Posts by Patrick_H

I think I played this one the other day...

Although to be honest, I haven't enjoyed any of the custom maps so far for TF2. I think modders see the simple art style of the game and are fooled into believing that it is easy to map for the game. After logging hundreds of hours in TF2, I've come to realize that every little nook and corner in the map is very carefully considered. The level design is deeply crafted, and planned for the eventualities of anything one of 9 character classes might do in the map, with the scale kept appropriate for everyone from a scout to a heavy.

That being said, this map is more visually pleasing than many, but I echo most of the criticisms about its game play.

Of course it matters.

Their decision to oversex the nurse (hence the RACK) to me indicates their art direction. At this point I would say it is overstated and typical- everything seems too prettified or obvious, what I would expect from an American developer adapting a more subtle form of horror. I would liken it to "The Suffering" compared to "Silent Hill". Much of this new SH content reminds me too much of "The Suffering". While I like both games, I don't want to play "Suffering in Silent Hill".

Why oh why doesn't Ubisoft ever buy my favorite studios?

Quote from D3ads

I think the creatures feel very much like anything Team Silent could come up with

Did you see the RACK on the nurse? That is NOT something the original team would have done. No way.

...Oh wait, maybe Alex Shepherd watches a lot of PORN, and the nurses embody his desires. Gimme a break.

I hadn't heard of this either. I'm dismayed about the change of developer. While the game still looks like a Silent Hill title, somehow the art style looks "Americanized" to me. The nurses are oversexed, and the protagonist looks more like a square-jawed hunky male action hero. I liked that the previous entries lacked these typical characteristics. It looks like Hollywood took over. I'm skeptical that this game will be weird enough for my tastes.

I have been anxiously awaiting Origins for some time and will get it for sure.

Ha! Awesome.

Never played BF2, so I can't compare. I've been testing this game since January, and its come a long way. Played the demo on steam last week. It runs very smoothly. One of our guys at work has it at home and claims he gets mad fps. The art direction and megatexture exteriors are awesome but its a shame that so much of the interior and building art had to get stripped to let it run well. The interior ambient cubemaps system works well some of the time but sometimes looks washed out.

RE: the youtube vid-

Wow, and I thought I had time on my hands.

Oh man- those names are so macho...its hilarious, and then to follow it with "Fragile Alliance". Kane and Lynch are REAL men, but they have a sensitive side! This isn't a humorous series, is it?

I think I'll overlook the wiseassity of that and play it straight.

Ignoring the wiseassity of the comment, Patrick played it straight and remarked, "I played Half-Life 2, but I haven't gotten around to Episode 1, and I am really looking forward to Episode 2, where perhaps the facial animations will match those of idTech 5 characters."

Awww, schnap!

Quote from e-freak

sucks.Seriously. The editor looks like Battlecraft 42 with "Ultra-New-Next-Gen-Shader" and placing Prefabs everythere. Look at the part there Carmack places those stones and bones. It seems it is all texture and seriously - even Half-Life 1 had modelled gibs and didn't need parallax-shaders for a single stone.

I think maybe you're missing the point of the strategy behind idStudio. It doesn't use many brushes at all, mostly meshes- as brush-based geometry is dead in the next wave of engines. The secret to large outdoor environments in the engine is in the texture. Virtualized texturing- the entire terrain is rendered as one draw call, regardless of how many stamps and blends are on the terrain, and the designer gets free reign to decide which and how many of those terrain textures to use. I don't know of an engine that virtualizes polygons.

Quote from FrieChamp

After being somewhat left behind by UE3 and well, CE2 I guess as well, it seems ID finally heard the wake up call and managed to take the leap from engines that are optimized for interiors to something that supports large, detailed, open environments.

If you look at Quake Wars, you'll see that this leap has already been made. iD has definitely benefited from Splash Damage's learning curve in optimizing the engine for that game.

Quote from buddy the designer

Awesome.But still, facial animation is worse than HL2's.

Maybe we were watching different demos- I would say the character's facial animation in the Rage demo was better than anything I had seen in HL2.

Congratulations! Gearbox does indeed seem like a great company. I just came back from QuakeCon in Dallas, where I met one of their graphics programmers, Corinne Yu. I have 3 words about Dallas- HOT. AS. FUCK. Get ready for that- their is a huge difference between NJ and Texas. Of course I was coming from Vancouver, so that is an even bigger difference. But I digress- congratulations once again!

I couldn't put Resident Evil 4 down, so this game for sure is going to be the one that gets me to finally buy one o' them shiny new console gizmos.

Gawd...as if I wasn't sick enough of "Guitar Hero" already.

