Welcome to The Official SnarkPit Interview Series of 2011. Here we're looking to interview individuals who have at least two years experience designing levels for games. We accepted entries from amateurs and professionals alike in an effort to enlighten the masses, especially those who are aspiring level designers or hobbyists. From new to old, there is something to be learned by all. People from around the world talk about what got them into level design, and what they do to push the limits and explore the possibilities. Level design has always been a collaborative effort spent conversing with others for critiques and opinions, and it is in this spirit that these interviews are presented to you.

This is Interview #1 out of the series as given by Mr. Thiago (Minotaur0) Klafke.


Thiago (Minotaur0) Klafke has worked on such projects as Insurgency mod (HL2), The Specialists mod (HL1), and Natural Selection mod (HL1).
He has also worked professionally with Southlogic Studios from 2007-2008, and with Ubisoft since 2008-2010. He has been an active member with Mapcore.net and SnarkPit.net as the user: Minotaur0

You can best reach him through his portfolio site: www.thiagoklafke.com


The Interview:
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1. SnarkPit: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with level design?

Thiago: Hello there! My name is Thiago Klafke, I'm 23 years old now and I'm from Brazil. I currently work as a professional Environment Artist in the games industry but I started as a Level Designer.

Since I was a child I always knew that I wanted to make games for a living. When I first found out one could make maps for 3d games I fell in love with the hobby immediately. I started my career back in 2001 creating maps for Counter-Strike, which was the most popular online game at the time. As with everyone else, my first maps were horrible. It was when I began browsing Level Design communities, such as SnarkPit and Mapcore, that I really started to take things seriously. I then worked my way up working on various other modifications such as The Specialists, Natural-Selection and Snow-War.

When Half-Life 2 was finally released I joined a mod called Insurgency. During my time in the team I made one of the maps shipped with the mod, ins_abdallah, and lots of environment assets. It was a great learning experience and I made friends to whom I talk to even today.

I joined the game industry about 3 years ago and haven't done much Level Design since then. My last job was at Ubisoft, where I worked on DS and PSP games, but I plan to get back to amateur level designing on my free time once I find a new job.

You can view my most recent work on my website: www.thiagoklafke.com

2. SnarkPit: How long have you been mapping or doing level design work?

Thiago: For roughly 9 years now.

3. SnarkPit: What games and game types do you map for?

Thiago: I have experience with multiplayer game modes only. Mostly deathmatch and team-based objective maps, such as Capture Points and CTF.

4. SnarkPit: If level design is currently a hobby for you, What do you plan to do, or continue doing with your experience and skills in the near future?

Thiago: Besides doing more Level Design work professionally? I really want to make my own tiny indie game one day. I have some neat ideas for 2D platformers and I'd love to work with Flixel (http://flixel.org/). It will be fun to apply my Level Design experience to something completely different from 3D war games. I'm really fed up with those to be honest


Zest Facilities - An UDK environment

5. SnarkPit: What is your current level design method work flow? How do you start a level and then bring it to completion?

Thiago: It all depends on my mood and intentions really. I usually start my maps in one of these two ways:
- I design a rough 3D block out using dev textures only, do a lot of gameplay testing and then I do various art passes until I'm happy with the results.
or:
- Create a small portion of the map and if I like the visuals I keep working on it until I'm satisfied.

I find the first method most suited for complex maps that require a lot of testing and tweaking. The second method is more aimed towards small deathmatch maps or small eye candy maps.

Funny fact: I have tried to draw rough layouts on paper before starting actual 3D work a dozen times but I failed miserably every time I tried that. It works for most people though.

6. SnarkPit: What is the most important step or aspect in designing a level for you?

Thiago: I think a good level must have good vertical action and areas varied enough to enable different play styles while still feeling cohesive. A map that is too open is as boring as a map that is too enclosed.

A good map should also have enough alternate routes to facilitate different tactics but a clear main path or landmark should always be visible to help players navigate through the level.

You can learn a lot about that by studying Valve maps. Together with Quake 3, Valve games have the best multiplayer maps around in my humble opinion.

7. SnarkPit: What's the most valuable lesson you've learned about level design?

Thiago: Level Design has taught me to think in an organized and layered manner. I always try to break a problem into smaller parts and then tackle one by one. That's what programmers call "object-oriented programming".

Thinking like that has helped me a lot to solve problems in my "real life".


INS_Abdallah - A control point map for Insurgency (HL2)

8. SnarkPit: What other skills do you think are imperative for a modern level designer?

Thiago: I believe that a modern level designer should also know basic modeling and basic texturing. Even if someone else is going to art pass your map it's very important to let him/her know exactly what your intentions are.

9. SnarkPit: Are there any special programs you use when designing and building a level?

Thiago: I have used Google Sketchup in rare occasions. It's a really great and simple tool to quickly put blockout levels together. It's great to see more companies supporting it each day.

10. SnarkPit: What other hobbies or careers do you work/study in and do you think they compliment your level design knowledge and or skills?

Thiago: I went to Graphic Design college for a bit before joining the games industry. I apply a lot of what I learned there to my level design work.

I have also been learning digital painting. You can see my most recent sketches on my deviant-art profile: http://thiagoklafke.deviantart.com/

My next goal is to get better at traditional arts, figure drawing especially. I also want to learn how to paint with gouache or oil paint.


TS_Shady - A rooftop action map for The Specialists (HL1)

11. SnarkPit: Where do you look for inspiration or whom do you look to for ideas and in what mediums?

Thiago: Movies and concept art mostly. I'm an art book freak too.

I have also a few really good and talented friends that I can always count on for criticism/ideas.

12. SnarkPit: Is there a particular level or custom map from any game that stands out as an excellent example of craftsmanship? Why?

Thiago: I have always been a fan of Robert Briscoe. His maps are mind blowing and if you are serious about being a Level Designer you should study them. They are huge, detailed and varied. And the most incredible: He makes all the Environment Art in his maps.

13. SnarkPit: What should a beginning level designer focus on the most in attempting to develop their skills?

Thiago: Depends on one's intentions really. If one wants to be a Level Designer, than he should focus on making his maps fun, balanced and optimized. If one wants to be an Environment Artist, he should make jaw dropping good looking levels.


CO_Paragon - A Natural-Selection map (HL1)

14. SnarkPit:What three pieces of advice would you have for an aspiring level designer?

Thiago:
- Be humble. Never think that you know enough about something because you don't. Always study other people's work. Try to find where they failed and where they succeeded. Don't be afraid of posting your maps on Level Design communities because the criticism you receive will be invaluable.
- Work hard. The more you work, the better you get. Simple as that. Join a mod team if you can.
- And the most important of all... Have fun! If making maps has become a burden for you then maybe it's time to find a new hobby/profession.

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We would like to thank Thiago Klafke for taking the time to answer some of our questions and we wish him the best of luck in his future career endeavors!



If you're interested in giving an interview and feel that you qualify, feel free to check out our questions and criteria for submitting an entry here. We'd be glad to hear what you have to say!