Facing Worlds, also known by its filename CTF-Face, is a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

for the

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

video games ''

Unreal Tournament ''Unreal Tournament'' is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. The second installment in the '' Unreal'' series, it was first published by GT Interactive in 1999 for Microsoft Windows, and late ...

'' (1999), ''

Unreal Tournament 2003 ''Unreal Tournament 2003'' is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes, and published by Infogrames under the Atari brand name. The game is part of the ''Unreal'' franchise, and is a sequel to 1999's ...

'', ''

Unreal Tournament 2004 ''Unreal Tournament 2004'' is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Part of the ''Unreal'' franchise, it is the third game in the '' Unreal Tournament'' series and the sequel to '' Unreal Tournam ...

'', '' Unreal Tournament 3'', and ''

'' (2014). Consisting of two identical towers separated by a bridge, each team must fight their way into the opposing team's tower and capture their flag. The original ''Unreal Tournament'' version of Facing Worlds received critical acclaim, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest first-person shooter maps of all time.

Design

Facing Worlds originally appeared in ''

'' (1999). The map is set in space on a small asteroid in orbit over

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. As a

Capture the Flag Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...

map, players are divided into two teams, with each team spawning near a tower containing their team's flag. The towers are connected by a two-lane bridge, with a large gap separating the lanes. The goal of the map is for each team to retrieve the opposing team's flag and deliver it to their own team's tower. Facing Worlds' creator, Cedric Fiorentino, referred to the map's architecture as "vaguely Mayan but not too recognizable".

Development

Facing Worlds was created by Fiorentino as a test of the Unreal Engine's capabilities. According to Fiorentino, typical ''Unreal Tournament'' maps had a limit of 160

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two to ...

s visible at the same time, which were split evenly between the landscape and map structures. By contrast, Facing Worlds' development began with Fiorentino allocating all 160 polygons to buildings and leaving the landscape for later. After building the initial tower, Fiorentino duplicated it, linked the towers by a bridge, and began gameplay testing. As a result of Facing World's polygon budget being exhausted on its dual towers, a traditional landscape was omitted in favor of having the map take place in space, with Fiorentino employing an animated skybox to give the impression that the map is "in a chaotic orbit above the Earth." "Foregone Destruction", the song that plays ingame within Facing Worlds, was written with minimal collaboration between Fiorentino and the co-composer of ''Unreal Tournaments soundtrack,

Michiel van den Bos Michiel "M.C.A." van den Bos (born 23 May 1975) is a Dutch musician who composes primarily for Epic Games and Triumph Studios. He began composing on the Commodore 64 and Amiga before making the transition to composing professional soundtracks f ...

. Van den Bos mostly relied on text explanations of ''Unreal Tournament'' when composing its soundtrack, as he didn't have appropriate hardware to run the game itself. In explaining the origins of the track, van den Bos said: "I was, and still am, very fond of Drum 'n' Bass ..and since I hadn't heard it in games before, I thought I'd give it a shot."

Reception

Facing Worlds is frequently listed as one of the greatest multiplayer maps of all time. According to Fiorentino, telemetry for ''Unreal Tournament'' revealed that Facing Worlds was played more than all other Capture the Flag levels combined. Andy Kelly of ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' deemed Facing Worlds "the greatest multiplayer map" in a 2020 retrospective, praising the map for its "beautifully simple design". Speaking of his time playing Facing Worlds at LAN parties, Kevin Wong of '' Kotaku'' regarded the map as being "so well-designed, so carefully constructed, that every other CTF map paled in comparison." Peter Glagowski of ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ...

'' commented that "it is hard to understate the mastery of design that is CTF-Face", praising the map for encouraging teamwork and playstyle diversity without sacrificing its simplicity.

Legacy

Facing Worlds has appeared in all subsequent ''Unreal Tournament'' games, including ''

'', ''

'', '' Unreal Tournament 3'', and ''

'' (2014). Facing Worlds has also been remade as a custom map for other games, such as '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' and '' Halo 5: Guardians''. A map from ''

Splitgate ''Splitgate'' (known during development under the working title ''Splitgate: Arena Warfare'') is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed and published by 1047 Games. It was released in early access on May 24, 2019, fo ...

'', called "Foregone Destruction", is a direct homage to Facing Worlds. Posters featuring the map can be found inside houses on the island in the later Epic Games release ''

Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It is a companion game to '' Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival game with construction elements. It was initially ...

'', alongside other posters for their titles ''

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'' and '' One Must Fall 2097''.

References

{{Unreal series Multiplayer maps Unreal (video game series) Video game locations