Byre
Included as a part of Team Fortress 2 (Licensed by Valve)
TF2Maps.net Mercenaries vs. Aliens Contest 3rd Place
Byre is a map developed for Team Fortress 2's 'arena' mode, which is unique from other modes of the game in that players do not respawn. The primary objective is to eliminate all players on the enemy team. Rounds are focused on survival and deathmatch ability, making communication between allies important.
Typically a capture point objective is placed in the center of the map which only unlocks after about a minute into the round to help prevent stalemates. Byre turns this stalemate safeguard into an asset by featuring two of them on opposite sides of the map and unlocking them at the very start of the round. Players must make strategic decisions not only about how to stay alive, but also on how to attack the enemy's control point while defending their own. Capturing the objective isn't the easy way out, but an intended strategy.
Process
The first version of Byre was a symmetrical 4 control point map, where teams must own both of the two central points before they can capture the final point near the enemy's spawn. After a playtest, I decided that the final points of the map didn't show much promise, so I scrapped them and worked on just the middle area.
After moving pieces around to more comfortable positions, I decided that this new layout didn't make sense as the center of a 4 control point map, so I went with a smaller mode: Arena. A shack was added to the middle to provide cover and increase the distance between the two objectives, as well as to provide a thematic centerpiece for the map. Originally this was a fenced-off hole in the ground with a missile prepared to launch, but it wasn't exciting and looked out of place. A laser on top of a shed proved more iconic, and an opaque barrier made it harder for teams to predict what their opponents were doing, which lead to more interesting and tense combat.
This version of the map is what was submitted to a 72 hour contest that I was making the map for. The map was then given an art pass, and a few scale adjustments were made. After a round of feedback from Valve, the density of detailing in higher traffic areas was reduced.
The first layout. Two control points sat at far ends of the map and two sat in the barns in the middle.
After scrapping the two ends of the map, the middle was rearranged.
The first arena version of the map. This is what was submitted for the 72 hour contest.
The first art pass.
The final layout. Team spawns were given much more elaborate buildings. The middle of the map was slightly expanded to create larger combat areas.