Castle Ironheart; Work in Progress

So hey there people,
This map is far from finished, however, over the past few days I have been progressing very well! After having seen so many maps out there, I've often thought about having a shot myself, and so I have been. I've been learning all sorts of techniques and have many features planned. I simply want to make a good map that everyone will enjoy while also providing a gripping story within Minecraft, ensuring that I utilize every mechanism and feature that's out there as best as is possible to give you, the player, a wonderful adventure that will hopefully remain in your mind's "C:MinecraftAwesome Adventure Maps" file-path for, well, at least a week.

This thread is slightly over-zealous on my part, but, I'm excited, very excited about how this map will turn out. Mainly, I want to keep a log and also notes on this map as I build it, uploading screenshots and such for comparison. However, I would be lying if I said I didn't want to gain some sort of acknowledgement for creating this map.

Anyway, here it begins. I've been building it for 1-2 weeks now and progress seems to be quick despite some setbacks. I initially started another map project but was too ambitious. Now that I've limited the size of the map and contained myself within a specified region, I'm able to focus less on size and more on features. Quality over quantity, as my English teacher used to say. I do consider this map a debut map. Some parts of the map I will be hesitant to disclose, merely because I realise this project will take me a while (it's pretty much solo) and am worried that someone may take an idea, release a map first then claim credit for said idea. This isn't me being arrogant and thinking "my ideas are so good", it's just me being very cautious. This is the internet, after all.

"Well! That's all fine and good! But what is this about?! What is it?!! Tell me!" You ask rather aggressively, I must say...I'm a demotivated game-design student and am very interested in how creating a map within a game is similar to programming a game itself. You have to take into account many things, many of the things that you would when designing a game from scratch. I'm heavily influenced by a great few games and am of course an avid gamer. Many of the features of the games that I've played are features that I intend to incorporate in one way or another.

'Castle Ironheart' is to be a vanilla map (this means: without mods) that will at least provide 2 hours of gameplay, but I use that time-frame very loosely. I'm aiming for 4-6 hours, realistically, with everything having been completed (no, not tedious 'item collection' tasks...Re: Pretty much every game in history).
I currently have no idea how many bosses or tasks this map will contain, as I'm fleshing everything out and building the actual map - The map itself is a valley with multiple connecting ravines, the castle will lie in the main valley but through a natural course of evolution, players are expected to explore and at times, even with reluctance and fear, will have to.

I am building it all entirely by myself with no outside help.

Here is a list of current plans be they buildings or mechanisms that I am willing to share, everything you see may have been created already, may be work-in-progress or may just be a thought in my mind that's intended for future. One thing is certain, these ideas that I list are most likely final through one way or another, I probably won't reconsider. Ideas are including but not limited to:

• 4 Towns - Each containing quests and exciting features.
  
  
• 2 Bosses - Fully scripted, edited.
  
  
• Railway system - A dungeon in itself. Can be further used as transport across the map. Simple.
  
  
• RPG-like experience - Classes, levelling up, co-op gameplay, shops (+ other secret items for sale, quests, custom items/mobs.
  

This is a compilation of tools/mechanisms that I use to make this map as straightforward and easy as I think it can be. This section may contain things such as programs I use, tools for such programs, stuff like that.

• MCEdit
  
• Bukkit Server - With WorldEdit
  

I don't use many tools, nor do I abuse them excessively. I absolutely love WorldEdit and it's helped to make this map possible. I wouldn't have the patience any other way. All creations and buildings are my own or properties of those that helped make them. External help will get credit for their inclusion in this project, if, of course, such help is used.