If someone applied for a design[1] position with a portfolio of quake maps rather than a more modern game like, say, UT2004... would that be a disadvantage?

* People are less likely to have Quake installed, so they're less likely to be arsed looking at the maps.

* But on the other hand you could make a nice cd that boots into quake[2], which is even better than having to shout round for a copy of UT.

* A quake map is not going to have the same impact (particularly graphically).

* But on the other hand, most design principles remain the same, and it shows you're not just a graphics whore.

* So it's swings and roundabouts, but a quake map certainly wouldn't disqualify you.

Personally, I'd play it safe and go with a more modern game and add some variety (e.g. ut and bf), but it's not a clear cut decision.

[1] Important! Not a level builder.
[2] http://raket.tty0.org/~jogi/ 

I am a lowly gameplay coder, not a producer - but I do get to talk to them occasionally. 

Well, I'd consider anything if it means I have a shot at getting into the industry.

I don't really have the time to do a one-man TC, and besides, I'm no programmer (although I do have a rather solid grasp of QuakeC). I did make quite a few enhancements to the monster AI in Bastion - nothing really major, but most notably I made a "monsterguide" system which allows better route finding in combat situations.

I guess all I can do really is make my next level as good as I possibly can, and re-assess my situation then. 

Ok, so I'm not very good at this talking thing. My apologies. For the people who are still confused:

1) I am not a producer.
2) I went and asked an (unnamed) producer the question that isn't in quote marks.
3) He rambled on for bloody ages, so I summarised his points in quote marks.

If you're still confused, try inserting nearby heavy objects into your skull. 

Some cool insights there :) I guess I could stick everything they need on a cd - besides, with the plethora of custom engines available, you can still make Quake look quite spiffy (Tenebrae anyone?) 

My first reply was for HeadThump, before you posted yours :) 

Sorry, I wasn't calling you confused. It's these fucking eunuchs on irc. Glad to help :] 

you're not a producer? 

I was hired by Eurocom in May last year as a game designer, not a level designer. The difference is that I only concerned myself with placing entities / scripting / gameplay stuff while the 3d artists / level designers made the actual maps. The closest I got to making actual maps would have been making super simple box maps with the layout required to create a certain gameplay situation.

SO there is quite a big difference between game designer and level designer. Im sure 90% of people here know this already but I just wanted to say that for anyone that wasn't sure/didn't know.

My opinion is that Q1 mapping is enough to get a game designer position, if you can show that you understand the games mechanics and can create levels which use these mechanics well and so so consistently, then thats a great start. The other thing I would suggest greatly is learn how to script events as more and more games use scripting now and is quite a major part of a game designer position. 

Dark Places Quake IS a more advanced renderer than UT2003 and at only a fraction of the size. So it seems to me that it would be easier, even if you were a graphics whore, to carry around a portfolio based upon that instead of having to dig up copies of one of the several different versions of Unreal.

Daz has a great point about scripting, however, which Quake has limited native support (I'm thinking of Scourge, Lost Mines). 

.. considers modelling now part of mapping. So if you can use the latest modelling package as well as make Quake maps, you may be OK. This week. 

Hi I'm starting a new quake mod here's what it's about.

Basically it's a Single Player first person shooter that has midevil and futuristic themes combined.

This is a serious mod, and i'm a serious quake 1 modeller. I can make pretty good models for quake standards. I really need a good mapper who can make a couple of maps for a demo, that's all I need right now.
The player is an elven who has to defend his community from an alien takeover.
The game includes already implemented features such as alternate and primary fire, flitching corpses (when you shoot them) multi-attack monsters, and bosses.
The weapons are:
1 Duel Swords
2 Cross Bow
3 Riot Gun
4 Tesla Rifle
5 Devastator
6 Chain Blade Cannon
7 Ion Blaster
8 Staff of the Hell Iron

The maps should have a dusk-futuristic setting, and I will provide you with custom textures with a constant theme.

