Level Design: Content Vs. Form

Community Community & Industry Discussion
1

Hello!

This is my first post here and I didn’t see an introduction thread so here I am! I wanted to get the opinion of the community on something. I just finished my undergrad in game dev about a month ago and in that program we focused a lot on art. I however am that rare art school breed that enjoyed the writing and the conceptual portion of Level Design. In my portfolio though I realized that I would need to significantly beef up the amount of actual levels that I have built rather than sit on my haunches and current student work. I am realizing though that as I look through so many level designers portfolios I see a lot of art and not the thought behind the design. I see doors but not the scripting or thought behind its use

In my portfolio I am beginning to wonder what people look for in level design candidates. Should I be focusing on making some small high polised art vignettes or should I be more worried about the writing, documentation and design portion of a larger concept?

Any input is welcome!

Nmbr_13

2

Make sure you focus on what a level designer is supposed to do–design levels around gameplay, use a set of assets, add lighting, and be able to use Blueprints.

The art content is going to be created by an environment artist, so you shouldn’t be spending a lot of time creating those yourself, but you should be able to use them correctly.