Great portfolio advice from 6 lead level designers
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- Опубліковано 9 чер 2024
- Patreon: / stevelee_gamedev
Discord server: / discord
All of us on Twitter:
Me: / essell2
Kai Zheng: / devilpie
Dana Nightingale: / danaenight
Akuila Iliesa: / quildogg
Jason Mojica: / generalvivi
Miles Tost: / tostspender
Jason McCord: / monsterclip_jm
00:00 - Intro
00:59 - What is an LD portfolio there to show?
03:08 - How large should portfolios be?
05:32 - Are art skills important to an LD portfolio?
07:54 - What common problems do you see?
10:15 - What advice would you give for first interviews?
12:43 - Any advice re: engines and tools to use?
14:39 - Anything else?
#leveldesign #gamedev #portfolio #gamesindustry - Ігри
Any student I meet who wants to become a level designer - I'm just going to send them this video, so many good takes condensed into an 18 minute video from so many experts
Man Steve Lee you are THE go to channel for level design and offer such a huge benefit to the whole industry
Cheers Nick, great to hear :)
Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for right now.
Great content, super valuable advices. I'm already working as a Level Designer and I'm still really glad to have access to all these feedbacks. Thanks.
great video :D about to update my portfolio, and I guess it's time to start deciding which projects really deserve their spot in it ^^
My biggest problem right now is that even if my portfolio was really good, I can't seem to find any entry level level design jobs to apply for. Searching for entry level design jobs on various sites make all the posting disappear the moment I filter for entry level or even junior level. How in the world are we supposed to get a job in this industry if there is no place for us to start from?
Agreed. I've been wondering if it's worth it to try entering the industry through another discipline, but I know even QA, which used to be a common entry point, is a lot more technical and competitive now.
Great video ! Thanks to you and to all of the level designers who contribute to the video.
This is super useful advice on level design generally, because, while you were enumerating all the points I was also imagining various moments in games I played that followed that advice and how it made the level more memorable. Thank you for sharing this insight!
I was LITERALLY about to message you on linkedin, thanks for this!
This was excellent, thank you Steve
Thanks so much for this! It definitely clears up some of my concerns.
A few outstanding questions I have about applying for jobs in AAA FPS or third-person shooter games are:
1. If we haven't worked as a level designer in a professional capacity yet, what's a good size and scope project to target for eventual inclusion in a portfolio? A 15-minute Half-Life 2 level maybe? And how much time would you expect to put into that, not counting the time to learn the tools? Does this depend mostly on the company we're applying to and game we expect to be working on?
2. Despite engines and tools not mattering as much, I still don't think my portfolio will be taken as seriously by most studios if I include levels made in really old engines like Doom or Quake, even though those are the easiest games to create things for. Is something like Half-Life 2 with more modern scripting as far back as you would go or is there still enough value in levels made for older games as well? Are levels made in things like Dreams, Doom SnapMap, or Halo Forge still generally accepted too?
3. What kinds of projects tend to really stand out from the pack in portfolios? Any good recent examples that you've seen?
Thank you for this amazing video, Steve!
Some fantastic advice about the interview stage itself, there!
Good advise about being a generalist at the start of your career. I can confirm I feel useless as a generalist at the start of what I hope to be a career in game design...
Hi Steve, firstly, thanks a lot for doing these kind of videos, i'm about to gradute from university and i'm trying to make some personal projects when i have free time from Uni, ofc i want to become a level designer. I have a big question referring for the gaming industry: In some specialities is ULTRA important to talk with super professional and formal vocabulary. Is this also applied for the game industry? should i prepare myself, as a non english speaker on how to talk formally just for an interview? or can i relax and just talk with respect but not formally
kinda wondering where actual environment artists fit in the pipeline? cause I'm getting the feeling that you only see Level Designers doing all the block outs and then the rest is filled in by prop artists
I would have a follow up questions how do you sell your portfolio as a Lead Level Designer? Most of these answers are for beginners, but I actually do struggle with a Lead portfolio 😩
10:17 which game is being showed in the background?
It's Tactical Breach Wizards :) An awesome, funny tactics game I helped Tom Francis make a lot of the levels for - here's a trailer: ua-cam.com/video/Vgz6xzsle0o/v-deo.html
The 4th question there was a spot about don't show early work. Is that talking about the projects that are old or talking about screenshots in early development?
I took it as old work but I also wouldn’t add anything to my portfolio that wasn’t finished. But that’s just my opinion.
I think it’s about unfinished works. You work on a level for a couple of weeks and think it looks great, but for the industry, it’s not good enough. So it’s better to spend more time trying to make a couple more iterations to make your level even better, then playtest with different people and do a couple more iterations, and then it’s done. 😅
@@Jimmyfraggs thanks for helping out
@@NikitaShershakov yeah that dose make alot of sense
I agree with JimmyFraggs - I think Jason was talking about old work, but I also don't recommend showing unfinished projects. Whenever I see them, I usually think, "why haven't you finished it?", and "it's a shame that unfinished work is some of the best you have to show..."