SpronyvanJohnson writes:

On December 2nd Quake 3 will celebrate its 15th anniversary. Many people have a soft spot for this classic so instead of neglecting this anniversary we want to pay tribute to this amazing game. For that reason, we partnered up with Pixologic (Zbrush), Id Software, Hammerwatch and CGTextures to bring you MapCore’s Quake 3 15th Anniversary Contest which will run from October 8th to December 3rd. Check out all the details here and be sure to sign up and spread the word!

More information about the contest can be found on MapCore website. Good luck for all the contestants, it’s gonna be fun!

SpronyvanJohnson says:

That’s right guys, the deadline has passed and we’ve got exactly 11 good looking whitebox maps for you all. I must say that I’m very pleased by your efforts and your participation in this challenge. Because 11 maps is a very impressive number for a challenge without prizes. So a big applause for all participants!

As promised, we will now let the community vote on which map they like best. Voting will end on Monday 6 October.

Now check out the contest thread on MapCore and pick your best Whitebox level!

LEVEL-DESIGN.org News Roundup – Volume 27

Art Dumps:

• Bungie’s “Destiny” Art Dump on Polycount

Articles:

• 13 Ways to Improve Your LD/3D Skill Away From a Computer – Article by Alex Galuzin of World of Level Design
• How to Polish Your Games’ Environments
• The Unusual Excellence Of Halo’s Most Iconic Level
• MP Level Design: Barracks – Article by Bobby Ross
• The Player’s Camera is Everything – Article by Geoff Ellenor
• British Countryside Generator
• Procedural Forestry

Interviews:

• Interview with Paul “PaulH” Haynes – Senior Level Designer at Crytek UK – Paul’s Portfolio Website

Videos:

• Unity 5 Beta – Lighting Workflow
• Official Unity 5 Feature Trailer
• Overflow by Marnamai – HL2 SP level walkthrough with CustomGamer commentary
• I Don’t Mind That Your Hands Are Cold by Skacky – Q1 SP level walkthrough with CustomGamer commentary

Tools:

• CryEngine 3.6.7 Now Available

LEVEL-DESIGN.org Reference Database Updates:

• Bulletstorm – Complete SP Campaign
• Dead Space 2 – First few hours of the game
• Gone Home – First minutes of the game
• Max Payne 3 – First minutes of the game
• Outlast – First half of the game
• Red Orchestra 2 – Few MP levels

Lately I’ve been visiting a few websites where super talented artists and designers use to hang out. Here’s what I found – a big pack of an inspiration! If you’re on the list then it means you’re doing a great job as an environment artist or level designer! Have fun watching!

• Louie Turner – Level Designer – “Yunshu“, “Ferrous” and “Stallone” levels for Team Fortress 2 [Luie’s Portfolio]

• Everett Gunhther – Abandoned Train Car Shelter (Unreal Engine 4 Scene) [Polycount Thread] [Everett’s Portfolio]

• Aneesha Rode – Warehouse Loft (Unreal Engine 4 Scene) [Aneesha’s Portfolio]

• Thiago “Minos” Klafke – Sampa (Unreal Engine 4 Scene) [Polycount Thread] [Thiago’s Portfolio]

Hello! Sorry for the lack of updates on my website. I’m preparing a few big things, some updates in the Knowledge Base and some small projects I’m crafting at night. Anyway, here’s a list of the  latest news from the level art and design part of the games industry.

By the way, we have a great occasion to celebrate! The Reference Database hit more than 41 000 pictures in all the galleries! Thanks to all contributors!

If I’ve missed an interesting article or a video about the level design, feel free to let me know and I’ll post it right here!

LEVEL-DESIGN.org News Roundup – Volume 26:

Articles:

• Environmental Storytelling in Games by Jethro Jongeneel
• I Don’t Want To Design Levels Any More by Geoff Ellenor
• Level Design “Dramas” […] by Hamish Todd
• Deep In The Shadows: Thief Design Analysis by Justin Keverne
• Designing Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
• Excerpts From An Architectural Approach To Level Design by Christopher Totten

Contests and Challenges:

• MapCore Unreal Engine 4 Whitebox Challenge

Interviews:

• SpronyvanJohnson from MapCore interviews Thiago “Minos” Klafke, Environment Artist at Blizzard

Videos:

• CustomGamer: Teh Ratz in Teh Wallz by Scampie – Quake 1 SP Commentary Video by Daz
• CustomGame: Yellow Brick Grotto by RickyT23 – Quake 1 SP Commentary Video by Daz
• Procedural Level Editor by Machiel van Hooren
• Great Level Design and The Artistic Expression of Mathematics

Tools:

• CryEngine 3.6.6 Released
• Sony Releases Level Editor That is Open-Source and Engine-Agnostic

LEVEL-DESIGN.org Reference Database Updates:

• Oblivion – Full story quest walkthrough plus some minor locations
• NeoTokyo – Complete MP Walkthrough
• Dead Space 2 – First level

LEVEL-DESIGN.org Knowledge Base has been updated with a new article on Composition in Level Design.

When designing a level you’re able to freely compose your virtual environment with any objects you want. This distinguishes level designers from the landscape photographers. You don’t have to adopt to existing elements of nature or architecture. You can affect the scene dramatically. A level designers’ work can be compared to that of a painter. Now let’s see the level as the art gallery and the level vistas as paintings. It means that a player can traverse from one composition to another.

