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Simon-Albert Boudreault (Senior Level Designer, Warner Bros. Games Montréal)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Design
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
With today's fragmentation of roles, a very common trap for level designers of all skill levels is to take refuge in a ''gameplay is king'' mentality. As a result, many designers will - out of ignorance rather than laziness - make unimaginative grayboxes that lack shape, silhouette, composition... with the belief that the art team will swoop in and just make it look great. Through an in-depth visual post-mortem of the first four missions of Gotham Knights, this talk will refute this common silo mentality by examining the impact of having a strong visual direction coming from the level designer themself, and how maintaining and negotiating it throughout the major production gates might completely change how a level looks and plays.
The attendee will walk away with stronger foundations regarding the role of level art within level design and vice-versa, as well as a more robust confidence with their everyday interaction with their artist (or designer).
This talk is aimed at level designers working in close collaboration with level artists, and inversely level artists looking to tie in their work more closely with their designer partners.