Lucas Govatos - Portfolio Critique Request
polycounter lvl 9
Hi guys, my name is Lucas "Higuy" Govatos. I am a level designer and just finished putting together my first real portfolio website with what I find to be presentable work:
http://www.lucasgovatos.net/
First of all, I'm not sure if this is the best section to post this in but any critique on how it could be improved would be greatly appreciated, including the web design as a whole since I'm new to CSS/HTML.
Anyway, I'm looking to get a first job/internship/something somewhere related to level design. As you may have noticed, all of my work is personal/independent studies (including working on mod teams), so I'm wondering if this is acceptable to go out there and start trying to find that first job in the industry or if I should add more/continue adding things (I'm still working on other stuff, but they are not finished/presentable yet).
Lastly if you take a look at my resume/cv I listed some work experience that isn't related to game design. I ended up including it because it is work experience (I work with boats), but I am wondering if it should even be kept since it is not related to level design.
Thanks :poly124:
http://www.lucasgovatos.net/
First of all, I'm not sure if this is the best section to post this in but any critique on how it could be improved would be greatly appreciated, including the web design as a whole since I'm new to CSS/HTML.
Anyway, I'm looking to get a first job/internship/something somewhere related to level design. As you may have noticed, all of my work is personal/independent studies (including working on mod teams), so I'm wondering if this is acceptable to go out there and start trying to find that first job in the industry or if I should add more/continue adding things (I'm still working on other stuff, but they are not finished/presentable yet).
Lastly if you take a look at my resume/cv I listed some work experience that isn't related to game design. I ended up including it because it is work experience (I work with boats), but I am wondering if it should even be kept since it is not related to level design.
Thanks :poly124:
Replies
The flythroughs at the beginning of each piece page are a great idea, especially for a level designer. My one crit here is that the videos focus too much on gameplay and not enough on layout. I would make each video about 70% "tour" of the level, with a little explosive gameplay thrown in at the end.
The UDK work should be split into separate pages. I know they're small projects but they're not directly related. It's good that you showcased some of the assets you made yourself. Keep working on that because it's important to show you can do it when you need to.
Don't add any more Halo work. Unfortunately it looks pretty dated at this point. I would crack open any game that has a level editor (Skyrim, Portal 2, UDK, CryEngine) and put together some really kick ass levels for each, using the included assets.
Some work experience is better than none, even if it's unrelated. Studios don't expect much/any prior experience from interns/juniors anyway. At the very least, your other jobs prove you can keep one. Being part of a mod group is a definite plus.
In terms of applying vs adding more work, do both. As long as you're applying for internships and junior positions, it doesn't hurt to get your name out there. Add some projects from newer games though. Your goal should be to make people go, "Damn, I wish THAT was in the actual game...".
Yeah Halo is pretty dated lol... I'm currently working on a small Skyrim quest/dungeon to learn the editor and get a newer/updated portfolio piece, pretty much exactly like how you said.
Other feedback is pretty valid though too, so thank you very much!