MMO World Design
polycounter lvl 11
So, after having concentrated on multiplayer level design for several years (and not accomplishing that much) I've had to look at what it is I really love to do and rethink where I want to go. I've always loved laying out areas, doing detail work, and shaping terrain, but lacking in 3d modeling (though I'm working on it.)
I also love MMO's. I'm not so much in love with many of the mechanics, but I love their worlds (most of them anyway.) I really love world design. My first experiments in creating worlds was using the TRAVELLER scifi tabletop RPG ruleset, and later in D&D 3rd edition. I've decided that what I would really like to do is work on a MMO as a terrain artists and world builder.
Does anyone with experience doing such things have any practical tips for getting this sort of job? And what do most studios refer to it as? Are the people shaping terrain in MMO's usually 3d artists? Level designers? I'm sure it's highly specific depending on the studio but I'm asking those that have actually done this sort of thing for their experiences.
I also love MMO's. I'm not so much in love with many of the mechanics, but I love their worlds (most of them anyway.) I really love world design. My first experiments in creating worlds was using the TRAVELLER scifi tabletop RPG ruleset, and later in D&D 3rd edition. I've decided that what I would really like to do is work on a MMO as a terrain artists and world builder.
Does anyone with experience doing such things have any practical tips for getting this sort of job? And what do most studios refer to it as? Are the people shaping terrain in MMO's usually 3d artists? Level designers? I'm sure it's highly specific depending on the studio but I'm asking those that have actually done this sort of thing for their experiences.
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But I don't know how it is today and would be interesting to hear how guys do it in big studios nowadays, what are requirements for this kind of job and how often do those positions appear. It seems to me that it would be hard to land a job as world builder, because you share responsibilities with environment artits. Also, having tools like world machine reduce amount of workforce needed.
On the big open world MMO's I've worked on Environment Artists made buildings, props, etc... while the world builders sculpted all the terrain and placed said props. On occasion I've been called to help out with world building, typically when schedules got tight.
I'd say give UE4 a try, they have some cool example scenes that give you some good content to world build with, take this guy's video for example. You can purchase one month at $19 and then cancel your subscription. The only drawback I've seen so far is a lack of good grass & foliage, so you may want to still use UDK for a forest, jungle or grasslands scene:
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There are level designers who work more as a go-between for design and art and may or may not do some other more technical things like placing spawners, scripting, etc.
Then there are world builders who go through and make it all pretty; paint the terrain and clutter, place buildings and props etc.
Generally on an MMO there's too just too many worlds to build and too many assets to make for people to pull double duty at both.
If you want to get into pure world building for MMOs, submitting in-game levels/environments from any engine works(since you can't usually use the proprietary tools most companies use).
At non-MMO or smaller studios, you're less likely to find that level of specialization, sometimes even environment artists build out levels, and there are only so many MMOs in production at a time, so keep that in mind. If you had a portfolio of levels which contained your own assets, then hey, you have a portfolio full of environment art AND world building.
I already have a UE4 and speedtree for UE4 sub, so that will help. I'm a lot more experienced with CE3 so learning how to set up materials is a hurdle, at least as far as deciphering the terrain mat's go.
This is my current portfolio. It isn't much and only includes a few thing's I've worked on. I think I also need to concentrate more on focusing on one thing and finishing.
http://jeffrichey.carbonmade.com/
Nope, I worked at a studio who's art test involved building a level in their previous game using the existing assets. It was pretty obvious playing through them who had a good eye for level design and who didn't.
can't world machine generate actual spherical planets? or does it have to be done in square patches?
I worked as a MMO world builder, it was a lot of fun. A lot of work of course, but I really enjoyed shaping large areas, and detailing them too. I was hired specifically because I'm an artist first, not a designer. The company had been using designers to lay out the spaces, which made sense from a design POV, but the visuals were lacking. I worked at the same place as Justin. Some of my work is here. http://ericchadwick.com/img/mmo_worldbuilding.html
A few people have commented they like my before/after shots, helps show what specifically I do. We tried using World Machine, but because the terrain sometimes has to be edited multiple times to fit changing designs, using WM alone is a bit of a waste of time.
I've seen erosion added to custom MMO sculpting tools, but it never looks as good as WM bakes. Not as much detail.
What we ended up doing was adding alpha brush support, so we could make brushes with WM, then stamp them down to make terrain in our tool. That worked pretty well.
I'd say it would be good to show in-game terrains and scenes you've made, just like any thing else for game art. But also try to understand what tech limits MMOs are under, like only 4 texture layers per region, limited numbers of large meshes, etc.
Also good to show you can do skies, lighting, fogging, and create terrain with limited view distances (think valleys, and deep mountain passes or S-curve gullies connecting them).
*secret handshake*
This is a whole job for lots of people, depending on the studio and project. Especially really large teams - ' Set Dresser' it is often called.