Fan Mission Design Discussions Archive
This article serves as an archive of interesting discussions we've had on the design of fan missions throughout the years of developing The Dark Mod and building new missions.
Selected discussions
This list is sorted into several overarching sections, each of them focused on a different aspect of debating mission design. Some of the sections focus on the attitudes and approaches to building an FM, others focus on designing the narrative (storyline, motivations, objectives, plot twists, etc.) of an FM, and some are purely about brainstorming and coming up with ideas. A few of the discussions fit more than just one category.
General design debates and resources
- TDM Mapping Conventions
- Story, Plot and Narrative Design Discussion Thread
- Collection of articles on narrative design (from the In The Games of Madness blog)
- The recipe for a good mission ?
- Where do noobs start?
- Some pre-mapping questions
- Vanilla FMs (only stock asset use)
- Ghosting a Mission?
Types of FMs / Story settings for FMs
- What kind of fan missions would you like to see?
- Fan Mission Authors... More Short And Sweet
- What type of short FMs (in terms of tone and setting) could we make more often ?
- Assassination Missions ?
- Missions about Pagans
- Missions in exotic locations
- When is someone gonna make an Egyptian based mission ?
Consistency with the TDM universe
Note that the TDM community is not a stickler for this (as you'll see in the discussions below). That said, we do try to naturally and gradually build TDM's setting, with each mission maker's contribution. Consistency is not absolutely necessary in everything (save the basics), but is appreciated.
- TDM Universe / Setting
- Is matching the TDM universe important in mapping?
- Cross-referencing between FMs/campaigns ?
- Sharing lore and canons ?
- Is there any lore database ?
- Different interpretations of the city I've noticed
- Favorite TDM Character?
Sources of inspiration, attention to details
- Social classes and hierarchies
- Historical accuracy in TDM
- TDM Universe / Setting
- Dark Mod Inspiration Thread
Designing atmosphere, ambience and suspense
- Gameplay: Is there anything left to fear ?
- Some thoughts on what makes good horror
- Collection of articles on narrative design (from the In The Games of Madness blog)
Concepts and ideas
- Concept for Future Missions
- "Laser" tripwires ?
- Dark Mod Inspiration Thread
- Suggestion for contests...
FM campaigns and structuring them
- Campaigns, multi-map missions
- About "campaign" fan missions
- Cross-referencing between FMs/campaigns ?
If you've come across any older or new good discussions that go in-depth on mission design aspects, feel free to post the suggestion in the Discussion tab of this article and we might add it. The more, the merrier (as long as it's on point). :-)
