John Stone
johnsto.co.uk · Personal blog · on HN since 2011
John Stone, a Counter-Strike map designer, writes about making the maps de_dust and de_dust2 and the design choices behind them.
What HN saysHN commenters praise his Making Of write-ups as a look at iterative, serendipitous level design, calling it a lost art.
17HN people shared it
8linked it in comments
13stories submitted
387story points
5 months agolast shared
2011people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1The Making Of: de_dust28 people · 23 points · first shared 2015 · 2 comments on HN
- 2The Making Of Dust (2003)6 people · 337 points · first shared 2015 · 33 comments on HN
- 325 Years of Counter-Strike1 people · 22 points · first shared 2024 · 3 comments on HN
- 4The Making Of: Dust1 people · 3 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 5Blackholing My Email1 people · 1 points · first shared 2026 · discussion on HN
- 6The Making Of: Dust 21 people · 1 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 7Design1 people · first shared 2026
- 8Cobbles and castles1 people · first shared 2023
- 9Tf2 01.jpg1 people · first shared 2018
What HN people wrote when they linked it
Dachande663 · 2023-02-24
The creator of de_dust (amongst others), did some great write ups[0] on how and why he made maps like he did. It’s a lost art now everything is squeezed through playtesting and data analysis.
https://www.johnsto.co.uk/design/making-dust2/
dewey · 2018-12-01
Also interesting, the same about de_dust2 - which is still my favorite map. Followed by Aztec.
https://www.johnsto.co.uk/design/making-dust2/
simi_ · 2016-01-21
This made me think of "The Making of: Dust", which describes the iterative (and serendipitous) process of creating [two of] the most well-known Counter Strike maps. I think it's a brilliant how a design that feels obvious involves a lot of work and uncertainty.
http://johnsto.co.uk/design/making-dust
HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9772521
pityJuke · 2026-04-07
He also had blogs about those maps: https://www.johnsto.co.uk/design/
rvnx · 2025-06-17
Original de_dust here: https://www.johnsto.co.uk/design/making-dust/
sharken · 2023-03-10
Helpful link :)
https://www.johnsto.co.uk/design/making-dust2/
auxym · 2018-12-01
If any of you played Firearms (one of the other popular HL mods at the time), this screenshot (apparently of an unreleased TF2) just has to remind you of Durandal:
https://www.johnsto.co.uk/i/design/making-dust/tf2_01.jpg
sanjeetsuhag · 2015-06-25
You're in luck. There is a similar post about Dust2 : http://johnsto.co.uk/design/making-dust2