Hammer Tutorial (1): Getting Started/Your First Brush

Hammer Tutorial (1): Getting Started/Your First Brush
All hail the first episode! In this tutorial, I explain how to download the Source SDK, make an error message that doesn't go away, launch Hammer, and create your first brush.

Getting Started

A while ago, back in 2009, I saw a trailer on YouTube for this new videogame, "Portal", made by some developer that I hadn't heard of before, ValvE. It was an interesting game - full of brain-teasing physics fun, sentry guns that apparently didn't like being knocked over, and a talking computer. Oh yes, and a pit of fire. I eventually convinced my parents to buy it - $20 was a small amount for such an obviously brain-building game, right? Skip forward to now: I'm making maps for Portal, and soon, ValvE games in general. It's a lot of fun: something about hitting "Compile" after an especially long stretch of map-building is especially fun. And come on- you're making things that wouldn't be thought feasible 10 years ago.


So you want to get started? Here's a list of things that you should do:

• GET PORTAL. It's a ridiculously fun game, and it has infinite replayability, as there are tons of maps out there that are free to download. Plus, it's pretty cheap right now. ($9.99 if I remember correctly) 
• Bonus points for Half-Life 2 Episode 2, however, it is not required. 
• Under "Tools" in Steam (you bought Portal through Steam, right?) download Source SDK. It's offered at the price of $0 and it comes with Hammer, Model Viewer, and Face Poser. 

You're all set!