I've been considering how Indie and AAA companies compare as employers, in their expectations with regards to resume and portfolios of prospective employees, as well as an in depth look at the responsibilities of Environment and Level design roles within the indistry.

Job Role

Responsibilities

Skills/Qualities

Lvl Editor

Adhere to the overall design spec.
Places items enemies, obstacles, interactive elements within the Magic Circle.

'The arena, the card-table, the magic circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the tennis court, the court of justice, … forbidden spots, ... hallowed [grounds], within which special rules obtain. All are temporary worlds within the ordinary world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart' (Huizinga, 1955)

Consider level appropriate challenges - FOO strategies (Extra Credits: Playing Like a Designer (part 2), 2012)

Generate an atmosphere.
Consider camera angles and choreography of the level as a whole.
Take heros on a journey.

Good eye for layout, ambience and composition
Be technical, logical and imaginative
Use psychology, make it'flow' (Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)
Some experience with level editors

Lvl Designer

Cartography, blueprint design and rough 3D mockups
Edit their own level layouts.
Give clear objectives a comprehensive geographical layout
Make 'each new situation … a problem the player has to solve' (Jason Jones, Halo 2 - Project Lead)

Understand the constraints of the game engine
Critical and analytical skills
Basic mesh editing skills and good spacial awareness

Notes

Lvl Editor

Responsibilities

You must adhere to the design specification
Places items enemies, obstacles, interactive elements, defining their specific attributes and behaviours (such as patrols, trap timing, etc...) within the Magic Circle.

Make informed decisions with regards to level appropriate challenges and rewards.
Generate an atmosphere using applicable lighting techniques, dynamic scene construction, etc.
Must thoroughly consider camera angles and choreography of the level as a whole, which involves timing cut-scenes, enemy surges and boss battles.
Lead players through an exciting and varied story (as defined by the Game designers) which is appropriately distributed within the Game designers pre-designed area map. A journey which builds up into a glorious crescendo.

Skills

To do well in the career you need a good eye for layout, ambience, composition.
Have technical, logical and imaginative mindset.
You must be able to apply psychological techniques to orchestrate play, inject fun into the gameplay, make it 'FLOW'.
Will have some experience with level editors such as GECK, Elder Scrolls Construction Set, Gmod or Farcrys Level editor, etc...

Step up from that:

Level Designer

Responsibilities

Is responsible for the cartography, blueprints and rough 3D designs of geographical elements, architecture, tunnels, etc...
Must have the aforementioned skills so they can edit their own level layouts, such as in the case of smaller companies where there is no level editor to pawn work onto, or for more important levels that require special attention.
You must give the player clear objectives and design a comprehensive geographical layout for them to navigate.
Make sure every encounter and 'each new situation is a problem the player has to solve' (Jason Jones, Halo 2 - Project Lead)

Skills

You also need to deeply understand the constraints of the game engine and have solutions to deal with hickups.
You'll need critical and analytical skills to understand what makes a good level design
Basic mesh editing skills and good spacial awareness are also important.

	AAA	Indie
Cons	Contractual issues over usage rights Long hours and little recognition Pertaining to someone elses vision	Self funded Taking on responsibilities beyond your current capabilities Sometimes less structured Must be highly self motivated Shouldering more of the responsibility Amateurs
Pros	Regular work Industry links Supportive network More resources	Crowdfunding More creative freedom Close knit and diverse teams Development of multiple skillsets Games can be designed around your teams specialisations Sense of community

Working for AAA

Cons:

Some contracts drawn up by large companies such as EA will give them rights to all of your work, including personal projects, claiming that it will have been inspired by your work with the company. For example 'Non-compete' agreements prevent transfer of knowledge between companies by 'restricting [employees]... from working for a direct competitor for a reasonable length of time and within reasonable geographic limits after leaving'. (Marc Mencher)
Possibility of exploitation, having the life drained out of you in order to meet unbearable deadlines. Whilst some companies argue that crunch time motivates the workforce, others argue it is somewhat detrimental to their mental well-being.
The ideologies within the game may not resonate with you

Pros:

Regular work! Being under contract means you will be
You'll be building industry links, access to a host of professional designers at the touch of a button.
Surrounded by a supportive network of confident, professional people
Larger companies will tend to have more resources and more time to handle queries and mishaps.

Working with Indie developers

Cons:

Self funded so you must enforce a strict budget.
As with limited funding, you may find yourself having to take on responsibilities beyond your current capabilities. This could be subjectively argued as a pro as it pushes your personal skills to their limits, allowing you to develop and adapt more readily
Possibility of a less structured/less organised environment
Must be highly self motivated as you will have to teach and promote yourself, unless your budget covers a larger/more diverse team.
You will be shouldering more of the responsibility for any mistakes you make. Though whether or not this is a con debatable.
You may be working with less experienced personel
Commission based work, if your game doesn't sell, you don't get paid.

Pros:

More financial support nowadays for Indie developers with good business plans, such as Kickstarter or IndeGoGo
More creative freedom and more influence in the ideas process, design specifications may be more flexible and there will be more emotional involvement with the concepts.
Smaller, more close knit and necessarily diverse teams.
More crucial to develop multiple skillsets.
Games can be designed around your teams specialisations
There is a strong sense of community between Indie development companies.

