To start us off, could you tell me a bit about your competitive & map making history, inside or out of Quake?

I got interested in level design when I saw Kingpin: Life of Crime by Xatrix Entertainment (now known as Gray Matter) for the first time in 1998-1999. It was the first FPS that made me want to create levels. The realistic atmosphere of the game was so amazing that sometimes I just spent time standing in one spot and looking around the levels. It was a bit tough for me to start with the level editor, because at that time I lived in Russia and my internet connection was so slow that I couldn't get a hold of any tutorials. I was going through the trial and error method, but it felt so good when I finally figured out how to do one thing or another.

Once I got a better internet connection I learned about a program which could decompile levels, so you can see the source. I went through practically each level. I looked at how they were made, why some brushes are used in that way or another, why the hint brushes were placed in some spots and not others, how the clip brushes were used, how the entities and scripted events worked, etc. I was rebuilding maps brush by brush, until I got the feel of it. Later I discovered my own style, which was a gritty industrial/urban theme, very similar to what the game looked like. I moved to the USA in 2001 and still was mastering the tools and the whole level design process. In 2003, when I learned that Xatrix were not planning on making Kingpin 2, I begun working on an unofficial sequel, entitled Kingpin: Final Crime (FC). While working on FC, I was fortunate to meet some of the Xatrix guys and I'm really grateful for all the tips and time they took to help me out.

That same year I joined RUST | gamedesign.net, which most LDs (Level Designers) for Quake 2 are familiar with, to represent their Kingpin level design section. After releasing FC in 2004, I jumped from QERadiant (KPRadiant) to D3Radiant (DOOM Edit) level editor to work on Doom 3 levels. I remember an id designer saying that jumping from QERadiant to Q3Radiant was quite difficult, so for me it was sort of a bumpy road, especially with the new technology and real life lighting. Again I was fortunate to meet more developers; one of them was Wils of Splash Damage who worked on official D3 MP maps. He helped me out quite a lot on my first D3 map. Once I got comfortable with the D3 Engine, I began building more maps. I'm proud to say that after a while, Wrong Turn, Station M and Central Hub became the only custom maps that ran on the PlanetDOOM (GameSpy) server. My latest map, Mash-Up Streets, was designed for Quake 4.

In the Doom3World VIA map-making competition, you placed second with Mash-Up Streets. Is this something you expected to happen?

The Quake 4 LD (Level Design) community is very different from Doom 3 - a lot more competition; many talented people are coming over from the Quake 3 community, but I worked hard on Mash-Up Streets and was hoping to place in top 3.

There are quite a few people that think you deserved first place in the competition, and that the grading leaned towards Monsoon because the CPL picked it up. What do you have to say about that?

It might have affected the judging process, but I'm not really at liberty to say. Everyone has their own opinions and VIA tested the top 3 maps very thoroughly, so they did their job. Plus, Lukin has much more experience in building competitive maps than I, so it could have been his knowledge of what makes a good competitive map.

How exactly did the grading process work in the competition, how much feedback did you get in return and how did it ultimately influence the outcome of your final work?

I got constructive and useful feedback from the community, especially on ESReality and Q4MAX forums. If you compare the first beta with the final version, you’ll see some drastic changes. I’m grateful for the feedback, because it helped me to better understand the needs of the competitive players and their expectations. Originally, we couldn’t make any changes once we submitted the final version to the VIA guys, but later it was decided that levels which made it into the official pack could be tweaked before releasing them to the public. B0rg, the organizer of the contest, said that he was happy with the map’s visuals, gameplay and performance, so there wasn’t much to change except some minor visual details.

From the "Making of Mash-Up Streets" article I've come to learn that the map was designed as an advertisement for a radio station you enjoy. I'm curious - what did you receive as compensation?

It was my pleasure to design a level for DJ Muggs’s radio. I really like Mash-Up Radio’s music and therefore it was a free contribution. Well, not fully a free contribution, because I did get his latest CD with his autograph even before it was fully released. Muggs is a part of Cypress Hill, who did a soundtrack for my favorite game, Kingpin. So it’s all connected.

Mash-Up Streets has a notably distinct and contrasting theme to that of other maps, and is highly reminiscent of Painkiller. My question is, was the rural gothic design of PK maps in any way an inspiration for the concept, or perhaps a similar game in regards to style?

Frankly, I’m not too familiar with Painkiller. I only played the demo, but the gritty atmosphere of Mash-Up Streets is something I brought back from the Kingpin days.

Now that Mash-Up Streets is final, have you ever looked back and said "man, I wish I did this or that"?

