Jordan1m - Level Design

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Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby jordan1m on Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:15 pm

Hey all,

Just showing off a few of myself and some latest and most presentable level design work. IMG tags are disabled for some reason, so I'll come back and sort the links out again at a later date! :)

A bit about me... I'm 23 years old and based in Cambridgeshire, UK. I currently work in in the games industry in digital distribution and publishing however have my eyes set elsewhere in a professional level design position.
I've been designing levels since about 2003 when a teacher introduced me to worldcraft, since then I've been designing levels in my spare time for nearly every source engine game around. I graduated from University at Anglia Ruskin nearly 3 years ago where I studied Game design and animation.

I just have the three levels to show off right now, starting with the latest.

Portal 2
This is the first act in a series of Portal 2 levels, designed as an intro.

CS: GO - ar_square
This is an Arms race map for Counter Strike: Go. I got fed up of playing on dull 'dev texture' arms race maps and wanted to design a decent arms race map that was also pleasing to the eye.

Team Fortress 2 - pl_warehouse
My intention with this level was to recreate part of my workplace as a Team Fortress 2 Payload level. However after realising where I worked was incredibly dull I decided to tart up the level and make it fit more with the TF2 style.
Last edited by jordan1m on Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby Jangalomph on Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:38 pm

Please put the IMG tag infront of these, im far too lazy to open them all.
http://www.nomoreroominhell.com
I don’t know whether I was right or wrong, I guess I’ll never know… But I made it. And I guess I should be thankful for that. - Strelok
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby nub on Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:20 pm

The Portal 2 map looks pretty spiffy, even if it's like every other run-down test chamber. That setting doesn't get old for me, personally.

However, I feel like the TF2 map sort of brings the rest of your work down. It's like with the P2 map, your work looks good, then it takes a step down with the CSGO map (which has a lot of potential to look amazing, by the way), then it takes another step down with the TF2 map.

You should consider working on smaller, artistic scenes to showcase your attention to detail and aesthetics and whatnot. However, full-fledged map examples are of course necessary if you want mod teams to consider you.
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby jordan1m on Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:28 pm

Jangalomph The IMG tags are disabled here I'm afraid, I mentioned that above ;) I'll revise the post if this changes.

Cheers for the feedback nub, the TF2 map is quite old now and I didn't have the same experience back then that I do now.
I will hopefully get an opportunity to focus on different scenes and themes as you mentioned when i continue my portal 2 series.
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby nub on Sat Jan 19, 2013 4:50 am

I think you have to use a thumbnail tag for images in portfolio posts, otherwise portfolios that are image-heavy would be massive. It's for organization reasons. I don't know what the tag is, though.
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby WizardExt on Sat Jan 19, 2013 5:11 pm

You have some links pointing to the same url in the CS:GO archive. I would prefer to see small thumbnails, so I can decide what screenshots to show fullscreen. Now I opened them all, but for someone less interested or lazy, it can be intimidating with a long list of links.

I don't like that most screenshot are positioned in an angle where the player will never be. I find it more interesting to showcase from where the player will be, because that's the actual scene. Of course you can have shots from those positions, as they tell another story and will in some cases also highlight the actual level design / layout.

I think you should have fewer screenshots, only show the best ones. And if something is old and doesn't portrait your skill, then remove it.

With that said, I like the Portal 2 screenshots where you show the whole chamber. The ones highlighting a wall or a ceiling are of less interest. The CS:GO map can use some more detailing and better positioned shots. The alley could be an interesting area to pimp and make a better screenshot from. The TF2 map I didn't like to much. Maybe the outdoor areas can make it, (test0015.jpg), if they are pimped and shot from another position.
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby jordan1m on Sat Jan 19, 2013 7:31 pm

Cheers for the excellent feedback wizard!
I'll have to find the right tag for the images, I've taken a look at other threads and I've no idea what they used, the tutorial post even suggests IMG tags : )
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby Major Banter on Sun Jan 20, 2013 12:40 pm

Wizard's advice is excellent; really think about the way your screenshots are taken - some games and the maps made for them benefit from giving an observer a wide view, then a few more 'natural' shots. Others from obscure, but much more 'showcasey' angles. A fine pair of examples are, of course, CSGO and Portal 2 respectively.

General rule is to try and get your screen numbers down to four or three (three generally being the limit for competitions). You'll end up with three superb shots that are the best you can offer, and really show off the map, rather than ten mediocre ones.

Of course, if your map is absolutely stunning (i.e. Habboi's recent de_cistern) then SHOW US EVERYTHING ARBBLLEEGARBBLELEL
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Re: Jordan1m - Level Design

Postby jordan1m on Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:24 pm

Whats peoples opinions on showing off pre-design planning/sketches, such as a sketch of the level layout with annotations? I find it incredibly useful (and I've seen it mentioned elsewhere as a good thing to show off), but I'm unsure if its portfolio worthy.
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