Trying Your Hand at Level Design? 382
Utawoutau asks: "As a student nearing graduation with high interest yet no game industry experience I have been taking a serious look at the position of Level Designer. In order to apply for such a position of course, I would need an impressive portfolio. I am aware that a number of games, Neverwinter Nights for example, come packaged with level development tools and that a number of other games have tools (official or not) that are readily available on the Internet. I am interested in hearing opinions from others that have experimented with the level design tools for a number of games as to what they found the easiest, the most fun, the most in depth, and the most impressive to work with. In particular, I am interested in a game whose tools strike a good balance between all four of the above criteria."
I'm curious... (Score:5, Interesting)
(I don't mean this as a flame; I'm just curious.)
Torque Engine (Score:3, Interesting)
I say this not because it is the most advanced engine out there, but because I have actually done work on games and not mods. A few of my maps will actually be released in the wrapped version of the independent games I have worked on. That is a cool feeling.
By working with the torque engine on an indie game, I also get to work with the engine developers to add needed features.
As far as the tools used to create the maps, QuArk [usm.edu] is used to create buildings (that same site [usm.edu] has more information) and an in-game map editor.
You're better off with a well-rounded CS education (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd like to add that it depends on what game you like to play what level design tools you should use. I like NWN, so I use the Aurora Engine, even if the Quake Mod tools are better or easier to use. Good level design means you have to understand what makes the game fun. I could never design a good Quake mod because I don't like Quake.
So, for level design my advice is: pick a couple of games you like and see how the tools for those games are. If they are not too daunting, jump in. It'll take a couple of weeks to get familiar with ANY tool, but there are usually good forums that'll help you along.
Re:Unreal Tournament (Score:2, Interesting)
I've talked to a number of 'pros' in the business and all of them have said the you need to learn to use UnrealEd (the level editor that comes with win copies of Unreal). Apparently that is the number one level design app being used by theses houses.
I went out and bought an athlon box just for this cause there isn't an UnrealEd osX port.. and I need the practice..
Re:Learn more than one thing (Score:2, Interesting)
That said, I agree with the parent, and having had some experience myself, I can assure you that a level designer who understands art or architecture would be a great plus, although most companies employ texture artists seperately to level designers.
Again, familiarise yourself with as many engines as possible, not just the ones that are easy to use, since the development tools available while a game is being made are notorious for being buggy, difficult to use, and slow. Once the game is released, it gives them time to work on the development tools for mod makers and sequels etc.
If, or when, you get to interview stage, make sure you can analyse some of the current games and mods and say why some maps work and some don't. Especially those made by the company you are applying for.
That goes for all games, not just fps.
Cube (Score:2, Interesting)
The project is free and hosted here, screenshots are right on the front page.
http://wouter.fov120.com/cube/
The actual editor works in-game, and while playing the game in single player mode, you can press E to switch to editing mode. The README explains what the keyboard functions are. Basically, you mark things in the map and shrink/grow them, and everything is built out of cubes that can be 'bent' to your liking in various ways.
Re:as to what they found the easiest (Score:2, Interesting)
However, its a very different engine, and as such the mapping is very different from how most modern games do it.
Its actually styled a lot more like how the original Doom worked. It uses height fields, so you cant really construct things like shelves, or bridges.
That said, its still a LOT of fun to play with for its relative ease. Good engine to get started with, to at least get a hang of spacial design. Afterwords, try out some of the more modern engines.
Technology is secondary to artistic ability (Score:4, Interesting)
The most important things are a quality filter so we can leave you alone and have you produce good work, ability to come up with a working layout (this is fundamental and oft underestimated), a decent technical understanding and in our case, a love for multiplayer gaming.
Having experience shipping finished maps implies very good things about your ability to manage your own time, and your ability to finish what you start. That's a pretty rare trait. Extra bonus points if youur work gets played. (Probably means it's part of a pack or a mod.)
It also falls into the "nice work if you can get it" category, as mapping careers are relatively tough to find. I don't know of any other companies in Canada who are asking for the same technology experience that Threewave is. Digital Extremes comes close.
Re:Valve Hammer Editor (Score:2, Interesting)
Seriously, Valve has promised to make the migration from HL1 to HL2 as painless as possible. I guess that means some kind of backward compatibility in the HL2 editor.
Re:I'm not a game programmer (Score:5, Interesting)
Sure, you get to fuck a lot of really hot women, but you have to work long (no pun intended) hours under adverse conditions, and if you fail just once you might never get another job in that business.
I don't think that most of us would expect the video game business to be well, all fun and games, we expect that like most jobs there will be aspects to it that supremely suck ass.
People who want to work in that business have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Though I'll concede that reality can be even more harsh than what they expect.
LK
Knowing what you're getting yourself into (Score:3, Interesting)
be careful (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I'm not a game programmer (Score:2, Interesting)
Not an easy job to get... (Score:2, Interesting)
On that note... if you actually like to play video games consider a different industry. I used to enjoy games on my own time, but working with them ruined that for me. Now, when I play a game, I can hardly have fun... I just see bugs and bad design.
You see, you haven't really beaten a game until you can crash it reproducibly.
UnreadEd Project (Score:2, Interesting)
This was our first experience with level 'design'. We were simply modelling a section of our school; it was a challenge to keep things acurate. We barely scratched the surface of UnrealEd and it was a humbling experience. UnrealEd has it's fair share of bugs, hopefully most will be gone in UT2K4. I have a newfound respect for level designers. The tools have come a long way since I played with level design in Duke Nuke'm 3D.
Re:I'm not a game programmer (Score:5, Interesting)
Mod this redundant. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Textures? (Score:3, Interesting)
give the illusion of texture.
You might also ask why do they call it 3D when in reality it is a two dimensional image
giving the illusion of 3D.
Re:I'm not a game programmer (Score:5, Interesting)
You get a lot of idealistic kids coming out of high school/college thinking they want to write video games because they like to play them, which is about as stupid a conclusion as you can draw. Nevermind most game production houses are really small, hire maybe one or two people a year, and when they do you've gotta be a guru. Christ, you practically need a master's degree in mathematics to mess with the 3d engines these days. Besides, in 5 years, they'll probably replace all the programmers with people in India.
Actually... (Score:2, Interesting)
Unreal Engine best for now (Score:2, Interesting)
But as others have mentioned, making videogames is a JOB, not playtime. Its like any software development, hard work, often long hours, stress, etc. That's not a bad thing, that's just the JOB.
The Unreeal Tournament 2003 game is $30 or so now, and comes with the editor and a working version of Maya, which gives you access to ALL of the tools and levels and art that went into the game. Go online to www.PlanetUnreal.com and you can find plenty of links for mod communities, art tutorials, other people's work, etc. I'm 33 years old, but I'm quite sure that most of the tutorials that got me my dream job were written by 14 year olds. Unreal's a good engine to use, its the prettiest right now, easy to pick up, lots of other people are using it. And its a lot cheaper than a $3000 copy of 3DMax, yet you could totally get a job based on your work in that free tool.
This year, it gets even more fun. Whenever Half Life 2 and Doom3 come out, they're releasing the editors along with the games, so anyone can play with the absolute cuttingest edge.
I'm not saying school is useless, just [opinion alert] schools tailored for videogames. Go to school, study architecture, art history, 3d design, psychology, general stuff that will be useful to you for you whole life. If you want to make videogames, tho, go online and read what the 14 year olds wrote today.
Thas' all