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
|
'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)
|
|
Lvl
Designer
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
Pros
|
|
|
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.
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
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).
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:
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)
Rogers,
S. (2014). Level
up!.
Hoboken: Wiley.
AAA/Indie
Comparisons
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
http://ludust.com/
http://www.teamups.net/
