Hey everyone
I'm on the lookout for level designers to join my team over at Playground Games in the UK, working on Fable! We have two positions open currently: Level Designer (Contract) - https://playground-games.com/careers/otPGlfw3/
Senior Level Designer (Contract) - https://playground-games.com/careers/oBZGlfwl/ Both job postings mention that prior industry experience is required, however if you have an awesome portfolio, I'd still love to see it!
Cheers, Paul
Spent a few years away from management but it gradually pulled me back in ? I'm now the Lead Level Designer on Fable over at Playground Games!
I mean, it's a childish thing to do, but I'm still surprised by the 'epically pwned' nonsense
Can't say I spent a lot of time gaming this year, it didn't feel like there were many huge releases to get stuck into, not until later in the year anyway. I played a lot of Warzone, which I enjoyed, then played TLOU2 which I didn't, so much. AC Valhalla was ok - far too long though. I'd give my GOTY to Cyberpunk, really enjoyed it despite the bugs.
Surely if anyone can finally make another good bond game (after Goldeneye) it's these guys with this engine. If they stick to the subterfuge and the hiding-in-plain-sight of the Hitman series, but with bond's gadgets, it could be class. I just hope they don't feel the need to put in an awkward driving section.
I was all about the 360 but then switched to PS4 for last gen, this time around am switching back to Xbox for the Series X (as I don't need to pay for Gamepass Ultimate but would have to buy a PS Plus subscription). I will get both though, probably just not going to get a PS5 until later next year when some of the big exclusives start to come out (Horizon ZD maybe), and it should be cheaper by that time. It's strange that neither console has any big hitters in terms of exclusives for launch, but am looking forward to playing Valhalla next week and COD the following weekend, and might also pick up Ghostrunner.
Was great to finally be able to officially announce the development of Fable during the showcase ?
Stalker 2, The Medium and Avowed all piqued my interest, exciting times ahead!
Quote from FMPONE2 hours ago, FMPONE said: We’re all just old. 14 year olds see the bendy shapes and probably freak
I'm 36 ? Maybe it's dementia then
No one likes the design? I think it looks pretty smart, though I agree it seems too big.
Love the theme for this, my wife and I had a wedding ceremony in Istanbul wedding last year and we went to Cappadocia for a few days after, lovely place. Looks like you're doing it justice!
This was a cool level, it was a shame they attached such terrible music to it though
Hey guys, more Level Design positions available on our RPG project! Looking for people of all experience levels. Here's the summary, let me know if you have any questions, or apply here!
Playground Games is looking for a Level Designer to join our RPG team. As a member of the design team on a AAA title, you’ll take responsibility for large sections of the game's level design. You will be a part of the level design team on our open-world action RPG AAA title. You will work closely with narrative, environment art and quest design to develop the vision of open-world environments. You will be responsible for designing and implementing level designs using 3DS Max to build and iterate them into high-quality console environments.
Skills summary: Experience working in a Level Design position on at least one published title An ability to develop lasting and productive relationships in a collaborative team with diverse perspectives Experience with at least one 3D software package or level design tool A track record of quality in your previous work demonstrable with portfolio materials Knowledge of key level design concepts Excellent written and verbal communication skills Proactively seeks to resolve issues A genuine passion for games [/list] This is a fantastic opportunity to join one of the world’s most exciting games studios, using the latest technology to create world class games, within a successful, highly talented and collaborative team.
15 hours ago, [HP] said: Every studio is different, inhouse tools are diferent, even when studios use the same engine the workflow changes entirely. Studios using a modeling package like 3DsMax or Maya for their level designers to blockout their levels are rare these days though, for many reasons, one of them being that it increases the iteration time. If you wanna move a block 2 meters to the side, you need to boot the modeling package, export your geo, boot the game editor, import geo, wait for file to import. At the end of the year, you're probably talking hours of man hours wasted. Some people use it sure, I can actually see it being the prefered way for a racing game due to the tracks being so organic, you need a really good modeling toolkit.
