Deciding on a theme

My project will be to create a team deathmatch map in Unity, the theme of which will be set in space. A few ideas have been floating around.

Creating a floating village in space would be pretty cool, and offer interesting mechanics of jumping between the islands. Lumps of rock floating in space, perhaps from a destroyed planet which you can see in the distance. Each rock could have a number of jump pads enabling the player to jump between the rocks.

Heres an example of the sort of thing i was imagining.

Another idea, which i think is much stronger to build a playable area around, is having the idea of a cruise ship in space.

It could be split up into 3 distict levels, with stairways leading up, and an elevator placed in the middle which links to all levels. At the back players should be able to see the thrusters/jets of flame coming out the back of the ship, giving the illusion of the ship moving

This would be a really interesting setting to look into, the efects used to create the illusion of space to the player. Some research into lighting on space themed levels could throw up some really interesting lighting effects which can help immensly to keep the player immersed.

I shall post some extra concept images/ideas to try and flesh out this loose idea at the moment, later this week.

Playing to my strengths

First of all apologies for the lack of activity on this blog, a few personal problems have got in the way of sitting down and working on this.
Last week i had a good chat with Rob about what i might think of doing this year. He gave me some really good advice, saying that i shouldnt focus on what i cant do, and rather focus on what i CAN do. By exploring the areas im good at, and using them as design constraints to work around, is a really good demonstation of me thinking as a designer, to overcome a problem.
I may not be the strongest artist, but it doesnt mean that i cant make a really good game, or design a fun level, just because it doesnt look good. The fun comes from how it plays, whether its a small puzzle game with a really interesting game mechanic, or a level thats been designed to offer really engaging playability.

What i want to show at the end of this year, is how good i am as a designer. To do that i want to produce a level/map in Unity, that i can present at the end of the year and will demonstrate, to any potential employers, that i have a great understanding of the principles behind level design. How it plays, pacing, balanced gameplay, and most of all a level which doesnt just rely on stunning visuals to hook its players.

Ill be blogging much more frequently from now on, with thoughts about the design of my level. First of all i need to decide on a theme.