Need advice for future portfolio.

[Tisky]

Hi. I´ve been around mapcore since 2002, but in the last 5 years i have not been so active because i started a family, i have two kids and a girlfriend.

I´ve acomplished eveything i wanted in life when i was young, except for one thing.

My big dream of working in the games industry. I started modding when i was 14, for Duke Nukem 3D, i made levels and other stuff then i started modding Quake. I made alot of mods, learned about models, textures, maps, etc etc. This went on with Half-Life (Worked on alot of mods) & Half-Life 2 (Mostly level editing), but then, STOP.

In 2005 i met the woman i love, and by 2008 we had our first child, late 2009 came the second one (yeah i know, short time between).

It is now 2010, and i´m gonna make a try to break in the industry at this is when i realize, i have not saved ANYTHING of what i´ve done in the past. Everything i made until 2006 was lost in a harddrive crash, i suck at backing up. So this is when i also realize i need to start making a portfolio, drawing, painting, modeling, texturing, etc.

So where do i want to get with this? I need your help to tell me what i should focus on. I dream of becoming a level designer, what engine should i focus on? Tips?

My dream would be my family moving to Canda or something, probably Montreal. I love Canada and game editing. So since already made all the other stuff i always dreamt about (except becoming a proffessional hockey player, i suck at skating) i sure will try making it. Im 27, and i realize i wont live forever.. So please help me.

- Tommy Johansson a.k.a Tisky

[e-freak]

Load UDK, learn the engine, get a game that uses Unreal, make a mission for it, become famous I assume that Unreal would be the most popular engine at the moment, so just stick to that. Or work with Source and make a really great Level Design for one of the recent games (Portal Puzzle, HL-Singleplayer or something for Team Fortress 2).

[Nysuatro]

Yeah like e-freak said. Learn how to use UDK. They have a lot of video tutorials ( http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/VideoTutorials.html ) and it is an engine that is used by many companies.

Try to find a project to work on with other people or maybe enter a level design competition like the one on 'Polycount'.

And post a lot of progress of you maps on this forum so you can get feedback from a lot of professional leveldesigners.

Maybe also try out levels of other people and write down what is good about it and what you would change.

[Tisky]

Thanks alot!

Anyone got any idea for what game i should buy that uses the unreal engine? Is Rainbow Six: Vegas mod-friendly? I have some ideas

[deceiver]

UDK is free! No need to buy a game to use it

[Tisky]

Do the UDK come with some basic textures and models? Not sure if i can make everything from scratch!

[Nysuatro]

yeah there is a lot of content you can use. Just check it out

[Bunglo]

The UDK is great and has everything you need to make a level. No need to make custom models and/or textures to get started.

I just started following the Intro to UDK DVD Hourences made for Eat3d and it's pretty flipping awesome. He also has free tutorials on his site:

http://eat3d.com/udk

http://hourences.com/book/tutorialsindex.htm

Plus he posts here... although minecraft might be taking up all of his free time

[Tisky]

Thanks! It´s funny how easy everything becomes when someone (tutorials) explains the buttons and functions for you

(BUILD engine and QUAKE/Half-Life mapping was learned by trial and error.. took ALOT of time)

[Zeta]

Since you have previous experience with level design tools, I would recommend trying to learn a modeling application such as 3Ds Max / Maya. If that seems too daunting to begin with perhaps try picking up Blender to begin with then work your way up (Blender is free to download).

I think picking up UDK would be a good idea as it's quite easy to import things you have made in the 3D packages into the Level editor. It would also give you some experience with a contemporary video game engine.

I would suggest setting yourself the task of making a simple, small environment. Plan it on paper / in 2D first (read some of the very useful level design tutorials that are available online) then prototype it in UDK. Once that's done try your hand at making some very simple 3D models for it!

Once you've done that you'll be well on your way.

[Tisky]

Great stuff Zeta. I was thinkin about learning some 3Ds, i played with it along time ago, but ended up using Milkshape 3D ( ).

I think 3Ds Max will be pretty easy if i just find some good video tut, but first i need to get used to the UDK like you said, get a hang of the basics, and the draw-map-on-paper idea is great, i always thought i should do that, but never did.

[Tisky]

Thought i should make a progress report!

First problem was that i could barely play Minecraft with Windows Vista installed. Today i finally moved my computer downstair to my bedroom (so i can use it while my kids are asleep and girlfriend @ work). I installed Windows 7 (Seems great), and now i noticed my modem won´t work in the socket in my bedroom. So problems keep coming! I haven´t even installed the UDK yet . Now i´m waiting for my youngest daughter to finish sleeping so i can drill a hole through the wall and get some goddam internet working on my computer. After that i´m gonna install Minecraft, and UDK!

Wish me good luck.

[Evert]

Isn't it kinda dangerous to have minecraft nearby if you are going to spend time creating a folio?

[Tisky]

True that, but everybody needs a break sometime =) Finally got internet on my computer again! Now i don´t have to use Joikuspot to surf through my phone anymore.

[Tisky]

I installed the UDK yesterday, and god heavens, Windows 7 made some miracles, it looks and flows like a dream! I cannot believe how great it looks

Anyway, i was wondering wich program i should learn for when i need to make some static meshes. I guess i will be needing alot later on?

Programs i´ve read about:

Google Sketchup

3Ds MAX

and that´s it

Again, thank you for your time.