Overview: I postponed buying a VR headset for as long as I could, but BeatSaber was the game that made me cave. I created this custom beat map to go along with one of my favorite high-energy songs. It was also my first design project in VR.
Me full clearing my first beat map
Introduction
Like with any project, I resisted the urge to open the software and start designing immediately. I definitely did my research with this one. I watched a few streamers (some were mappers themselves!) and watched numerous tutorials to better understand what makes a BeatSaber map fun (and safe!) to play.
Here is the holy grail of BeatSaber map design (created by Awfulnaut). I spent more time preparing for this project than I did working on it, and I believe that preparation paid off.
Mapping
What went well:
- The learning curve for MediocreMapper is shallow and I was able to hit the ground running (read: mapping) thanks to the preparation I did the week before.
- The ability to edit in real time creates an opportunity for rapid iteration (something I love!).
- After learning the MediocreMapper hotkeys, I was blazing through the song (or at least it felt like I was :P).
What went not-so-well:
- I underestimated how long it would take to map the entire song and ended up copy/pasting notes for the chorus (and most segments of lighting too).
- I did not own the game at the time of map development so I was unable to playtest the song in the game itself, only watch and listen to the track in the editor.
- Bit off more than I could chew by deciding to use a mod for RGB lighting. I would recommend any new mappers out there start with just red and blue lights for their first map.
Try It Yourself
If you have BeatSaber (or have a friend that does!) try out my map by downloading it from BeatSaver. As of the date of this post, it has 100% upvotes and 1000+ downloads. Thanks for reading!