]

Awwww I expected there to be more winners and at least some runner-ups.

It's sad that there wasn't any 4-base map that met the standards. I just want to tell this: MLG Conflict is the best 4 base map and one of the best overall maps.

Cenotaph....not sure, I think that Delirium should have won. Just my opinion. Congrats guys.

[Iv0rY Snak3]

If Delirium had won, it would've won thye two base as well, meaning I would've had a clean sweep of all competitions... that would've been sweet but not exactly fair... lol

Anyway, I'd like to say thanks to both Fritz and K0N for not only selecting my map as a winner but for taking the time out to judge, play and deliberate upon all maps entered in the contest and on top of that offer prizes. I'm kinda sad that there weren't more maps entered, because I sure had fun checking out the other entries but you can't have everything...

So yeah, thanks guys, and thanks to HITtheLIGHTZ for getting on my back about finishing Cenotaph and thanks to the many energy drinks I consumed throughout the three days I spent forging my other asym entry, Pulse.

[squidhands]

Nice job, Iv0rY. Cenotaph is such a good map, I'm glad it got some much deserved attention.

Congrats to Pulse Killer as well. Even though I've only been able to do a forgethrough of Vanguard, I was highly impressed.

[DeathstarsOG]

Wow, congratulations to both of you. These maps are really amazing showcases of talent.
Is there anyway we can hear runners up?

[HITtheLIGHTZ]

LOL I remember sitting in Ivory's party two days before the contest was over and he was showing me Pulse which he had just started, and I yelled at him to finish Cenotaph so I should probably get half the points

Also congrats to Pulse on Vanguard winning best two base.

[LIGHTSOUT225]

Big congrats to both of you. Very impressive maps, and a great competition overall. Cheers to both Kon and Fritz as well.

[Kon Artist]

Originally Posted by DeathstarsOG

Wow, congratulations to both of you. These maps are really amazing showcases of talent.
Is there anyway we can hear runners up?

we can post a more extensive reveiw later this week... we have both been vary busy working on a new project.

[PulseKiller]

As Ivory already said, I would like to thank Fritzster and Kon Artist for putting in the time and effort to organize and run such a contest and for of course selecting my map as a winner. I too am kind of upset that there werent more entries, but I feel that this contest really made a lot of people make new MLG maps, which is exactly the reason I believe Fritz and Kon wanted to hold this contest.

Again, thanks for running the contest, it was a great thing for you guys to do for the MLG and the forge community, and hopefully some of the maps made for this contest will be the next greats.

[IIINIII]

what be great is if they held a 4 base contest to make up and get some new 4 bases out there