Posts by Sjonsson

  • Level Designer Position (Frogsong Studios, Sweden)

    Hello Mapcore! Didn't post here for a loooong time. I'm looking for a design partner-in-crime and I know there's some kickass level designers lurking about here!NOTE: Don't send me DM here, not here very often. Use contact form or mail.

    Full Time Position[/b]

    OBSERVE[/b]: If you have problems using the contact form, send a mail to [email protected] instead.

    We are currently looking for a Level Designer with a strong portfolio and passion for creating games similar to that of D-Corp in Unreal Engine 4.

    As a Level Designer at a small studio like ours you will have broad tasks which will have you doing not just level design but also a bit of game design, level dressing and more! Your job will include everything that comes with a level to bring it from a prototype stage to a shipped level and more.

    Responsibilities include[/b]

    Create paper designs Blockouts Scripting Level design direction Design Level mechanics Lots of playtesting [/list]http://frogsong-studios.com/wp-content/upl…ot-1024x542.png Example of a prototyped level for D-Corp Qualifications[/b]

    Strong communication skills and an open mind Experience going through a full development cycle of levels Experience in a modern game engine (preferably UE4) At least 1 year of experience in the games industry [/list] Pluses[/b]

    Experience with UE4 Blueprints (visual scripting) Experience with modelling tools (Blender/Maya) Developed multiplayer or co-op games Experience in lighting and composition Experience with level art production Professional proficiency in Swedish, both verbal and written Willing to relocate to Malmö, Sweden (or commute within the area) [/list] Our need is simple, have someone that brings fun and interesting levels to our games!

    What we offer[/b]

    http://frogsong-studios.com/wp-content/upl…02/DevHub-1.jpg Aside from a bunch of hearthy frog people, we have a great office at Dev Hub in Malmö where you can, (whenever the pandemic is over), enjoy the company of other devs, events and a plethora of great lunch places nearby. Our games are at the heart of every step we take, but not only do we want to make the best games possible, we also want to make sure everyone is feeling well doing so. If you’re looking for a tightly knit team with a good sense of humour, give us a ping!

    No qualifying day (karensdag) In addition to 25 days of vacation, a 1,5-2 weeks studio shutdown around the end of the year (winter holidays) Paid pension Sauna at Office Flexible work hours No crunch policy Possibility to work remote [/list] NOTE: For the time being the team is working remotely[/b] due to the pandemic.

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    Quote from NikiOo

    10 hours ago, NikiOo said: Are those rocks all displacements or do you have custom models?

    I like the aesthetic, gj! I'm not sure if you're into texturing but I find the rock texture a bit noisy and it messes up readability so maybe that's worth a look. Also I think you should add some support beams behind those metal plates so they merge better with the rocks. Right now they look like they're just glued onto the walls. Made a quick shop to explain. Also nice just to bring some planks/woodwork into the material palette! :)[Blocked Image: https://imgur.com/JsMJ2nC.jpg]

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    Quote from Radu

    1 hour ago, Radu said: @Sjonsson the textures aren't really helping with the venezian theme. The environment seems pretty cool though. I've always liked levels that used water as an obstacle.

    You're correct about that for sure. I looked through the library and couldn't really find the Italian feel anywhere. So I have been looking more at other canal-filled places like Amsterdam. I mean City 17 is in Prague so I don't think it's possible to make it look authentic to Venezia. Wait, that's Veniz right? All these langauges and changing names, in Swedish it's 'Venedig'. WHY would you rename someone else's city? I was a bit worried at first about using water as obstacles. But the combine force field/fences helps out a lot when it comes to closing off the canals without obstructing the vision forcefully with boats, physical barricades etc. But yeah I agree, water levels are cool! I especially love canals.

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    Quote from 2d-chris

    On 2017-08-20 at 5:45 PM, 2d-chris said: Particles are really fun to make, I love doing them. Kind of a secret art form but in reality they are not too hard, unless you want to do insane stuff.

    Word! It's so damn rewarding. Yeah, I feel like the hardest part is understanding how different shader-models will work together, like what happens exactly when you put an additive shader ontop of a multiplying shader on top of an alpha-blended. What would the visuals results be? What happens with contrasts? Color blending? etc It's like you almost need to understand how the shaders work on a code level.

  • What's going on with your life?

    Quote from blackdog

    On 2017-08-07 at 6:18 PM, blackdog said: Serious stuff @Sjonsson, glad you managed to find a quick solution and I'm sure you will feel much more rewarded.

    Definitely overtime is a killer, I always say that giving back time when company has downtime, doesn't really help because sustained overtime feel "longer" (the time it take to relax is much longer than the hours you will take back in downtime).

    I didn't experience what you experienced but I have been this close to say "fuck you" to my boss, I would play Doom or music as loud as I could to make people around me aware I was angry, and went outside in the bin where we throw broken crockery to smash stuff up…

    Totally agree with how long it actually takes to relax and regenerate. Longetivity burn tears you up good. Haha, I never had that anger with a boss. Man must be really hard. :D

  • What's going on with your life?

    Quote from Sigma

    22 hours ago, Sigma said: Sucks that you had to go through that Stefan, but in the end it worked out alright. I completely support your removing work distractions from your home life as it is highly disruptive and stress inducing to be at home and still have your mind on work. I too learned this lesson (not quite as harsh as your version). It really does wonders to make the distinctions necessary for us to decompress.