There are no perfect maps; some are very close, but very few. What I mean is that maps are never finished - you can always tweak something. The hard part is to know when to draw a line or to be ready for the deadline. As was commented by a few players in the community, the map is a bit repetitive. It was kind of hard to pick the dark/gritty textures for the atmosphere I was going for. So if I had more time, I would've worked more on the visuals.

What's the one glaring thorn in feedback that you've received so far on your map?

So far the feedback was great, but few people mentioned that the textures were a bit repetitive for them.

I must admit, of all the maps, Mash-Up Streets is one of the freshest I've played in a while. Are there currently any talks with the CPL or other major leagues and events about using your map?

Not that I know of.

If the CPL was to contact you tomorrow and say "Hey, we really want to use your map... but could you change this one little thing for us?," would you, despite the fact that the map is already labeled as final?

CPL has years of competitive experience and they know what's good for that kind of environment, so if there’s something I can do to make the map more enjoyable for competitive players, I’m open to that.

What other maps have you done or are you working on for Q4, if any?

Currently, I'm playing around with a few Team DM ideas for my future Q4 map. I have several sketches and some blocked out areas, but nothing solid yet.

Do you actively follow the competitive scene, or are you more involved in the map creation process than anything?

I like to play competitively, and believe that playing games lets me understand what makes the map fun, so later I can implement that feeling or experience into my levels.

Have you ever been on contract for a game development team to design levels? Is this something you aspire to do?

I haven’t worked professionally, because currently I’m concentrating on getting a degree studying Game Art and Design at The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles. But as I mentioned before, I'm fortunate to know quiet a few developers and have some invites to their companies, once I finish college.

Can you name any of those companies?

[Method preferred to not answer]

Do you prefer to make TDM or 1v1-style maps?

Both of those game types require a lot of work and effort. Geometry, atmosphere and colors could be very similar in those game types, but gameplay varies dramatically. I prefer to design Team DM levels, because I like to play games where the outcome of the match relies on a team, rather than on one player as seen in Tourney levels.

What was the first "real" competitive map you ever made for any game?

I believe Mash-Up Streets is my first real competitive map, even though some might consider Station M and Central Hub (Doom 3 maps) competitive. As I mentioned earlier, I had a lot of feedback from sites such as ESReality and Q4MAX for which I'm very grateful. Most of my previous maps were more of a commercial type of the levels, in other words oriented for casual players.

Of all the games you have mapped for thus far, which has the most expansive and helpful editor available for it?

I think Q4Radiant is a great editor. The real time rendering and the ability to access game while having Q4Radiant open (F2 window), along with a few other things Raven added on top of D3Radiant, make it so much easier for LDs. I remember that back in the KP days, I had to wait for the editor to compile a BSP file, which usually took 25 to 40 minutes on Pentium 3, just to see a slight change I made to the map. These days it’s possible to preview the changes in real time, and compile most, if not all, levels under 5 minutes.

As a talented mapper, how much pressure do you feel is on you to evolve the competitive Q4 scene? Are you feeling any of that strain?

Thank you for the compliment. I think the most pressure isn’t on me, but on Raven Software right now. For a competitive scene to evolve, several things, such as OpenAl and the auto-download feature must be fixed. I also want to say that the community should lay off Raven, because they're doing an incredible job. A lot of people complain, but they don't know what it takes to create a game. Several Raven guys were assigned to work on another title even before Quake 4 was finished. What the community has to understand is that the publisher pushes the developers to create more games and the time Raven spends to create free content such as Quakemas Map Pack and patches is their contribution to the community. We should be thanking them, instead of complaining.

How did your alias "Method" come about?

I used to have different nicknames for various games. At the time when I was working on Kingpin: Final Crime, I decided to find a permanent nick, which I can use in all games. I was thinking my nick should be a reflection of me. So after spending a few days looking for the most suitable nick, I came across Method. It makes sense, because when I build levels, I have my methods of doing it. The funny thing about my nick is when I called Mash-Up Radio's Producer, to discuss some details regarding Mash-Up Streets, the secretary had mistaken me for the famous rapper Method Man.

Thank you for your time, and I (and surely the rest of the community) look forward to more competitive maps made by Method. Do you have any final words or
shout outs? If so, now is the time to do it!

I want to thank my family, Vandal, Lt.Dan, Ridah, KungFuSquirrel, BinaryC, Casey, Levelord and other developers who helped me to become what I'm today. Also I want to thank David Light and GotFrag crew for taking the interview. Keep on Quakin’!