Portfolio Help

[DeltaShadow]

Hey, so I'm Zack and I'm a game design student. My interest in the game design industry is Level Design. I want to be a level designer once I graduate (I still have about a year left). I have a question about the portfolio (if I'm posting this in the wrong spot please let me know).

My question is when I am starting my portfolio would it be better to make multiple levels using Unreal's meshes/textures or would it be better to make 1 or 2 levels using my own meshes/textures? I am currently trying to get comfortable with the Unreal Engine and then possibly learn other engines. However, for my portfolio I will probably be using the Unreal 3 Engine.

Thanks to all who reply!

[MaKiPL]

multiple levels using Unreal ressources

[dami3n]

Your a level designer so you can use unreals own resources they wont penalize you much in an interview if you do. After all its all about the way your designing these levels. As a level designer your more of the put everything on set person not design your own props. Personally if you wish to get top marks make sure the environment and lighting is top notch as there are what people look at first. Only use your best work if you think its not right just scrap it.

[DeltaShadow]

Okay cool, thanks! I kind of figured I should make multiple maps and use their resources but I didn't know for sure. And thanks for the advice on the environment and lighting.

[Nawrot]

It all depends at where you aiming, ie. level designer or prop artist. I would say make multiple levels from existing meshes, but for every level add one spot with your own meshes. Something like mini enviroment set (like epic did with env themes, but few meshes instead of 50 for one set). Make them with stock meshes quality or even better.

[DeltaShadow]

Oh, that's actually a pretty good idea! I never thought about just putting a few meshes in there. Thanks!

[darthviper107]

If you're going specifically for a level designer position, then you wouldn't be making your own meshes anyways. But you need to demonstrate that you know how to use the editor inside and out, so don't just build a level and do a flythrough, specifically show off different complex things you know how to do

[DeltaShadow]

Thanks, I learned the Unreal 3 Editor for a class but it wasn't very in depth. So now I'm reteaching myself to get really comfortable with the editor. When you say "show off different complex things I know how to do", what do you mean exactly?

[darthviper107]

Stuff like kismet, matinee, particles, lighting, Think of the kind of special things they do in other UE3 games and try and showcase those types of things.

[Saishy]

To make the level beautiful, that is the job of a graphic artist.
You will abuse top-views and multiple but small levels.

Try to take many pictures of interesting parts of your level.
Sketch many blueprints, top-view maps, try to mess with altitude and multiple paths trough the same point.

[Bellbird Creative]

Agree with everyone above saying just use existing meshes because it's not going to be your department. To demonstrate level design skills you really wouldn't need to go much further than whiteboxing for the most part. Pure gameplay, that's what you want to show off.

Also don't forget to develop your ideas beforehand with sketches and then re-draft those in Photoshop or something similar. Include all that in your folio too! The sketches will be ugly and indecipherable but they'll show you plan ahead and don't just open the editor and hope for the best.

[Piranhi]

It's not about the overall look of the level, trust me. In all the interviews I attended, I never got asked about how the engine works, how to make a level look good, if I understood colour and light theory etc. Pretty much every question was about gameplay and fun mechanics, how I would make a level better, what I would change and why, what I thought were good and bad design decisions etc.

So my advice to you would be to try and create levels which are good from a design perspective. Hell, you could make it in just BSP with no textures and as long as it had some ingenious mechanics which made it fun, it would still give you a better chance at getting a job then a level which you spent a week on tweaking the lighting etc.

Saying that though, good looking levels still give you a better chance of getting the initial interview, so you really need to be good at both creating good looking levels and great game mechanics to get the job. Learning a bit of scripting doesn't hurt as well.

[DeltaShadow]

Thanks everybody for the advice. I really appreciate it. I'm definitely excited to get started on this portfolio. I still have about a year left before I graduate, so hopefully I can make quite a few levels in that time. Thanks again! And if anybody else has input please go ahead and post.

[Soggybread]

Hey, plenty of solid advice already in this thread. Ill just add some helpful links.

http://forums.mapcore.net/
Contains extremely solid work from the community as a whole. Have a look at the Portfolios section, see what the people comment on about other portfolios. Most of the time it is solid advice. Not trying to plug this site, just some really nice portfolios which you can base yours off (Im looking also at level designer positions).

ALso here contains some nice resources for general building of portfolios.
http://forums.mapcore.net/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=15050

Have fun.

[DeltaShadow]

Thanks for the links! I will definitely check those portfolios out.