The StarCraft II Custom Maps & Editor Panel at BlizzCon 2010 featured developers Matt Morris, Richard Khoo, Jason Huck, Matt Gotcher and Justin Kalinchuch.

They spoke primarily about the key elements in making a custom map, but of utmost interest was the new information on the internally developed Blizzard custom maps.

The developers stated that they put these four maps together: StarJewelled, Aiur Chef, Left 2 Die and Blizzard DotA, to primarily push forward the technology of the custom map editor for StarCraft II. Everything in these maps is to be unlocked and available for other players to use as they see fit in their own custom maps.

Covered in this panel primarily are the latter three maps and their implications for future modifications to the editor. According to Blizzard, there are four key elements to ensure map success; Game Type, Fun Factor, Easy To Learn and Feedback.

The Fun Factor is the key game mechanic that drives the whole map forward. To ensure the fun factor, simplicity is required, focusing on the key element of the game rather than adding too many mechanics and options.

This ties into the need for the map to be easy to learn. Maps are quickly abandoned by players when the key mechanics are not immediately apparent. Players see it as needlessly obtuse rather than difficult and are less likely to try again when they immediately fail without knowing exactly what the problem is. This is especially so since there are no tutorials available in custom maps, the map itself has to be its tutorial.

This is not just for new players of the map, but new players of Starcraft II and those new to the RTS game genre as a whole.

Emphasised throughout the panel was the need for feedback. Blizzard DotA Developer Matt Gotcher noted that due to the large size of the team working on this map, he received a lot of feedback, some of it harsh, but it was important to take it on board to make sure the end product will be polished.

A lot of the developers worked on custom maps prior to their employment at Blizzard and they all value the level of feedback that can be found across the Internet, on Battle.net and on third-party community sites.

Left 2 Die

Developer Richard Khoo put together this riff on Valve's Left 4 Dead game. It is similarly a co-op zombie killing game, but it has had to be of course changed significantly to work within the framework of an RTS.

Killing zombies and destroying their infested buildings gains the player what is called Zerg Biomass, which unlocks technology. To increase the co-operative gameplay the Biomass can be pooled as well as traded. Also when technology is unlocked, the other players in the map also unlock it.

In many ways it is a simplification of the Outbreak campaign, with multiple difficulties and a cinematic to ease the introduction of new players. He wanted a game that his wife could play with him.

Blizzard DotA

Developed by Matt Gotcher, this is Blizzard's version of the incredibly popular WarCraft 3 mod DotA. Defense of the Ancients pits two giant opposing armies against each other, locked in never-ending combat, evenly matched with no side gaining ground. Each team has five players in control of a hero that can tip the balance of the game in their team's favour.

You can level up your hero, purchase items and gain XP. Taking control of a hero, you only have one thing to worry about.

Blizzard DotA includes 12 heroes, integrating characters from numerous Blizzard games, so your hero can be characters like Zeratul or the Blade Master.

Aiur Chef

Aiur Chef, developed by Jason Huck, is an eight player collection game. You play as a Protoss Warrior Chef travelling around Aiur gathering ingredients. The inspiration for the campaign arose during the end of working on the Wings of Liberty campaign, where they found food objects that weren't really used in the editor. It was also of course inspired by Food Network's Iron Chef.

The biggest challenge was getting the UI to update itself with options unlocked by dynamically picking up objects.

New and important editor features

Developer Justin Kalinchuch states that these mew mods were made with the exact same editor players will have access to at home. The most important features of the editor he notes include tint colour, missile mover and mouse tracking via triggers.

Tint colour is an easy way to distinguish the mechanics of the original games, adding a level of polish to a mod and setting itself apart. It changes the colour of sprites and actions.

Missile mover changes how missiles work to the point where you are essentially building new weapons, piecing together new layers of animation.

Mouse tracking through triggers allows new control schemes for characters, Justin used the example of controlling a turret on a character with the mouse, while the character is controlled with a traditional WASD control scheme.