#FWDD2000 A2 Research blog

[elidecarteretfutureworks-blog]

DD2000 Assignment 2 Research blog

Introduction

The job role which I would like to go into post Futureworks is a Level Designer role. In order to create my presentation, I had to do a lot of research into different companies I could work at and what the role of a Level Designer actually involves. I also had to look into different studios and key designers who have influenced my decision to become a Level Designer.

Sections to discuss

I had a list of different sections which I wanted to talk about. Due to this, I have ordered this research blog in the same way as the presentation.

Inspirations

There were a number of games which inspired me growing up to become a Level/ Game Designer. Some of these games include:

Black

Far Cry 3

Pokémon Ruby Red

Sea Dogs

Spyro

Before Futureworks

Here I will be discussing the different games and things which I created when I was at college and just after college.

During Futureworks

This section will be discussing what I have learned in my time at Futureworks. 

• Modelling in Maya- I have vastly improved my Maya skills, having gone from never used Maya before I came to Futureworks to now having the ability to build semi realistic worlds in a few weeks.

• Blueprinting- Before I joined Futureworks, I had never used Unreal Engine before. Now I am creating working Multiplayer games using Steam integration and building fully working levels with a number of mechanics involved.

• Level Designing in UE4- My level designing skills have improved massively since starting at Futureworks

• Tell successful narratives- First year taught me a lot about narrative design and how to tell narratives in both games and in Twine. 

• Gather feedback- I learned that feedback is vital in this industry and any piece of feedback could change the dynamics of an entire game or improve it dramatically.

• Work to deadlines- Although I had to work to deadlines at college, I feel that the deadlines at university are a lot tighter and stricter, as of which, I have had to learn to deal with them more professionally. 

• Work both individually and in a team- I have learned how to work more efficiently as both an individual and a team for different projects and getting them finished efficiently and on time. 

 Self reflection

Main area of interest?

Level Design

Most enjoyable creative disciplines?

Level/ world building

Narrative writing

Blueprinting in UE4

Strongest skills?

Creating fun games  

Perfectionist

Meeting deadlines

Working in a team

Self motivation

Technically: Designing worlds/ Blueprinting

‘Get a bit of freedom with your designs. Sure, the Game Designer and the Art Lead will tell you the theme and the art direction of the game, but you’ll have wiggle room to create within that framework.’

Level designers and editors can also be tasked with developing the gameplay of a level. In a genre like platformers, you’ll be designing a large part of the challenges that players of the game will face.

 Kind of environment enjoy working in?

Enjoy working in a team if ethos is right

Enjoy solo tasks

Long term ambitions

Ship a game people want to play

Work for a company I am happy at

Challenging but fun projects

Working with charismatic and hard working people

What required to achieve them?

Keep working hard

Apply to places who make games I enjoy playing

Apply to places who make games similarly to what I enjoy making

Keep honing skills

Ethos: Everyone wants to work

Everyone working towards same goal

The beliefs of the game creating are similar to mine

 Considerations

Location

Would like to be close to family

Prefer to be near countryside to city

Other commitments

Friends and relationship

Particular studios

Double Eleven

Ubisoft

Sumo Digital

Other avenues (networking/ competition)

Game events such as EGX, Manchester Gamer Unite or Tranzfuser

Research: How can you get to the job want?

•       Begin as Junior Level Designer

•       Move to Level Designer

•       QA

•       Graduate programs

•       Indie companies

•       Mods

Is it achievable?

These are the most common ways into this position.

Gabe Newell- “Traditional credentialing" has little "predictive value" to how successful someone will be or what they can do with their skillset.

Valve have hired people based on their mods (Team Fortress 2)

Gabe Newell- What he is saying here is that you could have the best qualification in the world, but if you cannot do the required work, not going to fit.

Do the work, more likely to get the job.

Pretty much every studio requires a level Designer

 Rob Kay (19 years in the industry)

Lead Designer of Guitar Hero & Rock Band.

• The best training is definitely to make your own game/s, ideally small ones.

• Being capable of actually making (and not just designing) games.

• Getting your first break in the industry can be tough, but also totally doable.