You can read the article here. Have a good reading!

Update:
You can also read the article on Gamasutra Blogs – link.

Hello fellow designers and artists! I’ve been quiet for a long time. I was a bit busy with the Knowledge Base but it’s all fine now! Here’s a pack of level design news from few last weeks:

LEVEL-DESIGN.org News Roundup – Volume 25

Articles:

• Visual Guide For Multiplayer Level Design by Bobby Ross [Bobby’s Portfolio Website]
• Interview with Lens “penE” Monath, Environment and Lighting/VFX Artist by SpronyvanJohnson [MapCore Articles]
• 11 Things I’ve Learned From Dream Worlds [World of Level Design Article]
• The Skywriters of Destiny [Interview & Video]
• Level Generation [Monothetic Devblog]
• Telling a Story, Again and Again and Again [Monothetic Devblog]
• One Thousand Cuts – Q1SP Post Mortem Article by Sock [Sock’s Portfolio Website]

Tools:

• Unreal Engine 4.4 Released [UE4 Release Notes]

Videos:

• LevelCap Bashes Battlefield 4 Level Design [YouTube Video]
• Honey Theme of Digs – Quake Single Player – Custom Gamer Video Commentary [YouTube Video]
• Year Long Alarm by Chuck Wilson – Half-Life 2 Single Player – Custom Gamer Video Commentary [YouTube Video]
• Great Levels in Gaming – Episode 9 – Dishonored [YouTube Video] [The Rest of The Episodes]

LEVEL-DESIGN.org Reference Database Updates:

• Sanctum 2 [Gallery]
• SpecOps: The Line – Complete SP Campaign [Gallery]
• Battlefield 3 – Multiplayer Levels [Gallery]
• Doom 3 BFG Edition: Resurrection of Evil – Complete SP Campaign [Gallery]

I’m happy to announce that my own Wiki-based knowledge base is now available – LEVEL-DESIGN.org Knowledge Base! First page that is ready to publish is about Dominants. I hope you’ll find it useful. Please, feel free to contact me with any hints, requests or comments!

Here’s a quick note about the new website:

Most of the books and articles I’ve read were very game- or engine-specific. I was looking for a very universal knowledge that shows very detailed level production phases from video game development. I couldn’t find any so I’ve decided to pick MediaWiki engine and write down everything I know about making levels. The results are what you’re reading right now, LEVEL-DESIGN.org Knowledge Base. This website gathers information about all the aspects of the level creation process and is prepared for both aspiring and experienced Level Artists & Designers. In my series of articles I’ll try to explain principles of Level Art & Design on neutral ground, without technical requirements and capabilities.

All the content is written from my own experience, observation and analysis with as much development tidbits as I could put in. Comments, thoughts, requests and bug reports are welcome!

I don’t know how often the website will be updated, please follow LEVEL-DESIGN.org Blog or my Twitter feed to know about the updates. I can assure you that the next update will be about Composition and it will be available in the beginning of the next week.

Quick links:

• LEVEL-DESIGN.org Knowledge Base Main Page – Table of Contents (wiki.level-design.org)
• About LEVEL-DESIGN.org Knowledge Base
• Dominants on LEVEL-DESIGN.org Knowledge Database

LEVEL-DESIGN.org News Roundup – Volume 24

Scenes and Levels:

• Korath – Witcher Saga Inspired Environment by Krzysztof Teper [Video]
• Cartographer’s Nightmare – New Quake 1 SP level by KillPixel [Trailer] [func_msgboard]

Interviews:

• Thibault “dkm” Courbet – Level Designer at Machine Games [MapCore Interivew]

Tools:

• Unreal Engine 4.3 Update Preview [Official UE4 Website]

Videos:

• Mass Effect – “Citadel” Environment Presentation Video [Polygon Fragments]
• Map Jam – Making of brushwork by Simon “Sock” O’Callaghan [Part 1] [Part 2]
• Unreal Engine 4 Cave Effects Tech Demo [Video]
• Probable Carcinogen – Quake 1 SP Custom Gamer Commentary [Video]
• Jam1_Arrrcee – Quake 1 SP Custom Gamer Commentary [Video]

Other:

• LEVEL-DESIGN.org Level Art & Design Resources – Article Updated [List]

LEVEL-DESIGN.org Reference Database Updates:

• Outlast – First minutes [Gallery]
• Wolfenstein: New Order – Complete SP Campaign [Gallery]

I wanted to return to an old LEVEL-DESIGN.org tradition of promoting talented artists and designers by showing you their work. Featuring portfolios in News Roundup series wasn’t a good idea, it had no impact because lack of screenshots. Let me feature few images that show some of the greatest talents, their works and… get inspired! Check out LEVEL-DESIGN.org Portfolios on Spot Volume 1!

Each featured portfolio lands automatically on “LEVEL-DESIGN.org Featured Portfolios” page.

• Spencer Rose – Level Designer – “Hijack” level for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  [Spencer’s Portfolio] [Steam Workshop]

• Rick van Veen – Environment Artist – “Tulip” level for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  [Rick’s Portfolio] [Steam Workshop]

• Sébastien Van Elverdinghe – Environment Artist
  [Sébastien’s Portfolio]