https://store.steampowered.com/app/2680280/PAPERHEAD/
Hey there!
Making first-person shooters in 2025 is tough, not in a technical sense, but in trying to cover every little thing people expect from games in this genre. At least for me, it’s been a real challenge to recognize and understand all those tiny details that players just take for granted in every boomshoot.
Take level navigation, for example. In EP1, some folks complained that the locations were confusing, even though I never intended them to be. Sure, I planned a bit of branching here and there, but I never set out to confuse the players. I assumed the obvious formula: make a linear level (which is a whole universe of considerations in itself) + a few branches = level design. But nope. And I say that as someone who’s worked as a level designer professionally for a few years. The levels in QUAKE, DOOM, DUSK were crafted by total geniuses, I swear.
Anyway, for the final version, we’re designing levels with modern level-design practices in mind. If there’s a main objective, it’ll be absolutely crystal clear at every moment, and any side paths will feel purely optional: never pulling the player’s mind off the main course too much… at least in theory. Right now, I’m busting my chops to make it actually work that way.
(That doesn’t mean everything will be washed in yellow paint though!)
On top of that, we’ll add a minimap for anyone who still gets lost despite my best untangling efforts. It’s primarily a support tool: the levels themselves are designed to be navigable without it, but it’ll be there whenever you want it. Doors, switches, notes, secrets - everything will be marked on it (with varying degrees of spoilery-ness).
Here’s a quick clip showing the map:
So yeah, that's episode 1 of the devlog series. The next one will probably be about some new enemies and lore.
Subscribe, hit like, yare yare…
…and WISHLIST “PAPERHEAD”! 🌜
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2680280/PAPERHEAD/