Posts by sensee

honestly I think we all shouln't listen to you Hourences.

I've never seen somebody which such an huge amount of high quality maps in his portfolio and I've seen many portolios, even from people who already are in the industry.

Quote from Hourences

I think it's going to be more and more difficult for a mapper to create a greater amout of impressive maps.

To create an stunning map you need at least some custom content, because nobody gets excited by a city17-looking map, no matter how well it's done. And that's the big problem, because current gen (HL2, Doom3) mapping plus the creation of custom textures and props is extremely time consuming.

There are very few HL2 (or CSS) maps with custom content. Maybe the best of them is de_corse by hessi and the guy worked as far as I know over 1 year on it.

There will be less good maps in the future yeah but its still possible as discussed before.

Certainly for HL2 its possible. I can understand that for UT2007 and HL3 or whatever there will be less content but that shouldnt be the case for the current generation of games. UT2004 is in a lot of ways similar to HL2. HL2 uses even more bsp thus relying less on meshes yet there are hundreds of UT2004 maps with a lot or nearly only custom content which results in a lot of themes.

It is possible.

Im sure fewer maps will be more able to impress in the future but the point will still stand. You do not have a lot of experience if you only made one or two levels and I see that happen to a lot of people, they still face a lot of difficulties or trouble when they design a level after they are hired. Its not just the skill of making it, its also the skill of designing it and finishing it. Someone who made a lot of levels is very efficient at what he does because he knows exactly what steps to take because he has done it so many times before. And no matter how awesome and extensive that one level is the author still did everything just one time...

Of course experience is very important but I hope that an employer should be able to compromise in that matter because, as I said it takes a hell lot of time to gain that experience.

Also we must not forget that there are many different genres and kinds of games and the creation of maps can be very different from case to case.

Let's say you have an awesome CSS mapping workflow, it doesn't necessarily mean that this experience will help you a lot when it comes to create an map for an RPG.

Most of non-professional mapper create multiplayer maps for "traditional" ego shooter, but only a small part of them will actually work on such maps when they get hired.

Quote

One good map = The author was lucky

Two good levels = Still lucky

10 good levels = Shows he knows exactly what to do to get a good result. Skill and not luck.

I think it's going to be more and more difficult for a mapper to create a greater amout of impressive maps.

To create an stunning map you need at least some custom content, because nobody gets excited by a city17-looking map, no matter how well it's done. And that's the big problem, because current gen (HL2, Doom3) mapping plus the creation of custom textures and props is extremely time consuming.

There are very few HL2 (or CSS) maps with custom content. Maybe the best of them is de_corse by hessi and the guy worked as far as I know over 1 year on it.

Do the good designer at least get a better paycheck?

I can't believe what I'm hearing...

just take a look at FEAR or condemned. the level design (art & gameplay) is rather boring and unspectacular for such big AAA titles.

I've seen a lot of guys with very mediocre portfolios getting a job in the industry recently.

I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.

I like the idea behind the name and the logo looks cool.

The main problem is like Gaz said, that it sounds too much like wee. That's going to cause a lot of immature jokes...

cOuNtEr-$Tr1kE1994: "LoL RoFL wii soundz like WEE"

g4ngst4_50c3nt: "nintendo suxxx!!!!!!!!111111 L0L"

I'm shocked. Your portfolio is really outstanding and you got 12 rejection?! That does kinda discourage me...

Anyways, congrats on your new job, you really deserve it!

Quote from Minotauro

That won't help if my biggest fear comes true in the near future sensee: Since games are getting too complex, companies will be VERY demanding as well. Also, they will rather be more "mechanized" than "humanized", if you get what I mean. That all will lead to boredom and that feeling of emptiness, which are the worst feelings a human being can have imo.I know I'm being a bit too pessimistic but you better have a Plan-B in case things go wrong. That's why a degree is important imo... they aren't really important to get into the industry indeed but they will if you decided to quit.

You are absolutely right about having degree, but it takes time to achieve that and maybe in 4 years it could be much more difficult to actually get a job in the game industry. It also would be harder to build up a strong portfolio because school can be very time-consuming. Maybe it's the best way to study something that is somehow related to game design like industrial design or traditional art.

I don't quite share your pessimism about the future of gaming. Games are a form of art and a form of entertainment and it takes creative minds and certainly not "robots" to create them. Of course there are many exceptions (EA...) but those studios who create dull and repetitive games will never be able to take over the whole market, because there will always be a demand for fun and creative games.

And the demand is getting bigger. I mean the DS is outsaling the PSP. Ubi is getting bigger - EA is getting smaller. Games like Katamari Damacy are a huge success and last but not least, the Revolution is coming.

I see a bright future

I wouldn't worry about such a thing.

Let's say you are a texture designer who worked 5 years for the same company and you get bored by your job, you still have a lot of options left. You can learn a 3d application and become an environment or character artist or you can improve your artistic skills and start making concept art. You could try to get a job in another company (maybe the gras is greener there) or move to another country. It shouldn't be that hard to get "unstuck".

Sure, being a game designer is a hard job, but which job isn't?

Quote from dissonance

I duno about most of it, but I'll be damned if that ain't the awesomest melee weapon ev0r.

[Blocked Image: http://www.thewall.de/content/media/allgemeines_gamedesign/artikel/lighting_2/lightingtwo03.jpg]

screenshot from poke646

I hate to say this but the screens on their page look very dull.

The props are nice (probably downloaded from somewhere) but the brushwork is just horrible.

Anyways who cares... I want more SP mods!!

Sure Wal-Mart is big but it's not that big. Even in the US there are many other big retailers like Best Buy and not to mention online stores like Amazon.com.

And don't forget that there's a world outside the USA. Europe has a huge market as well and this is almost Wal-Mart-free.

Last but not least, there's Japan. Not only that Japan is one of the worlds biggest game markets, it is also the the most important country for game development and I'm quite sure that Sony, Big N and all the others over there are not influenced by Wal-Mart.

To be honest, the whole article from that guy sounded more like a conspiracy theory than a factual report.

I wouldn't even care if Revolution had the same specs as the GameCube.

One of the best looking games I've seen on any system is Resident Evil 4. I mean, screw normal mapping and all these fancy shaders. What really counts is the art style and the lifelike animations.

Same goes for Shadow of the Colossus btw.

well you used a lot of custom props that aren't made by yourself.

so although your map is quite solid, it feels kinda inconsistent.

anyways the CS kiddies are gonna love the nude hostages :roll:

maybe it's just me, but that doesn't make sense regarding the previous sentence

Anything that juts out from the wall more than 6 inches uses a normal map (and will require you to make that map piecemeal in photoshop with that filter by hand, not by filtering the entire image, or by making a model for it)

postman please explain

/the low rider hitler somehow disturbs me more than peris' calvin and hobbes

Quote from The Postman

Anything that juts out from the wall less than 6 inches should be a height map (black and white image) and this counts divots, scratches, woodgrain and subtle changes in the surface of materials.

what kind of highmap do you mean?

the only highmaps i know in this context are those for bump maps and those for parallax mapping. both of them are not supported by the source engine and as far as I know, bump maps have been pretty much replaced by normal mapping.

most schools I encountered around Georgia don't have windows. probably to keep down costs for A/C during summer because it's so hot there.

that's really impressive lighting!

what entities and settings did you use to achieve that? did you use fog or something or how did you manage do get that blueish look?