BUT, that's not even why I said what I said. If you're starting out, and learning the ropes of level design and the first thing you do is grab 3DsMax and learn to model, for me it's just feels like going to the gym and start lifting more weights than you're capable of pushing. Odds are that you're gonna give up, and you're never gonna get into the routine of going to the gym. You wanna start with the fundamentals.
UE4 has a basic modeling toolkit, more than capable of blocking out levels, and there's modular kits in their store as well. (Same for Unity)
I don't disagree with you. I was just pointing out that learning 3D Max can still be beneficial and not a complete waste of time, from the perspective of a level designer working in the industry, on an open-world game, and using it professionally. When it comes to learning level design there's definitely many ways to approach it and many tools that are valid.
Quote from Tisky1 minute ago, Tisky said: I actually know basic 3Ds max, i guess it doesn't hurt to know it to a degree where you can make your own assets if needed. Knowledge is power ?
Sure, it's still by no means a requirement for many places of work I would think, but definitely doesn't hurt to have working knowledge of it.
Your original question is of interest to me too. When I was learning I too used Hammer/Worldcraft and early versions of Unreal to create levels for things like HL2, Unreal Tournament and the SWAT series, but I found myself wondering recently what games people use to learn nowadays. Seems like CSGO is still an option, but what else...
Quote from FrieChamp6 minutes ago, FrieChamp said: Wow. No other tools allowed?
Not currently no. Our level design job role description specifies that the user will be working with Max so we expect applicants to have knowledge of modelling programs.
On 11/16/2019 at 9:10 PM, [HP] said: If making maps is your goal (pure level design) you don't need to know 3dsmax at all, or any other package. You'll be working with pre existing modular kits, or with simple bsp geo, or even just cubes. A LD job is gameplay, and design, maybe try and help out the theme a little bit too, it depends from person to person.
Not entirely true HP! I started working in the industry making racing games, and purely using 3DS Max to design /whitebox the tracks (this is still the case at both Codemasters and Playground Games on their racing projects). At Crytek I was using CryEngine to make multiplayer maps, but it helped to know 3DS Max to add my own models to some of my whiteboxes (granted, it wasn't as beneficial during some of the projects in this period). Same thing when it came to whiteboxing in Unreal for the projects I was involved in before moving to Playground Games. Here at PG, I again currently use 3DS Max as my primary tool for whiteboxing content, and our level design test is currently based in Max as well. So I'd say having the ability to whitebox in such a program would be beneficial, not least because the tools within a lot of contemporary game editors are similar to what you'd find in Max anyway, when it comes to manipulating blockout geometry.
It's still a 20-30 hour game depending on how much time you want to invest in side content. But more manageable than some other RPG's sure
There's no voting this time round, so the maps are just based on server rotation, which unfortunately seems a bit broken. Though saying that I am aware about the removal of the night-time maps so I understand why I'm not seeing those, it's just the few others that hardly ever come up that's strange. In my experience it's a common issue with COD titles at launch, though not understandable why it continues to be a problem.
I read the night maps will be introduced (or maybe already have been) as a separate playlist, due to them requiring bespoke equipment. Though why they can't exist along the other maps and require the player to have a ready-made class especially for them I'm not sure.
I have to say that I agree with quite a few of the points raised in Blackdog's video. The maps don't seem to support my typical play-style (run and gun) and I've found myself having to revert to camping just to get some kills, mostly because it's what everyone else is doing. Also it's entirely possible for your team to get trapped in their own spawn area on a number of the maps. It's a difference between the Infinity Ward and Treyarch approaches to map design that I've noticed over the years, and always found myself favouring the more expansive environments that the Black Ops series provided.
As a disclaimer, my opinion is only based on the 6 or so TDM maps I've played, as none of the others are coming up in the rotation currently (only Azhir Cave, Hackney Yard, Gun Runner, Piccadily, Rammaza and St Petrograd come up regularly. The Palace one has appeared once in the last few days. I have yet to play any of the night time maps, or any other mode outside of TDM).
