Wind Gates

On Maar Dún, the player can take to the sky and rain hell on their enemies after passing through one of three wind gates. Once the player goes through the gate, they get sucked into a wind stream that launches them through a fast predetermined path that varies per gate. In mid wind stream, players can get unsuspecting angles on their enemies and travel through the map in ways never before seen in an FPS. The paths are customizable and can be aimed in any direction. The wind gates have significant utility and players will want to use them to their advantage. The player's thruster pack ability gives them a quick burst of speed that cancels out their momentum in any direction. With this ability, the player can disengage from the wind stream at any point.

Pit Portal

The Pit Portal is also very key to the flow of Maar Dún. As the centerpiece to the chapel main hall, the goal is to have a portal that can be entered at multiple levels simultaneously, and one that specifically could not be camped at the other side effectively. Instead of having a classic walk-through portal, players fall through and their momentum catapults them downward through the receiver where the player falls on the pentagram to Trap Hall. Using the Pit Portal is making a deliberate move because it places you in Trap Hall on teleport which is not necessarily an easy exit. If a player sees you use it, it is possible for them to drop to Chapel Floor and get shots on you as you exit. However, using the portal can be a very powerful asset, especially when timing rocket spawn.

Trap Hall

Trap Hall is in one of the most integral locations on the map. Here, the rocket launcher spawns, which is the highest DPS weapon on the map. There is only one way out, the hallway door in front of you. The hallway under staircase is very difficult to grenade. This hallway keeps a hold on players to prevent them from escaping. Players have to hold the sightline from the bottom chapel floor or if fast enough, hold it from the staircase above. Without holding this line, players in Trap Hall are free to push through the hallway and over an acid pit if the bottom door is not being covered. Players in Trap Hall are given options to take cover in the hall under the staircase, on top of the hall trims, or outside on the pentagram platform. The exit from the pit portal is directly above and allows for even more aggression.

Wraith Windows

The Wraith Windows were really an emergent solution to a tricky level design problem. In Maar Dún's design, there are many windows that were meant to have a very clear sightline on your opponents in between rooms. The windows also are places where I did not want players walking through themselves. To do this, I've typically seen designers place bars or window panels, etc.. that players cannot fit between. However, when attempting these, players would often hit the bars. Instead, I had built these ghastly windows/doors using a zone object and an invisible barrier which allows for a clear shot at players on the other side.

Double Buttress

Maar Dún also has a very intentional use of buttresses. Being in the center of the map, players can approach Double Buttress from many directions. Firstly, if you are battling a player who is anywhere from Double Doors, to Acid Pit, to Low Wind Gate, engagements turn into an acrobatic feat where you will end up jumping from buttress to buttress, getting angles on your opponent and using the pitch of the top of the buttress as a way to head glitch. Secondly, the player can use them as a clever traversal option that gives them an advantage to combat chapel windows and rafters, since the player's inside chapel are forced into firing lanes through the windows via the floor space of the rafters. Along with this, double buttress also serves as an effective method for players at chapel floor to push against players that are on Trap Hall platform.

MAAR DÚN | Unleash The Demon

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Maar Dún is a competitive multiplayer level built with Halo 5’s Forge editor and scripting system. The design is built for 2v2 Slayer.

Oftentimes, in many games when gunfights occur, a player gets the drop on another player and very swiftly takes them out. There isn’t much opportunity to turn on that player and come out on top. With this level the main design goal was to essentially prolong gunfights, while at the same time keeping player strategies very aggressive. Unlike many levels, Maar Dún’s gunfights do not start and end in the same place. In Maar Dún, many fights progress through diverse areas of the map all without combatants losing track of one other.

On top of this, Maar Dún hosts unique acrobatic gameplay experiences in encounters as well. This level's design focuses on giving the player the feeling of being on a tightrope act in mid combat, rushing through the map at breakneck pace. There are opportunities for players to fly through wind gates to get unsuspecting angles on enemy players.