Posts by Jord

  • Absolutely At a Loss On How To Progress As a Level Designer.

    Quote from Gale

    To start off, I've only been mapping seriously for 1 - 1/2 years, and have improved quite a bit over that time period(I'm amazed at how fast you can learn a skill). Right now, I'm working with the Source engine, and I know the next step for me is going to be asset creation(ie. Material Design, Modelling, and much much much later Programming), but as far as level design goes I'm at a loss. I've read all of the articles on the sticky, and even though when I read over them once or twice I notice new things, I really lack in execution. As far as technical knowledge goes in the Source engine, I'm pretty confident that I know 80% of what I need to know for just level design(Never really messed with logical entities, and various unknown unknowns).

    The main thing I struggle with is more broad things like developing an Aesthetic from scratch without relying on cliches(powerful tools no doubt) too much, and just coming up with ideas in general. I'm also -really- bad at keeping things basic when I start a level, I can't seem to get any level layouts in my head without actually opening up hammer and working, which in turn, creates some pretty stilted works. I've still got creative juices flowing, no doubt, but due to lacking some basic skills like the one I just mentioned, most of my projects come out pretty unflattering.

    Here is some of my stuff, in no particular order in terms of date: My Imgur Album.

    Is there anything you can suggest to me? Because I'm plateau-ing hard, and can't think of a way to get better, despite knowing the problems. I feel like I'm applying too many rules to myself, and it's messing with my ability to map, but feel those rules are necessary progress as a level designer, and to create something worthwhile.

    Any help on this would be greatly appreciated, and thanks for your time!

    So for starters what you're doing so far is awesome. Taking the time to teach yourself a level editor or game engine and the source engine is a great start. I want to put your mind at rest a little and try to give you some focus if level design is really what you're aiming for as opposed to full blown indie developer. I'm not saying you shouldn't try to progress your skills in each area, just don't stress about it if you're not that great at one particular thing. I'm going to try to speak broadly and not really specifically about a shooter or CS:GO maps or the source engine.

    The role of a Level Designer varies from company to company but it's pretty rare for a LD to master all of the skills you listed as your next steps. Unless you're working on a project by yourself or with a really small team there's little chance you'd ever be expected to design levels, create materials, create 3d assets from scratch and code. That being said, having a basic understand of all of these definitely helps, particularly knowledge of a 3d package and understanding of scripting/programming logic. No one will ever expect you to be as good at coding as a coder or as good at 3D art as an artist, though.

    Technical knowledge is great in mainstream game engines such as UE4, Unity, CryEngine as some studios will use these in-house and with solid technical knowledge you'll be able to really hit the ground running with minimal technical training required. A lot of the mainstream game engines have also influenced in-house engine development so it makes it easier to learn engines you've never used before, the skills can be pretty transferable.

    Initially when building a level the first thing you'll want to develop is the game play space, rather than try to thing too much about the aesthetic. It's a good idea to think about what spaces could be and what you want the player to be doing in the environment but how it really looks ultimately often won't be down to you, you'll have artists that create the assets and textures and do the majority of the level dressing. Again it varies from company to company on how much or little control you have during this process but it'll also be your responsibility to work alongside one or more artists to make sure everything is going in the right place and not negatively impacting game play. But you'll have to keep in mind it's a team effort, you're not their boss. As an example everywhere I've worked I've been paired up with an environment artist.

    A general pipeline to follow:

    When creating a level you'll first want to collect a ton of reference for what you're creating. This can be real places, environments from other games you've played, CG renders, concept art or anything that inspires you really.

    From there you can start to draw some 2D maps, usually top down, showing all of the key areas of the map and where key areas of game play will be such as quests, enemy encounters, boss battles, pickups, puzzles etc.

    After you've got a good 2D map start building your whitebox. You're aiming to build a game play space out of basic geometry which can be interpreted by an artist or anyone else that plays it without any textures or art. At this stage it's important to establish scale and make sure metrics are correct (areas you can jump to, gaps you can crouch/crawl under, walls you could crouch behind for cover etc). Don't worry about textures or making anything look pretty, basic colours will be fine at this point. Think purely about how it plays.

    Add in any game play elements or scripting that are important to the level such as AI paths, puzzle logic, pick up locations, spawn points etc. Don't worry too much about getting everything 100% right first time, this is an iterative process based on feedback from play tests and changes that the level will experience during it's development.

    I should also note that you'll never get it right first time and even if you think you have you'll iterate on it until you're finished, often this will be out of your control but in many cases it will make your level stronger. Playtesting is important even at an early stage so make sure you get plenty of people to play each iteration of your design like everyone does with their CS:GO maps with the Mapcore playtests. This feedback will be invaluable.

    When you or likely your boss is happy that the level plays well you can start to add art to it and this will be a constant process of working alongside artists and some back and forth with the level changing constantly until it is final and gets shipped.


    Advice for you:

    If you feel like you're confident with the source engine I'd suggest you have a look at some more advanced engines such as UE4 or Unity as it'll be a valuable learning experience. There are tons of tutorials out there and learning how to construct a level by trying to use the pipeline above might give you a bit more confidence.

    Personally I'd suggest you try to construct a level in a 3D package such as 3DS Max or Maya and then export that to the engine. As it'll give you some extra knowledge and it helps to know a 3D package.

    Practice drawing some 2D maps of existing levels from top down. Think of your favourite CS:GO level and dissect it.


    This is all based on my experience so far and talking with co-workers about their previous experiences but will vary a bit depending on company and team size.

    I rambled a bit so I hope that was helpful.

    Jord.

  • Oculus Rift

    Quote from Puddy

    Having tried the Vive, I'm waaaay more interested in that. Moving around is amazeballs.

    The Vive Portal Aperture demo blew my mind. I'll be getting a Vive I reckon.

  • Mapcore Introductions Thread

    Quote from Robinate

    Hey MapCore community!

    My name is Robin and I've been mapping for source for quite some time now, but nothing I have made has seen the light of day yet. I am currently working on a CS:GO map, de_deposit, on which I will probably be doing a test run very soon!

    I am also in the planning phase of another project, but I'm not yet ready to reveal anything.

    Welcome to the community Robin!

  • Valve: Future Hardware Plans

    I'm loving my Steam Link and Steam Controller so far, it's meant that I didn't need to buy a console and I can play local multiplayer steam games much easier than on my pc monitors.

    Also HTC Vive hype, the Aperture VR demo with the Hive was one of the greatest gaming experiences I've tried, it has huge potential but I'm worried about the space limitations in games where you could walk around due to the cable attached to your head.

  • What's going on with your life?

    Quote from TheOnlyDoubleF

    I had my first date with a girl from the dating app today. Weirdest ever.
    The girl added me on the app during lunch time and she starts the conversation. After 2 messages she asks for a meeting tonight. Obviously, I agree.

    I think these stories need their own thread.