• Everyone has a story of persistence towards their first break.

• Don't take rejections personally, stay positive, and be persistent.

• A University degree makes it easier to get first break.

• Starting in QA is the classic route into the industry due to "cultural fit“.

• Another route is to offer your dev services for free - i.e. intern.

• Game design is as much craft as theory

• Small games- You can make more faster and learn faster as a result. As almost every studio these day's uses Unity or Unreal, so I'd recommend focusing on one of them (probably Unity given it's the most popular and you've already got started on that learning curve). It's good that you're doing some scripting - I'd recommend doing that in Unity. If C# or JS are too much, look at Playmaker - a visual scripting plug-in for Unity (I've used this on 3 games now, and recommend it highly).

• Making games as well as designing also wins you huge kudos from skilled artists and coders.

• Spend time honing craft

• Learn crafts through practice.

• Even seasoned professionals have to deal with rejection

• They do this because there is usually a far higher demand for each entry level job position than the hiring manager can deal with, so they have to add requirements like "University degree" just to filter weaker candidates out and get a smaller pool of candidates. This is tough on people who have strong skills but no university degree of course, but it's the reality. By all means apply for positions asking for a university degree (it's so low cost you may as well) but don't rely on this path. Typically a recruiter will filter you out of the running for not meeting requirements before a hiring manager even has chance to see your resume.

• I know many many developers (inc game designers, producers, and programmers) who got their break at a game studio in the QA department. It's a great way to get to know people in the company / industry, and usually hiring managers at the company find it safer to promote someone internally from QA, than take a risk on someone entirely new to them, even if the outsider is more qualified on paper.

• So if they can show some design / dev skills, they're seen as a good bet and will get onto hiring managers radars. From what I can glean from your email, I'd recommend applying for QA positions - with the career strategy of transitioning into game design once you're in

• I knew a self trained 3D artist who got his break this way. He basically pestered his way into an interview, by visiting our studio at Infogrames Manchester with his portfolio everyday and offering to work for free. My manager at the time, said no several days in a row, but this guy kept coming back and politely offering to work for nothing. Eventually my boss asked the rest of us artists to check out his portfolio, and asked if we felt he could do anything for us. His portfolio was only average, but he seemed so willing and capable of some jobs and we had a lot on our plates, so we said yes. He's now been in the industry for 16 years (here's his LinkedIn). Persistence and a willingness to learn may be your biggest assets.

 Key designer

Max Herngren (Level Designer)

• Student of game and level design at Futuregames, Stockholm

• Worked at Right Nice Games (Indie studio) as a Level Designer. 

• Level Design intern at Mojang

• Level Designer at Mojang in Sweden

• Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island – Game made

• The Solus Project, a survival exploration game where I helped out at the end of the game’s development along with some other students in my class. 

• Key Designers

 Fundementals

• Have great sense of pacing and player experience

• Understand what a player wants at any given time

• Understand how they’re affected by the pacing curve

• Master composition

• Have an artistic eye

• Analyse games

• Flexibility

• Be able to do background work

• Use mechanics and space wisely

• What does it take to secure role of choice?

• Composition to guide a player through the space

• Won’t be able to make a level look appealing

• Guiding players arguably the most important thing to do

• Take it from me, you don’t have to be able to draw or make 3D models but you have to have an eye for it. Building a good structure can give environment artist more idea of what you’re wanting to achieve.

• You have to intuitively be able to look at a space and have an idea of if it looks good or not and how you can make it better

• Analysing these games can give better idea of space and improve own levels

• If waiting for mechanics to be built, possibly become a tester or help the artists or scripters if required or keep building to the space and tweaking until feels right.

• Try to understand why they put that rock just there and why that cave is laid out in this or that specific way, and how would I have done it differently and what would that mean for the player?

• Coders and scripters working on grey whiteboxed level, as soon as events begin happening in the background, becomes a lot more alive which can inspire people.

• Learning how to make a set of mechanics work for 20 hours without the player getting bored etc. Keeping it fresh and interesting for the players.