That game company – developers of Journey, Flower and Cloud

Company goals:

They aim to 'design and develop artistically crafted, broadly accessible video games that push the boundaries of interactive entertainment. We respect our players and want to contribute meaningful, enriching experiences that touch and inspire them.'

They believe that 'shifting our perspective on what it means to create a game,' they can 'create a welcoming environment where video game developers can come together to create truly great and innovative games.'

The mission statement: 'Create timeless interactive entertainment that makes positive change to the human psyche worldwide'

What they are looking for -

We seek talent that values integrity and personal growth within an environment of intense collaboration and experimentation.

www.gameinformer.com/blogs/members/b/le_hannibal_blog/archive/2012/04/13/the-meaning-behind-journey.aspx

Hannibal of gameinformer.com said on April 13, 2012 at 07:53 PM

Journey reminds us 'that there is beauty in life, in triumph, in fear, and in death. You just have to slow down and realize it.' It 'wants you to slow down and take a look at the world'

Next ThatGameCompany Game - Interview with Jenova Chen (2 of 5)

Jenova Chen said they discovered when making FLOW, that 'motion can be a way to innovate games', their games are family oriented and 'try to bring people closer and really move them'

Resume/Portfolios

“single and multiplayer levels, since most designers work on both. It should have entries in the genre of the game you are applying to work on. It should include finished work, to demonstrate that you don't abandon projects half-way through, but it could also include level documents, partial levels or even just fleshed-out ideas. In general, larger portfolios are better, but make sure you don't dilute the quality.”Evil Otto of Bungie

Interactive Selection , Netherlands (Amsterdam)

Our Client is looking for an enthusiastic Games/Level Designer who is eager to apply their knowledge and skills while working on a new IP. This is a fabulous opportunity to gain experience developing a AAA game and working with a talented team of game developers from all over the world. Your work will enhance the player experience by scripting interesting encounters and small side quests to simulate a living world. You do this by creatively using existing ingredients.

Role Requirements

Have worked on at least one game project either alone or with a team. This may be a personal or school project.

Work well in a small team, are open to constructive criticism, know how to listen and give feedback to others.

Are self-motivated and eager to use our in-house, visual scripting tools to tackle both game and level design problems.

Have affinity with open world design and understand setting up open world combat encounters & encounter spaces.

Are good at environmental storytelling to put content into context.

Plusses

Any technical background in programming or scripting would be very beneficial.

Any experience with 3D world and level building tools; (eg Maya, Unity, Unreal,etc).

Games & Level Design

Our Client is a Polish developer based in the buzzing city of Warsaw. They are seeking a talented Lighting Artist who will be working with the environment team to define and implement final lighting for the games with artists, designers, and technical team.

As Lighting Artist you will be working with the environment team to define and implement final lighting for the games with artists, designers, and technical team.Responsibilities:

Creating and maintaining all lighting assets/elements within the game
dynamic/static lighting, set-ups, character lighting, interior, plain air and cinematic/dialogue set.
Maintaining artistic model and lighting vision coherent with game vision.
Providing the lighting elements according to the production schedule.
Keeping balance between the quality of lighting and the technical requirements of the game.

Requirements:

Deep understanding of color theory and a critical eye for the light, shadow and composition.
Knowledge of technical lighting techniques and terminology employed in photography, film and games.
Must possess a firm understanding of scene lighting, shader development and visual effects.
More than 3 years’ experience working in the gaming industry
Good knowledge of 3ds Max (or Maya) and Photoshop, After Effects, 3D Studio Max.
Ability to easily communicate in English.
Excellent communication skills and ability to work within a team.

Bibliography

http://www.blitzgamesstudios.com/blitz_academy/job_roles/design (Viewed 16/01/2016)

http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games/job_roles/334_level_editor (Viewed 18/01/2016)

Huizinga, J. (1955). Homo ludens. Boston: Beacon Press. (Viewed 20/01/2016)

James Portnow, Extra Credits: Playing Like a Designer (part 2). (2012). [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6op8eV5OBwE (Viewed 22/01/2016, at 21:41)

Salmond, M. (2015). Video game design. Principles and practices from the ground up. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd. (Viewed 22/01/2016)

http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/careers/roles/art-animation.html (Viewed 22/01/2016, at 22:00)

http://gamesjobboard.jobthread.com/job/games-level-designer-aaa-games-netherlands-amsterdam-interactive-selection-1353944c6a/?d=1&source=complete_page

http://games-jobs.test.broadbeantech.com/jobs/view/2149/view.html#.VqKrQ_mLSUk

Rogers, S. (2014). Level up!. Hoboken: Wiley.

https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow/transcript?language=en#t-336055

Evil Otto http://halo.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?cid=36

AAA/Indie Comparisons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyC3GYJbIos

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131004/nondisclosures__noncompetes_to_.php

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-working-for-an-indie-gaming-studio-and-working-for-an-AAA-gaming-company

http://indiegames.com/2013/03/the_secrets_of_a_successful_in.html