Vulcano ~ Flytrough video

I am so happy to see that my work is being recognized all over the world by gamers, and Crysis fans!

I want to thank them all for all the PM’s and e-mails I’ve been receiving since I released this map, filled with so good feedback!

If you still didn’t played Vulcano, you can download it here!

Here’s a video I found on youtube, it’s basically a beautiful flytrough of my map, when I saw it, I had to post it here!

(I embed the video in HD so wait a little while it streams!)

Thanks HomelessLD, for uploading this beautiful video!

Vulcano ~ ICMC First Place!

It’s with great honor and proud that I can now announce I was the winner of the Intel Crysis Mapping Competition, Fun and Gameplay category.

Once more, I would like to thank everyone who supported me, and gave me great feedback all this long.
I also want to thank the jury for picking me, obviously. And also Crytek and Intel for organizing this great competition!

ICMC: Singleplayer Winners Announcement!

Vulcano Map ~ Update #3

Here we are, my final update on my Crysis map.

The countdown has began, I have exactly 16 days to give the final touches to this map before final release.
Wish me luck for the contest! And thanks to everyone who gave me very nice C&C during all this time.
For now, take a look at this new screenshots, and return to this blog in 16 days, to download the map.

Thank you!

Vulcano Map ~ Update #2

Only one month left to the ICMC dead-line, and still so much left to do on this map… Been working on a daily basis on it, and despite my huge efforts, I fear I wont have time to include all my ideas on this map.
Nevertheless, I’m trying to push this engine to it’s limits, and it never ceases to amaze me, CryEngine2 is definitely the most amazing engine I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with.

For now, enjoy this new screenshots.

Hourences New Book and Community Website

Sjoerd De Jong, aka Hourences continued contributing to the Level Design and Game Development community and released another book, this time focused on the games industry, It’s called The Hows and Whys of the Games Industry.

• Intended for amateurs who wish to ‘break into’ the games industry and who are looking for additional information. It’s also for those who are yet undecided on whether or not to pursue a career in the games industry.

• Aims to provide the reader with a honest and objective discourse about the games industry, its pros and cons, and why one would, or would not, want to be active within this industry.

• Interviews with over twenty industry professionals on how they got in, what they like, and what they dislike about the games industry.

• Attempts to provide the reader with answers to some of the most common questions beginners have; such as how much one can expect to earn, the best way to apply to a studio, and what to expect during a job interview. The book will provide the reader with plenty of tips about what to look for when searching for a job.

• Illustrated with exclusive concept art by Romano Molenaar .

Scheduled for release around Nov-Dec.

He also pimped his website with alot more tutorials, Jobs Section, and alot more, take a look at his new community website here: http://community.hourences.com/

Many thanks for all your hard work Hourences, the community appreciate it alot!

Crysis ~ Level Design

From the time it was announced, Crysis has got attention from the whole gaming community worldwide, by it’s great graphical engine and immersive gameplay.
Crysis next-generation graphical engine is just mind blowing. CryEngine2 uses many new technologies which are only just starting to show up in the world of gaming, none of which have been seen together in the same engine, for the first time in a single game you’ll have: dynamic day & night cycle, sunrays and diffuse transmission, Soft and dynamic shadows, motion blur, DoF, volumetric clouds, ambient maps, full interactive environments and also advanced shader technology!

I especially loved Crysis level editor, It’s amazing how quickly you can place geometry and tweak lighting parameters, and view the result real time, here’s a video demonstrating some of the most cool features of this engine editor. (In two parts)

Part 1/2 ~ (View HD version)

Part 2/2 ~ (View HD version)

If you liked that, and wanna see further, take a look at this 10 minutes video, about Crysis Level design.

Level Design book

The Hows And Whys of Level Design, written by Hourences.

“The book covers both the visual and artistic side as well as the gameplay aspect of level design. Don’t expect any technical how-to tutorials in this book, this book is about the “why”. Rather than writing yet another tutorial/book about how to create a virtual room this book is about how to make that room look cool and play well. Expect tips and techniques as well as explanations of the logic and reasoning behind art and design decisions. How does the gameplay in a level work? What’s the reason this kind of architecture gives this kind of feeling or looks better in situation A or B? Why does this color combination work so well? What kind of floorplan can I best use to improve gameplay and why? What type of sound setup should I use? The book is well illustrated and offers many examples with pictures, nearly 120 to be exact. The book is intended to be universal. Most of the information can be applied to a wide range of games and different genres, gametypes, themes etc.” It’s a great book, and I recommend it to all of you guys starting to adventure in the fantastic world of Level Design!