I've been building levels for first person shooters since 1998, mostly for Quake, under the name Gom Jabbar. Most of them date from the days when the genre was young, and a few more are still waiting on my hard drive. Grab one and fire up Quake for some real nostalgia.
Making Quake maps yourself? Runekeeper, my free Mac app for texture WADs, might come in handy.
A tribute to Quake: built only from the textures that shipped with the original game, it recreates the classic Quake feel, spiced up with a few unusual architectural touches. The fairly flat layout adds to the old-school mood without costing any fun.
Download gomdm6.zip · 392 KB“I usually don't download new releases - cause I'm hip, bitter and jaded, you all know that. But I'm a hopeless Gom fanboi - so this time I did. Rocks like Springsteen on speed, good job.”
Hammer Down, rebuilt for the PCs of 2002 with a slightly reworked layout. The extra power let me push the visuals to what the Quake engine could do back then, while keeping the proven gameplay of the original.
Download gomdm2v2.zip · 296 KB“Rebuild of GomDM2, Hammer Down, that comes across quite nicely. Very original and stylish visual design, with nicely curving walls, moody lighting, and some unique texturing. Plays a little more streamlined than the orginal, making Pointless Violence Gom's least pointless map. Great work.”
Started as an experiment with shadow effects and grew into a map for up to eight players. The gameplay isn't as strong as in my other maps, but its experimental origins make for some striking visuals.
Download gomdm5.zip · 366 KB“The latest original piece from Gom Jabbar! Nicely textured in a medieval manner (reminds me of a Rune level), with some stunning lighting effects. Solid and spread out design is a nice depature from the more vertical levels. Nonetheless, the play begins to get a little monotonous after a while. But until that point, this level is a blast, and easily outdoes any of Gom's previous work.”
My attempt at a larger scale and a stronger visual style. Coloured lighting wasn't an option in Quake back then, so I used the textures to fake it. The result is a cold, threatening atmosphere and gameplay that holds up.
Download gomdm4.zip · 319 KB“GomDM4 was a pleasant surprise as I've never been keen on Gom's previous maps which all seemed well designed but didn't inspire me. But GomDM4's blue-tinged Q2 power style and clean designs appeal a lot more, and in particular I like the broad corridors and generally spacious atriums, because in a FFA it's quite easy to avoid rockets and even fight back from respawning before getting good weapons.”
My second Quake map, built on what Hammer Down taught me. Gameplay still came first, but this time I paid more attention to the looks. A winding, more vertical layout makes it work for two to four players, even though it's no bigger than Hammer Down.
Download gomdm3.zip · 151 KB“Like Gom Jabbars previous map, Hammer Down, I love playing this map. It provides that feeling of you just can't get away.”
My first Quake map, released shortly after my Quake II map Infernal Base and built for 1 on 1. Gameplay was everything here: a simple layout with great connectivity, honed by extensive playtesting into one of the fastest and most intense Quake deathmatch maps.
Download gomdm2.zip · 125 KB“Gom Jabbar's first map for Quake is a tough 1-on-1 piece. This map is extremely fast with an excellent layout, superb connectivity and a fist full of 3D. Playing like a Rocket Arena, you'll have to keep the "hammer down" on your opponent taking the fight right to them at every turn. If you let up or falter, it'll be a very long day. This map is a damn good play and will blast the Q2 cobwebs right out the side of your skull.”
Not the greatest map, but one I'm proud of: it was the first one I ever released, and the first I ever finished.
Download gomdm1.zip · 217 KB“The "Infernal Base" lives up to its name. Large and leering, this piece will kick your ass and whole family into next week. One look at its size, connectivity and weapons load will convince you. Be prepared for smouldering action amidst a solid blend of form, function and texture.”
My only released level for Cube, Wouter van Oortmerssen's unconventional open-source shooter engine. Everything in Cube is built from cubes, hence the name, which makes interesting levels a challenge to build, but a fun one.
Download kartoffel.zip · 8 KB“this is a cool Cube SP map, notable for its very good base style and detailing in the architecture, a refreshing change from the "Egyptian temple" textures.”