Progress on the villa map I'm working on is steady, I think I'll have pics to post any day now. Right now it's in a stage of near completion in most regards. The architecture is mostly done save for one more tunnel (I'm guessing at least two more hours of work, I wish I was better at this!). I'm experimenting with different textures with an emphasis on variety. Things are more or less coming together smoothly and soon I'll have the beta up for playing.
I'm making plans for my next project now, since the main project is coming along so smoothly. I want to experiment with a greater variety of features, like texture creation, modeling and animation. If I have enough time I would like to learn the basics of scripting so I can make some novel single player scenarios. I want to make some more maps for half life but I'm starting to feel like I would like to work on something more RPG related. Maybe I'll work on Fallout 3 or Neverwinter Nights 2. I want to focus not only on level design but on the design of the story as well. What better games for developing storytelling techniques than RPG's?
I'm planning on downloading a highly-reviewed book on level design in the next few days. Let's see if I can receive its wisdom.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
some ideas i'm throwing around in my head
Sunday, December 28, 2008
a christmas recap
I took a little break from my work to spend the holiday with my family in Vancouver and it was a welcome vacation, even if it only lasted for 30 hours.
I received my highly anticipated graphics card on Christmas morning and by god it did not disappoint! I am loving the way my games look but that's only the half of it. My screenshot updates should start looking pretty professional with that high powered hardware backing them up.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
making early morning headway
I couldn't sleep too well tonight, meaning I had close to ten hours before work to work on my project. I've introduced some better lighting effects, added more details to the exterior, improved the terrain slightly, fixed some of the geometry, and re-textured the entire outside of the house. I posted some pictures:
Thursday, December 18, 2008
some more artsy pics because i've been less than productive
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
overview of my current project
I know this looks jumbled but this is the layout for my map, dm_villa. It has a circular path with many twists, a couple side paths to connect opposite ends of the map, and many main areas with two to three points of entry.
deathmatch progress
I've spent the last two snow days working on my developing deathmatch map. I added light fixtures, retextured the basement to make it appear danker, am currently adding a tunnel connecting the basement to the backyard, redid the living room, added a new feature to the walkway which will soon be a garden, added ivy around the premesis, built the cubemaps so the textures reflect light properly, and I built a 3D skybox to add trees and buildings in the distance. These are some comparison shots:INSIDE A HALLWAY
INSIDE THE COURTYARD HALL
IN THE BASEMENT
THE LIVING ROOM
THE EXTERIOR
THE SURROUNDINGS
THE WALKWAY
THE TUNNEL
Saturday, December 13, 2008
level design progress
left 4 dead is hard
No it's not I just have the wierdest experience coordinating with three anonymous gamers for an hour at a time. It's not in my nature to flip out at people when they don't do what they need to do, but I certainly understand the people that do. I had one guy flip out and quit tonight--and I quote, "Go fuck yourselves, I'm done." I think it's harder trying to do this at four in the morning too, my brain is not clicking. This might sound stupid but I'm still getting used to talking in my mic when I play too. I feel so wierd talking to these people. It's the same feeling when I play games on Xbox Live. I like orginization but I feel so controlling when I tell people what to do so I don't bother.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
i don't wanna work
In the last week or so I've started working on level design with the Hammer editor used by the Valve team. I used to work with it years ago when Half Life came out, but this latest edition is more advanced. I think I'm getting the hang of it all right and at this rate I should have a fun multiplayer map in a couple weeks or so. I'm going to spend my sick day working today.
My girlfriend Rachael is going to Florida for a week which means that I have much more time for working. I figure I'll spend this week working as hard as I can so I get a chance to relax when she's back. If I'm lucky she'll stay up here for a few days until I drive her home for Christmas.
I'm going to get to work for now, I hope I have some useful pictures for posting soon.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
game design for beginners
I know what I want to do for a living, down to the very specifics, which is kind of a new development for me. I want to be a computer game designer. Specifically I want to end up as a lead designer. Ultimately I would love to design my own games, which I would think is the ultimate goal of anyone in that line of work.
I know this isn't an original goal for someone like me but it is most certainly the only thing that I KNOW that i want to do. I owe to myself to at least try to make it in the industry and see for myself if it's for me or not, especially while I'm still young and single.
A designer works on the creative aspects of game development. A designer writes a GDD (Game Design Doc) which outlines all aspects of a game's design in a way that allows programmers, artists, level designers, and the like to create the game with a certain amount of individual creative freedom.
A lower level designer, like a level designer, will work on individual portions of a game, working on the game-world, developing scripts, character placement, etc. A lead designer will work with everyone on the team and coordinate the production of the game. The position requires creativity, good writing and communication skills, the ability to sell an idea and oneself, and most importantly a love of games.
I've been reading that these positions can be very taxing, as many game dev teams regularly work in "crunch time," putting in consecutive 60, 70, even 80 hour weeks! Realistically I will need to start working on level design for a few games and a few styles, posting my creations on the internet for constructive criticism. This will allow me to make a name for myself and produce an actual product to show off what skills I may have.
I've read that most people in the industry start off in QA (Quality Assurance) as testers. These positions don't pay very well, can be very monotonous, and the hours tend to be extreme at times.
All for the love the game though, right?
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