Levels by Blarget |
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Blarget is a "second generation" Descent fan and a very promising talent in the area of classic Descent level building. Each of his levels shows meticulous precision and a great gift to create credible and vivid environments with very simple geometric means. Blarget's mastership in the structural part of level building is complemented by his stunning skill when it comes down to texturing. If I would want to compare Blarget to any other great Descent level author, the one who immediately comes to mind is Kruel, and Blarget has talent to match this great grandmaster of Descent level design.
Click on the images for a visual impression.
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AquacaveAquacave is a spacious multiplayer level by Blarget. The map is a stunningly built, irregular natural cave with remnants of articifical structures. Huge, rocky domes are vaulting over uneven, grassy ground. Side exits lead through rock clafts and broken concrete. The level offers a lot of routes and space, and you will always find an opponent taking you on from a direction you didn't expect it from, or mysteriously disappearing through a crack into nowhere. This is a fantastatic map, both visually and gameplay wise. The only point of criticism is the multitude of no-skill weapons it offers; but since you can easily disable these, I consider this a negligible issue.
AztecAztec is a tiny Descent 1 multiplayer level displaying the mix of geometrical and irregular elements that is quite typical for Blarget's creations. A small, symmetrical shrine sits below an eery blue-red sky in the center of the level. It is surrounded by wide, cave-like tunnels. I very much like the minimalistic texturing of one of the energy centers.
Blarget's DeathmatchBlarget's Deathmatch is a tiny Descent 1 multiplayer level intended for competitive 1vs1 battles. The central hall is surrounded by short tunnels offering great connectivity and many tactical opportunities. Despite the small size, Blarget has managed to add beautiful decorative elements, like a staircase, an encaged catwalk and massive support pillars surrounding one of the level's two energy centers.
FUSIFUSI is another little gem by Blarget. A hall with an octagonal cross section and a huge pillar with purple veins in its middle forms the center of the map. The main hall is surrounded by quite spacious corridors. Despite its small size, the map offers a lot of 3D spaces. As the name suggests, FUSI is a Fusion battle map, and as such only contains Fusion guns, and of these it has a whopping eight. Given the small size of this level, this probably means constant carnage.
Gauss CavernsGauss Caverns is a comparably big, symmetrical map, featuring two identical areas side by side. Again, this map shows a synthesis of symmetrical structures with its huge, monolithic concrete structures towering high into a yellow desert sky above them, and rocky, spaceous caverns with irregular surfaces surrounding them. With its size, this map offers a lot of 3D dogfighting space and many opportunities to dive behind cover and quickly appear again. You will find it hard to hide here.
I Don't KnowI Don't Know is yet another tiny and ever so meticulously and beautifully crafted 1vs1 deathmatch map. This map doesn't offer big open spaces, but still there are quite a few more spacious areas offering room for dogfights in all three dimensions. Narrow tunnels and hallways complement these. Your flying skills will be challenged in this level, giving you barely enough space to dodge incoming fire in many of its parts.
NeptombNeptomb is a strikingly different approach to Descent level design; Yet it shows references to Blarget's other works. Neptomb really looks like an ancient tomb inside a mysterious cavern. Parts of the artificial structures of the tomb seem to haven fallen into ruins. A window and a small cave are giving you glimpses to that poisonous, yellow desert sky Blarget seems to love so much.
 . White lamps illumiate the level, and there is a tree with huge leaves and strange fruit looking like smart missiles ( ) in a cave. A part of the level consists of a subterranean lava flow with temple ruins surrounding it. Elevated floors show big cracks, and temple walls are half broken down. This level is a true masterpiece and shows Blarget's expertise in creating convincing and immersive environments with very simple means of geometrical structure.
OctaquaOctaqua is a bigger, two story level. There aren't any wide, open spaces in this level: The center is taken up by a small pillar with a lava flow in the bottom and a circular hallway in the upper floor. Both floors have multiple accesses to a wide tunnel with hexagonal cross section surrounding the core of the level. The only asymmetry Blarget has introduced in this level is a small creek running down one side of this tunnel into a bigger ditch surrounding the center of the level's lower floor. Octaqua is textured with style and has beautiful lighting (I have to admit that I took the liberty to adjust the lighting a bit).
Ranger ArenaRanger Arena is a very elaborate multiplayer level built for Descent 1 multiplayer games. Besides its pretty complicated 3D structure, this level shines with many small geometric details, like tubes at the walls, pillars in cut-off areas, and supports sitting behind railings and separating a hallway from a room. Blarget has complemented this with beautiful texturing with just enough variety to not make this level look bland.
Swiss Cheese SorrowSwiss Cheese Sorrow is quite the opposite of Ranger Arena. The base layout is that of two big squares intersecting each other. Of course Blarget didn't stop there, and the level has several floors and some nice details like a lamp that has been modeled into a hallway and light strips recessed into walls.
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