 Main objective:

• Pre-production: Build a good foundation and base

• Figure out goals

• Work out an initial strategy

• Draw out ideas

• Research

• Block out with BSPs

• Replace with actual assets

• Learn engine inside out

• From which you can later build the game into a sequence of levels that are good and make sense in the context of the game.

• Work out an initial strategy of how going to reach them

Best options:

Sumo Digital

Rockstar North QA

Ubisoft Graduate Program

 Rockstar North tend to have a few openings asking for game testers and QA. As Rob Kay said, may be the best way in.

The Ubisoft Graduate Program offers successful applicants the chance to spend two years working on production teams in two different Ubisoft studios in order to hone their skills in a variety of professional disciplines, essentially making them employees.

The Ubisoft Graduate Program is a two-year international program for fresh Graduates who expect a career accelerator into the games industry. Over two years, Graduates will have the opportunity to work in two different studios in different countries. 

Sumo Digital

Location

Sheffield

Near Peak District National Park

Team size

Around 250

What games do they make?

Little Big Planet 3

Helped on Forza Motorsport 7, Hitman Episode 5

Mission statement

‘Sumo make games we're proud of and passionate about: everything from driving games to platformers’

Main perks

Group Life Assurance Policy, Group Income Protection Policy, Holiday Pay,

Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Pension, Flexi Time, On site free gym, Days out.

Student placements

Internship

Reviews

‘Friendly atmosphere, good people to work with’  ‘Hands-off approach can make you feel like a small fish in a big pond’.

What kind of studios offer these positions?

Sheffield- Family not far away (1 and a half hours)

Peak District- Countryside and city is not as big as Manchester etc.

Team size: Mid sized company to gain the step into the larger one later on.

Fact that they make all types of games is interesting because would give opportunity to see what really enjoy making and make what I really enjoy playing.

Enjoy all types of games and they have helped create games I have grown up playing

The benefit is payable to a designated beneficiary in the event of death by a lump sum of 4 x annual basic salary.

The company provides a Group Income Protection Policy which protects the employee and their family for long periods of illness by paying a portion of income equivalent to 75% of basic salary, for a set timescale.

All employees will receive 24 days holiday, in addition to the UK Bank holidays.

EAP is a free, completely confidential source of support for employees and their immediate families, which is provided by a professional independent body.

The Company will provide access to a Group Personal Pension Scheme, administered by Scottish Widows.

Sumo offers a flexi time scheme, because we understand just how crucial it is that staff are able to maintain their work/life balance

What is missing/ lacking:

• Need to do more player feedback

• Show more refined levels with process

• Shipped at least one AAA 3rd person action title- Sometimes add this to filter candidates out.

• Hone proposal skills in order to get teams on board.

• Keep working on building games in UE4.

• Keep learning how to blueprint.

• What kind of studios offer these positions?

• What roles actually entail- what actually do

 Over summer

• Update portfolio/ CV

• Create some games similar to Sumo and Ubisoft style.

• Have playable demos on Itch

• Get social media up to date

• Use other engines, e.g. Map editor in Far Cry.

• Keep honing skills in programs

• Keep time management structured

• Network

• Ensure games are at the forefront of portfolio

Update and work on honing skills in:

Website, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook

Programs such as PhotoShop, Maya and UE4

 Bibliography:

Sumo Digital placements: http://www.sumo-digital.com/placements-emma-lintvelt/

Sumo Digital reviews: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Sumo-Digital-EI_IE765707.11,23.htm

Sumo Digital website: http://www.sumo-digital.com/

Ubisoft Graduate program: https://news.ubisoft.com/article/ubisoft-graduate-program-2018-tips-from-our-ubigrads

Gabe Newell quote: https://www.polygon.com/2014/1/3/5270182/gabe-newell-on-hiring-modders-official-credentials-have-no-predictive

Get a job in video games: https://www.gamedesigning.org/career/jobs/

Level Design article: https://80.lv/articles/who-are-level-designers/

Max Herngren website image: https://maxherngren.squarespace.com/the-solus-project

Max Herngren website: http://maxherngren.com/about-1/

Rob Kay LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robkaysf 

Ubisoft logo: http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ubisoft_2017.svg