I'd say that if you can't tell much from a level design / game design portfolio, then it's not a well designed portfolio (a nail in the coffin of a designer). A good design portfolio needs to communicate to the viewer what they are looking at, and why. It's not really so indistinct from the actual level / game design…
You could use the specialized vs generalist argument within level design itself. Depending on the games studios make there's all sorts of jobs you can call level designer. And then there's the generalist level designer that does everything from initial blockout to final scripting. We actually found it pretty hard to find…
Hey All, I've seen threads comparing the duties of level designer and environment artist in games (http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84713), but wanted to know whether an environment artist is qualified as well to work as a level designer, either right away or after working at a company for long enough. I am…
Awesome, great advice so far. I appreciate it. Any thoughts on the difficulty of getting a job as a level designer vs as an environment artist? Are their more people competing for level design jobs and less available, or are both equally competitive?
I'd say they are about equal, but level design might be a bit tougher to get, although like any other job in the industry it does rely on your portfolio quite alot. Level designer is also a good starting role if you want to move up to something like a game designer within the company in the future as well, so they are…
If you want to do level design then make sure to use your environments to do so. Just doing environment assets will never qualify you for doing level design. Level design is a part of game design, and does not require art per se. Level design is about composition, user flow, leading the player, placement of important…
In most places I have worked in environment artists are also kind of Level designers. If your an environment artist that understands design concepts also you are in a great position for growth imo. I started my game career as a level designer when level design meant doing everything scripting, layout, sound, environment…
Great advice so far, thanks guys. And I'd love to hear more chime in if they've got thoughts :) A related question is this: Is there significantly more competition for level design jobs than for environment art? I would imagine that game design grads with an amorphous or un-focused skill set would all be applying for…
Great advice here. More of an aside than and answer to your question: The cool thing about environment art is sometimes you'll have to level design while you build your sets. Smaller dev teams wont have the luxury of a dedicated designer, so sometimes you luck out and get to wear multiple hats, which includes the layout to…
"Level Designer" and "Environment Artist" are some of the loosest roles out there. Their definitions change frequently from studio to studio. Alternatively, Studios with prop artists, layout artists, designers, etc. Are way more specialized and clear in what everyone's roles are. A level design position COULD include some…