[Portfolio] – Alex Jones, Level Designer

Thaur

Hey there, I'm a recent college graduate starting to look for work in game dev in Austin primarily. I'm looking at entry level positions including paid internships and Q.A. but my real passion is level design. I am primarily looking for feedback on the content of my site but feedback on the site itself is also welcome. As it's not my own personal domain I can't change the layout much though. The most helpful thing would be for people to actually play the Gears of War levels. If that is impossible, watching the videos and looking at the screenshots would be good. I have a few ideas for things to change and would like to see if your ideas match mine. Thanks!

http://myrm.deviantart.com/

g0th

nice stuff. I think for level design you might want to include some design papers of the levels, just to show you can build levels on the paper as well.

Also you probably should get rid of the deviant page and get a better hosting where you can show you work better.

Tulkamir

Your first bit of business... get a real 'folio site. Deviant Art is shit, and is definitely not the best way to present yourself.

Armanguy

first things first set up a real portfolio, i almost didn't even click the link just because i know how much of a pain deviant art is to navigate.

renderhjs

dito,- deviant art is a pain in the ass to use
- loads to much crap (slow loading)
- lots of confusing buttons that have nothing to do with you (but the deviantArt site)
- those default thumbnails are not suited for your big images
...
get a real domain, sites like deviantArt make it look like a hobby

rooster

yeah, post some pics in the thread

Thaur

Thank you, I will do some searching for a good portfolio host everyone (unless you have suggestions). Good point about the drawn layouts also g0th.

One of the shortcomings I am seeing is that I have focused on taking pretty pictures and not showing the layouts of the levels with item and enemy placement etc. Do you agree?

Has anyone checked out any of the gameplay videos or is it too time consuming for you?

Mark Dygert

PhotoShop > File > Automate > Web Photo Gallery > Upload to the host of your choice.

OR

Read the archived thread about setting up a quick portfolio site
http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=44187

Also google sketch up is a good little app for blocking out and showing level ideas. Its quick, fast and free. In the time it takes to do the whole thing from start to finish you can "design" dozens of levels. Being able to flesh out a half dozen ideas in an afternoon really helps to solidify the design before you start to commit time and effort

Keep at it, lets see some more!

rooster

some cool stuff, im liking the 2nd image most.. sorry for sounding blunt but I'm not touching DA when I've got polycount . why not youtube the gameplay video, then you can embed videos in the thread

Generalvivi

nice stuff!

bluekangaroo

Armanguy wrote: »

first things first set up a real portfolio, i almost didn't even click the link just because i know how much of a pain deviant art is to navigate.

seriously?! I find deviantart is super easy to navigate! then again ive been a member for years....

bluekangaroo

renderhjs wrote: »

dito,- deviant art is a pain in the ass to use

...
get a real domain, sites like deviantArt make it look like a hobby

I would have agreed with you 3-4 years ago but since then there have been a huge explosion of professional talent on da. In my eyes, if you really got the talent its just another avenue to gain exposure and gather a larger following

anyways, srry for hijack....looks like you put alot of thought n effort into your levels.

Thaur

Edit: Ack what did I do wrong? with the embedding?

Wow wonderful, most of the videos have already been removed due to terms of use violation. It says the length of videos are too long. Youtube is worthless.

Ok here are the videos on youtube so they are very easy to play. I am most proud of Nergal gameplay-wise. In Nergal, combat centers around courtyards and this is great for the vertical action. In Namtar combat focuses around columns which is horizontal action. In The Knell, combat focuses on fighting enemies on rooftops above you. On Descent, combat focuses on a giant stairway.

Here are the direct links to download:

http://dodownload.filefront.com/10454659//fe42a3e8dfddd82114f2edbd68011df3d6a5ee6b7a70f421e2099df5e1680796123133dc3e7f310f

http://dodownload.filefront.com/10454223//fe42a3e8dfddd82114f2edbd68011df3d6a5ee6b7a70f421e2099df5e1680796123133dc3e7f310f

http://dodownload.filefront.com/9788363//fe42a3e8dfddd82114f2edbd68011df3d6a5ee6b7a70f421e2099df5e1680796123133dc3e7f310f

http://dodownload.filefront.com/9794266//fe42a3e8dfddd82114f2edbd68011df3d6a5ee6b7a70f421e2099df5e1680796123133dc3e7f310f

The Knell:

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HxWtCq6H0Yc"&gt; </param] [embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HxWtCq6H0Yc&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

Descent:

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0wNQZ5z9cYU"&gt; </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0wNQZ5z9cYU&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

Nergal:

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xqC-dnBIBbs"&gt; </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xqC-dnBIBbs&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

Namtar:

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b3zgPr_xGjI"&gt; </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b3zgPr_xGjI&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

Tai

DUDE. Hey Thaur. It is nice to finally see you here. Great stuff as usual man!