Air guitar should have never gone further than air guitar. I am sure it will sell.

Congratulations!

Myspace is supposed to be about social networking, LinkedIn is supposed to be mainly career-related. Everybody at Threewave started using LI, I did too but it remains to be seen if it has any value.

Threewave Software is looking for a sharp, ambitious, visionary Level Designer to join our team. As an ideal candidate you will have at least 2+ years experience in game design. You will be responsible for creating and developing single and multiplayer missions. As a successful incumbent you will contribute to a major aspect of game design: single-player experience, multiplayer, and/or gameplay mechanics etc… and work with other designers to brainstorm and implement design concepts. Above all, your role is to ensure that the game is “fun,” by designing and implementing appropriate software for the user. Good interpersonal and communications skills are a must. You will report directly to the Lead Level Designer

Main Responsibilities:

* Create levels for Multi player or Single player games on a next-generation title.

* Work closely with the Art Director and Lead Game designer to enhance the immersion and fun factor of your levels.

Education and Experience:

* 2+ years of game development experience.

* Various levels of education will be considered coupled with a minimum of 3-5 years design experience in the video game industry.

* One or more shipped AAA titles as a level designer would be an asset, FPS preferred.

* A degree is required for all international candidates.

Requirements:

* Experience with 3D suites (Max, Maya, MissionMan, QeRadiant etc.) for creating game missions and environments

* Experience with Source, Doom or Unreal3 Engine

* Excellent written and communication skills

* Experience with mission and level scripting, including AI, in-game interactive sequences, puzzles, objectives etc – including writing, modifying, integrating and testing software code.

Preferences:

* Development of design documentation for mechanics, systems, and freeplay and mission summaries.

* Design, implement and balance multiplayer missions.

* Extensive knowledge of FPS games and their mechanisms.

* A passion for and broad knowledge of various genres and games on different platforms, with an ability to critically analyze them .

* Next generation console game development experience – Xbox 360, PS3.

* Cross platform development experience.

* Understanding of basic programming or scripting languages (LUA, Perl, Javascript, Python, C++, C, C#, etc..) is a strong asset.

* Experience using Perforce.

* Preferred candidates will have produced finished and playable levels with id or Valve technology.

* A strong desire to create compelling games that are original and successful in a competitive market

Duties:

* Contribute to the design team, in defining the creative vision, technical specifications, fun factor, story creation and product content for assigned products.

* Work with the Producer and the Design Lead to drive the team’s understanding of the project’s vision.

* Identify and communicate technical problems, processes and solutions.

* Design, implement and test single-player mission, from initial concept to the final product.

* Write and maintain Design Documents for internal and external use.

* Bring new ideas to the table in regards to every facet of the game: mechanics, story, missions, and more.

* Exhibit good comprehension of gameplay values and spatial reasoning.

* Absorption and continuous learning of all fields related to level design, staying in tune with trends and products emerging in the gaming marketplace.

* Responsible for play testing and providing feedback to other team members

* Teamwork and Team-First attitude; Work closely with other team members (other designers, art and programming) to implement design concepts.

* Development of working and final design documentation, including but not limited to mechanics, systems, freeplay and mission summaries.

* Help shape and herald the game’s vision

Position Status: Full Time, extensive benefits package and stock options

Relocation: Relocation assistance and visa sponsorship is available to qualified candidates.

Submission Instructions: If you meet the noted requirements and want to be part of a successful team offering a bright future then we want to hear from you!

Please submit the following directly to: [email protected]

Application Requirements:

* Cover letter stating your availability

* Current CV / Resume including salary expectations

* List of credits/titles denoting platform

* Please reference “Level Designer” in the subject line of your email

Check out our website @ [email protected] to the attention of Kathy Gibson, Director of HR.

Quote from Hourences

If a single task is fragmentated into too many different people and even entire departments then thats bad for the consistency of the world and the workflow of the designers (they have to run back and forth between two groups all the time, or wait for the other one to finish)

Amen.

I don't think I have heard the term environment "designer" as much as environment "artist".

From my understanding, level designers work at building the geometry of an environment for the purposes of gameplay, and planning that gameplay as well. The environment artist would use their artistic ability to bring the level to life with assets in the form of textures and models. These assets are made available to the level designer to place around the environment, which is sometimes dictated by conceptual art of the location.

It seems that the division of labor is made more because each person only has enough time to attend to their own separate tasks. Designing sequences of gameplay and the space required for it would end up taking most of a level designer's time, so it is necessary to relegate the remaining tasks of creating a game to specialists like an environment, texture, or concept artist.

I haven't been at this as long as Ferret, but game development is so complicated now that it seems a necessity.