Happy Halloween everyone! I'm very exited to introduce my submission for the Haunted Forge Contest! It is perhaps my best manifestation of real world architecture. I give you; Domum Insanis. Hope you all love it!

Dear judges and players,
I put lots of consideration into most of the design techniques. Asylums have a unique architecture because they were once heavily designed to help cure the mentally insane. That is still true today, but to a lesser extent, and they're modernized. My interpretation is in the earlier United States style (1830s-mid 20th cent.). These buildings were generally elongated, symmetrical, and large. I tried to fits those parameters. For an even more daunting effect, I added Medieval Gothic accents which give the map its true character. My twist on this map however, is a dramatic disarray of the courtyard ground and walkways. My intent was that the creator of this asylum wanted to induce oblivion in the minds of his patients by letting them walk the courtyard. Allowing anyone to walk such a ground would receive a "Yellow Wallpaper" effect, as the chaotic asymmetry can drive people to madness in long doses. To isolate such a feeling for patients, I made the walls visually sound and symmetrical. I added white brick textures to induce the whitewash feeling. I also shaped the walls in a concave manner to suggest that they were closing in on you. I was going for a feeling of confinement overall. Furthermore, I ask that the judges observe the map in both INFECTION and SLAYER game types in Forge or Custom Games. Slayer will allow the appreciation of the courtyard ground and other aesthetics, while infection will spawn the Special FX. The special fx substantially highlight the map's gothic nature and survivor point of view. The map is 650/650 pieces but luckily frame rate is disregarded in the judging. At its worst, the performance bar should fill halfway in two spots on the map, so gameplay isn't destroyed entirely. (NOTE: while judging in forge mode, the lighting may not load well due to frame rate. SWITCH to player mode as soon as you spawn, and then switch back to monitor to generate lighting. Lighting however, is not an issue in custom games.) Overall, I hope I put out a beautiful map with spooky connotations. If you think old insane asylums are creepy, then you should love this map.

Gameplay: The map may be observed in CG or Forge mode. Slayer only spawns one person, while Infection (play it with Cadre! The map is amazing through Cadre player's view [see thumbnail]) can handle the full 16. Whether or not you enjoy the gameplay depends on how well you can tolerate slight frame rate lag. The survivors will usually be looking up anyway to shoot up the "insane patients" flying in from the rooftops. Frame rate won't get touchy until you corner yourself and look across the map. Considering aesthetics, I hope playing has a daunting feel to it, and when you're not shooting up zombies, feel free to appreciate the aesthetics.

Happy Halloween again and good luck to all contestants. This was a very fun challenge and the community has put out some great pieces!