Fixing Pathfinding Once and For All

This article over at Game/AI isn't specifically tied to Map Design (and technically, neither is my blog), but it's an interesting read nonetheless on one of the problems plaguing a wide variety of games today.

It has videos showcasing examples of pathfinding errors in titles such as World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Oblivion, and Half-Life 2.

The article came to my attention via one of the leading game journalism blogs, Kotaku.

Defining Boundaries: Creating Credible Obstacles In Games

An article appeared on Gamasutra at the beginning of the month that was quite an interesting read.

It discusses (in great detail) the challenges of creating believable and effective barriers at the edges (and in the middle) of maps and levels in various video games (using examples primarily from FPS and third-person action/adventure games).

It's a good read if you're serious about map design and something to think about while working on your own levels.