Bombtree-Philosophy

Bombtree theory — if you can place a tree anywhere inside your playable map, and you perceive it to be non disruptive to gameplay which is why you chose that spot for the tree, then you have proven to yourself that your level design is flawed.

During the creation of the map Balmy, it had come to my attention that I had spent a lot of time making an interesting looking tree, but then I had nowhere where I was content to place it.

This is what made me realize I was searching for the most innocuous location to place the tree, rather than the most contentious. I decided I wanted the tree in such a way that it disrupted gameplay so much so that it becomes an iconic part of the map -- people will call it a bombtree I thought.

It's very easy to clutter a map with bad ideas. If you have a flower pot, you begin putting it in benign areas that do not disrupt gameplay. However I have learned to place these types of objects specifically in contentious and calculated ways so that they become iconic pieces of a map instead of a backdrop.

Ultimately physics based barrels were removed from CS because they served no real functions other than to act as clutter. The greatest of novelties can be worn thin over time, it is important to cement objects in your scene into the functionality of the map so that they truly belong.