Looking For Advise - Getting into Level/Game Design

Hello All,

I have been a long time creator in stories and landscapes, however these creations are all in the theater of the mind because these worlds are created for my D&D campaigns. I really want to get into Game/Level Design, with the goal of joining a team to help immerse players in great stories and worlds (maybe joining the AoC team when they eventually put out expansions years from now ;P ). For reference to my joy of world exploration, this is my first MMORPG and I will likely be spending 90% of my time harvesting herbs all around Verra. That being said what recommendations would be given to someone who wants to get on such a path.

Thanks in advance,
Skylarck The Botanist

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Nagash

Well, the number one bit of advice I give to new people who join MMOs is to find a group of friends to play with or a guild this makes the game easier plus its just more fun with friends ^^

SkylarckTheBotanist

Nagash wrote: »

Well, the number one bit of advice I give to new people who join MMOs is to find a group of friends to play with or a guild this makes the game easier plus its just more fun with friends ^^

Definitely more fun with friends!

But I’m seeking more direction for level design on UE4(5) rather than playing the game.

Cathartidae

Evan Hill (a former level designer for Naughty Dog) keeps a great list of resources - some videos to watch, games to play, books to read. You can flip through his website, too, to see some of his projects.

That's a pretty good jumping off point for familiarizing yourself with specifically the video game components of level design. You mention you create things for D&D, which will already give you a big leg up - as this means you already get the main ideas of pacing, calling attention to things, creating emotional investment, and so on.

Following that, just start making things. Unreal is free, and the best way to learn is to get stuck and try new things. Get as many eyes as you can on your projects and iterate.

Level design is my jam and I'm happy to talk more if you want to shoot me a DM or put it here

SkylarckTheBotanist

@Cathartidae Wow perfect! Thank you so much!

Storybook

https://intrepidstudios.com/careers

That's the kind of workers Intrepid are looking for, so why not just have a look into some of the specialisations they want as a roadmap for the kind of areas that you are most missing/appeal the most to you.

I wouldn't be surprised if content designer is what you'd be looking for, so start looking at what kind of skills they need, then work towards filling in the gaps. For Ashes the highest up team is here: https://intrepidstudios.com/#comp-ioig3o64
If it is content design, then Jeffery Bard is probably the person you'd be best off stalking shadowing on social media, etc, look into his career and try to emulate that.

It may be that gives you enough confidence and knowledge about what would appeal directly to him, so you could then look at approaching him with a polished idea and see if the team is interested in it.

SkylarckTheBotanist

Storybook wrote: »

https://intrepidstudios.com/careers

That's the kind of workers Intrepid are looking for, so why not just have a look into some of the specialisations they want as a roadmap for the kind of areas that you are most missing/appeal the most to you.

I wouldn't be surprised if content designer is what you'd be looking for, so start looking at what kind of skills they need, then work towards filling in the gaps. For Ashes the highest up team is here: https://intrepidstudios.com/#comp-ioig3o64
If it is content design, then Jeffery Bard is probably the person you'd be best off stalking shadowing on social media, etc, look into his career and try to emulate that.

It may be that gives you enough confidence and knowledge about what would appeal directly to him, so you could then look at approaching him with a polished idea and see if the team is interested in it.

Very interesting approach, one I will definitely look into

So happy to see the community is so helpful ❤️

Undead Canuck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvWMdWhFCc
"Extra Credits" produces some good videos on game design. They are nice friendly advice on helping people start out.

SkylarckTheBotanist

Undead Canuck wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvWMdWhFCc
"Extra Credits" produces some good videos on game design. They are nice friendly advice on helping people start out.

Nagash

Undead Canuck wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvWMdWhFCc
"Extra Credits" produces some good videos on game design. They are nice friendly advice on helping people start out.

I have my things to say about Extra Credits, most will end up with me banned off the forums

maouw

@Nagash
Does it include phrases like "shallow", "bland", "watered down", "mediocre" and/or "bandwagon"?

Nagash

maouw wrote: »

@Nagash
Does it include phrases like "shallow", "bland", "watered down", "mediocre" and/or "bandwagon"?

to name a few

Undead Canuck

I found them a wonderful start to my research. They are nice and light, and (I think) give a good basic overview. Once you watch them, other deeper courses make sense quicker.

neem

Check out the game design courses on Coursera.

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