What IS Upward's theme, anyways?

In terms of formal classification I'd honestly say Upward as a map established the "Upward theme" as its own thing - it's easy to assume it's all stock 2007 assets but the beige rocks, the muted blue skybox, the dark blue metal and a lot of the dark wood textures must have been specifically made for Upward, because they were only added to the game along with the map in the Engineer Update. For the most part the architecture itself is standard TF2 fare, but it's the overall desaturated look of those textures, along with an emphasis on verticality and integration of the structures into the mountainous oceanside environment (which always felt vaguely Mediterranean to me), that gives it what at the time was a very unique look. It's one that a lot of mappers still emulate wholesale when detailing their own custom maps, and often you'll see maps use the same combination of textures and skybox as Upward - a formula that's just as visually effective today as it was in 2010, it seems.

Upward

nekomaster1000 said:

Fantastic analysis, Mattie! It's most certainly standout from other Badlands maps in very subtle but distinct ways that make me love it uniquely to those 2007 maps <3 The noting of it feeling Mediterranean is super interesting, it'd be cool to see maps that take inspiration from Upward play into that more! Do you have any examples of maps that emulate Upward's aesthetic?

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CP_Desertion is one that immediately comes to mind:

I would describe Upward's theme as a combination of arid/dry landscape, badlands, and mountainous.