Level Design Lobby - Kevin Penkin #105

An aspect that is not always spoken about is the fact that during development, time is not always on the team's side. This can be because work is not split evenly, deadlines, holidays, or possibly someone leaving the company. Regardless of the reason you may end up taking over another work, which can be great but also challenging, so let us talk about what we can do once handed ownership.  ------------------------------------------ Let's Design Books ----------------------------------- Ebook - https://bit.ly/39BakJD Physical Books - https://bit.ly/3mfOsbS ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxPears Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] -----------------------------------

As we develop games there are multiple stages of processes we go through:  - Preproduction  - Production  - Polish As LDs our role & focus will change to best meet those stages of production. I will talk through what it is that makes a good LD in each of these stages.  ------------------------------------------ Let's Design Books ----------------------------------- Ebook - https://bit.ly/39BakJD Physical Books - https://bit.ly/3mfOsbS ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxPears  Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] ----------------------------------- #gamedev #leveldesign #podcast #leveldesignlobby

April is upon us, so let us celebrate it with an incredible list of great resources to help us all learn and grow from one another.  ---------------------------------- Resources ----------------------------------- Industrial Design Trends:  https://youtu.be/Ieg5qv1JYuU?feature=shared Oki Sato Interview: https://youtu.be/c3TPbj2_Xjg?feature=shared LD Comparisons: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/level-design-compare-fps-vs-tps-games Immersion In Games: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ZKEQe1Syp3TjBtRwRfLTy Architect Compares CP vs Starfiel vs StarCitizen: https://youtu.be/sbOFw1NgUj4?feature=shared ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxPears  Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] #gamedev #leveldesign #podcast

Design is not a solo journey but one in which to achieve the best designs possible we work with incredible other devs and disciplines. So we must figure out how to inspire, learn, compromise and design with others.  ------------------------------------------ Let's Design Books ----------------------------------- Ebook - https://bit.ly/39BakJD Physical Books - https://bit.ly/3mfOsbS ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter:   / maxpears   Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] -----------------------------------#gamedev #leveldesign #podcast #leveldesignlobby  

While working on my GoW level I have currently been designing a boss arena. I received some questions on twitter and want to give some advice on how you should and would design.  Questions: https://x.com/MaxPears/status/1745015457600471045?s=20 ------------------------------------------ Let's Design Books ----------------------------------- Ebook - https://bit.ly/39BakJD Physical Books - https://bit.ly/3mfOsbS ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter:   / maxpears   Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] -----------------------------------#gamedev #leveldesign #podcast #leveldesignlobby

Start of the month and here are the recommended resources which I think are very much worth checking out to learn from!  ---------------------------------- Resources ----------------------------------- Great Game Designer Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Role-Great-Game-Designer-Handbook/dp/1777993202 Return to Monkey Island - https://youtu.be/SdWzlDwxBmQ?feature=shared Graveyard of Features - https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-graveyard-of-features-in-games-when-stuff-that-seemed-promising-just-doesn-t-work Suda 51 Career - https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/suda51-on-25-years-of-making-strange-masterpieces-at-grasshopper-manufacture IGN Unionise - https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ign-workers-are-unionizing-under-newsguild-cwa ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter: maxpears​   Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] #gamedev #leveldesign #podcast

I was not feeling good the week I recorded this as I am sure many of you have seen it had been nonstop layoffs for nearly the whole of January. This affected some good friends of mine as well as my own mental health. For this, I want to talk about the possibility of how Unionising as gamedevs could possibly help us in the future. That is by joining a union, here are some of the pages in a few different countries: UK GameDev Union: https://www.gameworkers.co.uk/ Poland: https://gamedevunion.pl/en/main-en/ France: https://www.stjv.fr/en/news-en/ Union Articles: https://www.polygon.com/gaming/23538801/video-game-studio-union-microsoft-activision-blizzard https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/20/video-game-developers-union-membership-in-uk-soars-after-thousands-laid-off ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxPears Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] -----------------------------------

In our career, we use a lot of different tools to construct and build our worlds. I wanted to talk about some that have helped in my experience. Each game is different & requires different equipment to improve our work.  ---------------------------------- Let's Design Books ----------------------------------- Ebook - https://bit.ly/39BakJD Physical Books - https://bit.ly/3mfOsbS ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxPears Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] ----------------------------------- #gamedev #leveldesign #podcast #leveldesignlobby

It is no secret that we have seen the biggest job losses in the industry. With over 9000 lost in 2023 and currently 6000 in 2024. I sadly was one of these, so I wish to share my experience with you all alongside that which helped me to land jobs as well.  ---------------------------------- Let's Design Books ----------------------------------- Ebook - https://bit.ly/39BakJD Physical Books - https://bit.ly/3mfOsbS ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxPears Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected] -----------------------------------

Happy 2024, we are back with the podcast and no better place to start than that of the resources we should read and enjoy!  ----------------------------------- Resources ----------------------------------- GDC Boss Mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO23gOGZkcA&ab_channel=GDC Anime Animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZsboyfs-L4&ab_channel=NewFramePlus How to steal like an artist: https://rb.gy/dytul4 Gamedev Bussiness Book: https://rb.gy/nmuuo9 The Raid -Breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNkeEZ1EHbo&ab_channel=Storytellers ----------------------------------- Contact Me ---------------------------------- Twitter:   / maxpears​   Website: https://www.maxpears.com/​ Email: [email protected]