azmodai.com - Evyn 'azmodai' Shuley
Game & Level Designer
About Me
Name Evyn 'azmodai' Shuley
Nationality Australian
The early days
I started creating content for games in 1998. Starting with Quake 2 as a platform I grew attached to creating interesting and enjoyable environments for my friends. With the release of Unreal Tournament in 1999 I started to develop my talents and learn more about the level design trade. I spent the next few years learning the technology and creating many fun little levels.
In late 2001 I began to start releasing my levels to the online community and won my first online level contest in mid 2002 in a the australian unreal community. I continued to create levels for the Unreal community for the next few years. My levels had a focus on the dueling and tournament gametypes, my levels focused on gameplay and level flow rather than sheer visual appeal.
During 2002 I became involved in my first online commercial project - Desolate Nation with Unnatural Entertainment. I prototyped multiplayer scenarios, developed environments and assisted in developing the gameplay and multiplayer game mechanics. My experience lasted six months with the development team until the projected terminated. I returned to the community to continue to work with a variety of modification teams to develop my level design, game design and artistic abilities.
During 2004 I started my first professional commercial placement with Perception to develop the single player component of Stargate SG1: The Alliance. I have been working on commercial projects since.
Inspiration and Ideals
My knowledge of both level and game design is entirely self taught through trial and error and experimentation with designs, level designs, environments and game engines. I am passionate about what I do and enjoy making interesting, dynamic and fun encounters and environments.
I aim to develop interesting environments and create a strong sense of immersion for the player. My goal is to suspend the players belief by creating an environement that implies life, time and a strong sense of theme and mood.
ABC's Good Game
During 2008 I was filmed to provide insights and information in a short segment regarding the game design field for ABC's "Good Game". This footage was taken while I was working on Heroes Over Europe while working at Transmission Games in Melbourne.
The interview can be watched here : http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/video/default.htm?pres=20090420_2030&story=9
fun fact: During the interview I am navigating around a mission in Heroes Over Europe. Those with keen eyes will notice that this environment didn't feature in the final release. Unfortunately this mission was cut later that year and was scheduled to become part of downloadable content.
Can you get me a job? How do I become a game designer?
Whenever I tell someone what I do for a living I get asked two questions a great deal, these are:
- can you get me a job? I can test games!
- how did you get into the industry and how can I get into the industry?
To answer the first - unless you're amazingly talented newbie or a game developer already who is just looking for a position in a company with your own portfolio to show and plenty of experience to win yourself a seat in a studio then no, I probably can't get you a job. Please bear in mind that I am part of the Design discipline and can't really ask the QA manager to take someone on when I'm not qualified to determine who is a good member of QA and who isn't.
In either case, there are many websites you should investigate for games industry jobs, these include:
- tsumea.com - australias game development home
- gamesindustry.biz - a large site dedicated to video game developers
- gamasutra.com - a similiar site to gamesindustry.biz
- interactiveselection.com - a games specific recruiter that I have worked with in the past to great success
To answer the second question: I got into the game development industry because I love making content for games, and I love improving games through my efforts. I spent a lot of time (four to five years) working on community projects, teaching myself the tools, learning from masters, watching tutorial videos / reading tutorials, buying game development books and putting all of my available time into my passion.
My first tip is this, if you're interested in getting into Game Design - play more games. Play every type of game you can get your hands on, puzzle games, casual games, first person shooters, racing games, flying games, board games, card games, role playing games and get your wife / girlfriend / relatives / family / friends to play as many games of monopoly, RISK, scrabble and every other game you can find.
Playing many games gives you a clear understanding of two things, why humans play games, and what a game really is. That knowledge is the core of game design, everything else is built up on that principle.
My next tip is this, get into the tools. I didn't go to college or university to enter the industry but I did get my hands dirty and learnt the tools that the developers were using inside and out. There is nothing like working with the real tools and dealing with the real issues these tools present to give you a solid understanding of what is involved in releasing a game or building game content.
My next tip is this, build content and release it. Make some levels, some art, some code and publish it online, you need the critical feedback from your peers to help develop your skills and refine it. It also takes a significant amount of work to polish content to the standard where you feel comfortable releasing it (and these standards get higher with time). If you can release content online you get content for your portfolio, you show your dedication to your field and you get feedback. All of these are critical elements to being a good designer and a good game developer.
If you can do all this and you're still keen as mustard to get into the games industry, then sooner or later the work will come. Don't expect it instantly, we are a very small industry (especially in australia) and there is a lot of talent out there and people who are looking for positions.
Be prepared to move for your work. My first studio was in Sydney, Australia and my next was in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The games industry is one of the few that will allow you to move around the world fairly easily and studios are very familiar with the process. Take advantage of that fact and take yourself to the work, it pays off.
Lastly, don't give up. You will receive many rejections before you get a successful position, and even then you will be a junior with an immense amount to learn. However there is nothing wrong with approaching the same studio six months or twelve months later with a newer portfolio and some new content to display. Game Studios are run by professionals who love making games, we don't say "never" if a person is showing talent and commitment, but there are significant costs involved and you may need more time before you're ready to take a place amongst the devs.