Andrew Smith Interview

Andrew is the creator of Guardhouse, one of the most immersive and beautifully built levels available. Talk to me, Andrew... :)

Tell us a bit about yourself (like how old you are, where you live, what you do in the 'real' world :)

I'm 23 years old and I live in Yorkshire, in the North of England, but in March I'm moving to Scotland. In my time I've worked for a DIY / hardware store, a haulage firm, and a graphic design company, but a year ago I stopped "working" to concentrate on a screen-play that I was writing for British television. With that out of the way I'd now like to find a career designing levels for computer games - especially 3D ones such as Quake and Tomb Raider.

Did you edit Doom levels before Quake? If so, which levels did you design?

I've never played much Doom. The first 3D game I really got into was Duke Nukem and I designed some levels for that, but they were gash.

How difficult did you find it to learn Quake editing?

I found it quite easy. Luckily I started with Quest which is a very friendly package.

What was the most difficult aspect of it?

Lighting - no doubt about it. It's still the hardest thing to get right and it takes a lot of work.

How much time do you spend editing a week?

In the average week, probably in excess of 50 hours. Up to 100 if the ideas are really flowing. (Matt's comment: AAArrrrrrgggghhhh!! All the rest of us go green with envy :)

Which Quake editor do you use?

For my previous levels I used Quest, which is still a fine package, but now I'm using Worldcraft.

What do you think are its best features?

Being able to compile selective areas of a map is a Godsend, and it's an invaluable aid to quality because you can spend as much time developing an area as you want without having to spend hours compiling the whole level every time. The 3D textured preview is really useful too, and the "carve" tool is excellent.

What features do you think would improve it?

It would be a good idea if the author, Ben Morris, had actually bothered ironing out the bugs before he decided it was out of the BETA stage and started asking for money. And as for demanding that people pay him a license fee in order to sell levels created with Worldcraft - it's legally uninforceable and he should drop it.

How do you come up with ideas for your levels? Do you plan or sketch them in advance?

I don't really come up with ideas - I just sit at the PC and start working, and see where I end up. If it's good, I keep it - and if it's bad, which it invariably is, I delete it and start again. I don't plan or sketch levels at all although I usually have a rough idea in my mind of what the layout of the level should be.

What do you think are the ingredients to make a great Single Player level?

If a level is too linear it can kill it - you have to feel like you're in a real scenario, not just plodding through various corridors and rooms until you get to the end. Personally I can't enjoy a level if it hasn't got good lighting and architecture - and when people do stupid "real world" things like tables and chairs or pictures hanging on the walls I just lose interest. Levels should be true to the original feel of the game - the invention should be in the design, now the atmosphere.

What is your favourite id map (or maps) in registered Quake?

The Slipgate Complex, The Ogre Citadel, The Crypt of Decay, The Ebon Fortress, and Chambers of Torment.

What is your favourite user created map (or maps)?

I like EvilWorld 1 (honestly!) because Matt's taken the time to build and light it properly, and it plays well too. House Of Desolution was good for its time, and Dark Ages is competent. The Village Of Dread is done really well and manages to invent a new world style without looking too different from the original, and Armageddon 2 is about as professional as I've seen.

What is your favourite monster :) ?

The Grunt, although The Enforcer is fantastic and Scrags are good if they're used in the right place.

What is your least favourite monster :) ?

The Spawn. It's annoying, badly designed, and no fun to fight with - fittingly, then, it only appeared in Sandy Petersen's levels, which were equally bad.

What advice would you give to people wanting to build their own Quake levels?

Well, putting your life on a back burner is a good start. Other than that, I'd say that you should be your own worst critic - people know when their work doesn't cut the mustard, but still they release it. There are too many levels out there that clearly haven't had any time spent on them - the designers just want to be on the "scene" and have tossers like Hudak on "only the best" say their work is "cool" - which he usually does because he doesn't know shite from toffee. Basically, designing a level is easy - but it shouldn't be released unless it's good, which is an entirely different ball game.

What are the worst and/or most common errors you have come across while playing user created maps?

The majority of people don't seem to give a damn about lighting - they just whack a 1000 strong light in the middle of a room and think the job's done. And it appears that surprisingly few people care about texture choice - castle textures inside a base, for instance, or military structures in caves.

Who is your favourite id level designer (hint: you can choose people who have left the company :)?

Without a doubt, Sandy Petersen ... yeah, right! Seriously, I'd say John Romero does the best levels by far. His military levels, and the whole of the second episode, are the best levels in the game - basically, he made Quake what it is.

Where do you go on the internet for Quake editing help and information and Quake news in general?

I go to Blue's News for most information although I don't find much need for editing help as the editors I use/used are pretty self- explanatory.

How did you publicise the release of your last level?

I eMailed a few of the level review pages and asked them to have a look at it.

Did you get a lot of e-mail response?

No. I don't think many people have seen The Guardhouse because only three sites that I know of have bothered to mention it. For some reason, it seems to be the most widely ignored level ever released - but that's the old boy network for you.

Finally, what features would you like to see in Quake 2?

If they bother to debug the multiplayer stuff next time that would be a good start. And in big text on the front of the box, "absolutely NO levels by Sandy Petersen" - that would do me just fine.

Andrew, thanks for your time!

Interview © Matt Sefton and Andrew Smith, 1997.