    As for what to do with your new found free time, I suggest taking up something that is relaxing to you. As an example, I cook to relax. It takes my mind completely off of the day's to-do lists and I focus solely on what's in front of me (delicious food). Not to mention it makes the wife very happy too (women love men who can cook). Stay away from anything that is actually related (in subject) to your work though. It would only help drive your mind back towards your work and potentially re-trigger your stress.

    Thanks for the fine words! :) Yeah I think you're entirely right. I've decided to do some interior design in my appartment like buying some old stuff and refurbish them. You're not the first who warns me about re-triggers, I hope the structural difference, that I now only work daytime is enough to have it sorted. Gotta get that wifu thing sorted as well.

  • What's going on with your life?

    Haven't posted in here for quite a while. Just lurking, but I feel I have something to share. I came back from vacation this monday and starting a new work routine. Now I work 50% (9.00 AM-14.00 PM) at The Game Assembly, still as level design teacher and 50% (14.15-18.00 PM) at my own studio. Over the course of 3,5 years I haven't worked on a daily basis on my own studio and I'm finally there, can't believe it. Earlier there was always another mail to read/write, a tweet to post/answer, spontaneous 2-4 hour meetings in the middle of the week et cetera, another hole in the budget for me to solve singlehandedly within 3-4 weeks with impending doom of being forced to fire our two fulltime programmers - but now that's over. Finally I can focus, well rested and DAY TIME. Always had the plan of dropping down to 50% with my teaching job but I didn't intend on it happening so soon. The trigger for this change was actually some kind of a breakdown, some six weeks ago, a sunday night, I just couldn't fall asleep due to massive stress, head was spinning, couldn't stand up because of the diziness. I guess my body finally gave me a serious response. I didn't go to work the following week and when I came back I had a serious talk with my boss. We concluded that my work situation didn't work out and I got to drop down. It was a weird experience to me, I think I remember myself being a lot more stressed out than that evening/night because of much more urgent and important matters but I guess it was about the longitude. It's not only that I want to vent this. I really just want to once again mention the pains of overtime and why you REALLY should listen to yourself. If it wasn't for the fact that I could escape my life for the full length of swedish summer vacation (4 weeks) I'm not sure what would've happend. I'm not sure I was close to 'burning out', but not being able to stand up because of the pressing thoughts in your head aren't good signs. Anyway, now I feel good and well rested after the vacation and I decided it was time I separate my home from work. I have uninstalled slack from my home pc, disconnected my workmail et cetera (I think you should too.) Still haven't figured what I'm gonna do with all this free mental space, but that's not really a problem. And that feels so fucking good to say.

  • What's going on with your life?

    Quote from Radu

    22 hours ago, Radu said: It would be a shame if someone.. you know .. blew it up

    Hahaha! Well the risk if half of the game. That's what I like about games with perma-death / destructive features. Just knowing that if we make the wrong jump we'll lose the equivalent of weeks of playtime.

  • What's going on with your life?

    So I have to tell you guys something. Roughly two weeks ago we got the message that we were accepted to the first game company incubator here in Malmö (Sweden). Today we spent our first day in the office and we got our first studio-for-hire contract signed as well. Our contract is with the Swedish Aircraft Agency for which we will be modelling airports for their flight control tower simulator and while it's not exactly games it's very different from the consulting work we've done earlier, because this contract means that we can work on it as a studio and not split up our entire team on different projects. I also dropped down to 70% with my teaching job so I can finally work day-time with our own stuff and I'll most probably drop down even more before the end of this year. This is it, almost three years later and I now see us as a serious indie studio, we got a project that's coming out the door this year (Spellsworn) and are starting the pre-production for the next one this summer, we got an office and well.. I'm just so happy and grateful to be where I am! :D Walking on clouds right now but I'm so scared there'll be a hole somewhere! Gotta keep my cool. Here's me in our office! (To be pimped)

  • Reboot Game Conference

    Quote from clankill3r

    15 hours ago, clankill3r said: I watched the talk about jonathan blows new programmng language online. Can't wait to get my hands on that. Waiting atleast 1 and a half year now... :)

    I actually got to talk to him a little bit when he was chilling in the lobby. I told him I was very much looking forward to see what he'll do with his next game and asked if we'll see something coming out soon he said that 'first I have to make the language, then the game, so there's quite a lot of work to do'. So I'm guessing it's still anything from one to several years from now. Will probably be really cool though.

    Quote from blackdog

    1 hour ago, blackdog said: Need to check that; I tried to watch one of the streams but apart from being out of context, i just don't like unorganised "talks".

    Wonder how long it will take him to get to a release state, has he open sourced to work with others?

    Yeah, I loved the talks I went too but some of them really wasn't prepared at all and gave a lot of interesting thoughts but off-topic. Chris Avallone, Tim Cain and Alex Kennedy (Sunless Sea) and they were supposed to talk about Geography in relation to World Building which is something I'd love to hear more about but they had more of a talk regarding writing and building worlds in general. What's the point of having a topic if it's not being followed? And yeah you are right, parties where really nice! Some friends hired this villa up in the mountains, was really sweet. Will post some pics later to tease you guys. Insofar best and most relaxed conference and I also got a lot out of it. Maybe even a publisher for our game, Spellsworn, but it's too soon to say. :D