I have new monsters that I need to program and then will be ready to implement. They include:

horde-monger - a machine gun toting soldier troop who's alternate attacks include grenade and melee

captain - a sniper that is better skilled at melee combat and has martial-art like moves.

trelapaehc - a large gargoyle creature with long claws on its feet and machates for hands

The player will also be able to gain experience from monsters and eventually be able to "level up" for such attributes as

strength- allows the player to wear heavier armor and carry more ammo

health- pretty self explanatory

speed- increases players running and attack speed (even for guns)

I'll be using the darkplaces engine which is way better than the normal quake engine.

The models are very high poly and I'm also using a feature that allows the mapper to place any model he/she wants in the map without any qc programming on their part.

I put in a feature for the riot gun so that when the player shoots a monster, the monster continously flinches and can't counter-attack. Very funny to watch.

This Total conversion is redoing everything in quake, I even made a new conchars font.

Let me know if you're interested thanks. 

I say this on Rust, dated July 2, 2004:

Pineapple Interactive Ltd a UK based game developer is seeking a level designer.

The job entails using in-house tools to create large open plan game play areas for an upcoming action adventure title for Xbox and PC.

The successful applicant will be a dedicated and creative individual who has experience in level editing and scripting and has the ability to bring design concepts to life.

Please send multiple examples of your work (level editing + scripting preferred) to barog@pineapple-interactive.com

--
Simon Barratt, Lead Developer, Pineapple Interactive Ltd
e: barog@pineapple-interactive.com

Source: http://www.gamedesign.net 

http://finger.planetquake.com/plan.asp?userid=rjohnson&id=16241
Not mapping, but not everyone here only maps

User Interface ( UI ) Designer
This person will be responsible for both creating in-world UI�s ( control panels, consoles, information panels, etc) as well as player interface menus for a Doom3 based product. UI's will be written in a custom language that is part of the Doom3 engine. Raven has constructed an integrated visual tool which assists the user in creating most UI functionality.

Qualified applicants should be familiar with / demonstrate:
* Adobe Photoshop 7.0
* Adobe Illustrator
* Quake3 / Doom3 style shaders / materials
* Quake3 UI ( .menu scripting format a plus )
* Strong visual layout and design skills, both in terms of visual appearance as well as functionality
* HTML, DHTML, ASP, JSP, Java Script, PHP, or Flash experience is desirable

Responsibilities will include:
* Fully concept out, draw, and implement UI�s
* Balance the visual appearance vs. rendering cost
* Script in functionality based on user input or other events
----------------

Too bad I don't know Illustrator (I have it though) or anything with Q3.. I applied anyway =\ 

http://www.angelfire.com/weird/danstuff/dp0000.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/weird/danstuff/dp0001.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/weird/danstuff/dp0002.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/weird/danstuff/dp0003.jpg

These are screenshots of Horde so far. If you're interested in helping me out with making some levels for it, please let me know, my email address is dannyj86@yahoo.com or go to irc.gamesurge.net and
on channel #qc and you can usually find me there. Thanks for reading.

Chillo 

nice angelfire logo on every link.... 

.. is going on on this page?
http://www.angelfire.com/weird/danstuff/ 

mommy, i'm scared 

I think that site warrants an intervention. 

Put your images into a web page. Angelfire doesn't allow images hosted on it to be accessed from anywhere other than Angelfire. 

Splash Damage are looking to fill 4 positions... dunno about relocation packages, but they're london based,iirc.

http://www.splashdamage.com

FYI, they did ET and the D3 multiplayer, and the founder were basically the Q3F mod team. id Software seem to love them. 

(blatantly ripped from shacknews):

The Human Head Studios job page has been updated, listing the need for an experienced level designer. You need to be familiar with the Quake 3 or DOOM 3 engine and skills in Lightwave or 3D Studio Max are highly preferred.

http://www.humanhead.com/headhunt.htm#jobs

(if this is a repeat i apologize) 

HH is here in Wisconsin. Boring. Don't come here, take my word. 

Here in Wisconsin, too. I think Phait is telling you something, Scampie. 

Yeah Raven is in Madison, but I've never been there. But I hear it's a nice city. Still, it's WI!