Just Got That Mappers Rush!

Does any one else get this? Where you just really want to map and map and map?

I think most of us only map when we want to. (Except KFS) :smile:

Yeah, I got that when I found a map I lost for a few months on some server I uploaded it to. Of course, my new GameCube is distracting me a bit. :razz:

Hehe, well its sorta like that with me, i just got my hogwarts map working again, so im working on it for the comp!

yep I know exactly what you're talking about, except I call it being "in the zone". When I am in the zone, all other things must wait, I simply map, eat, poop, and map some more. Have you ever been on a 14 hour mapping binge?

Wow, 14 hours is pretty crazy, but yeah I totally agree with you guys about being "in the zone". I very rarely map if I'm not in that frame of mind, which results in me very rarely mapping these days.

Which results in ReNo being here! :biggrin:

I map in short 1-2 hour "bursts", then take a break or do something
else. Helps keep my mind fresh or whatever. 14 hours is insane though.
:smile:

I can barely map 15 minutes without going brain dead :\ Jfry, are you on DRUGS or something? I wish I could map like that :biggrin:

hehe, yea CJ i know what you mean, ive took a break to set up an online webcam :biggrin:

I also only map when the urge seizes me. That's also why I finish very few projects. "the urge" leaves me high and dry when it comes time to polish off and complete the thing.

i map for at least 4 hours every day.

my problem is getting started on a map, doing the initial layout. the texturing and tweaking and optimizing- the stuff everyone else hates to do- are what I enjoy the most. that's the reason I end up finishing other people's maps as often as I make my own.

When I get "in the zone", I could prolly go 4hrs straight mapping. However, I havent been in the zone for months...

On many occasions I have mapped for 20+ hours straight, hardly even stopping to eat.

When I get in the zone, I do a hardcore 60 seconds. Then I'm pooped

8 hours daily, give or take.

And what do you mean except me? I sure as hell am doing it when I want to. :smile:

I know you love it. :smile: I meant that the rest of us map when we feel
like it, whereas you're obligated to map regardless of how you feel. Of
course, you're compensated with humongous wads of cash for your efforts.

Alien_Sniper said:
I know you love it. :smile: I meant that the rest of us map when we feel like it, whereas you're obligated to map regardless of how you feel. Of course, you're compensated with humongous wads of cash for your efforts.

From what I know of, game developers are very under payed.

lol you are sadly mistakened. an educated game developer can get quite a healthy starting pay. but thats nothing unsuaul about you

Ferret 1, G.Ballblue 0

I donno, if I started to make maps for a living what is fun now would soon turn into work, and not be fun.

thats why you look for the job if you want the job. Mapping is fun for level designers, thats why we do it. Physics is fun for physicists. Unless for some ungodly reason a Physicist decides to be a level designer, than you have chaos.

I map when I have an idea in my head for whatever it is I want to work on, otherwise no.

I'm quite worried about becoming a professional level designer since
I'm not sure how well I could map if I had to do it all day every day,
and under pressure.

lol you are sadly mistakened. an educated game developer can get quite a healthy starting pay. but thats nothing unsuaul about you

Educated? Ha. Experienced. And that's experienced as in about 8 projects under your belt. Designer starting pay is the bottom rung of all pay ladders. However, due to correlations between level design and game design (both falling under the designer category), there is more room for advancement than in other production-related fields. Programming is the only field that really offers big starting pay.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about my pay. But the numbers are not that big.

As for Blueball's comment, he's right - but not in pure salary points. Many developers, as you know, find themselves in long periods of "crunch mode" (sometimes as long as 9 months, though only on rare occassions). These can fall before the game goes gold, before E3, before major milestones, or even before monthly milestones. During these times, developers work extended hours and weekends (sometimes as many as 16 hours+ a day, but this again is an extreme example). In the process of working these hours, there is generally no overtime pay. In crunch you may be paid as little as half of what you actually worked.

I think I rambled about this once previously - people are used to short dev time games and want the hottest new titles NOW. Publishers try to cater to this, some without regard to developers and the fact that games now take longer periods of time and more people to create. Small and third-party studios barely have a chance - They don't have the resources or manpower to keep up with publisher deadlines, and can sometimes lose funding if they don't make deadlines (a non-issue for first-party or publisher-owned studios, such as Raven).

I personally am in pretty good shape and not affected by many of these, but it's important for any of you looking to work professionally to learn more about this sort of thing (and not through me, heh :razz: ). Larger studios are the most secure places you'll find. Even then, Ritual's layoffs from a while back and Atari/Infogrames closing down Legend shows that even more high profile studios aren't always in the clear.

Unless for some ungodly reason a Physicist decides to be a level designer, than you have chaos.

Designers come from all walks of life. BadMofo had a degree in biochemistry or something from Virginia tech. Many at Raven have English degrees. One of our designers was an architect for a while. Tommyd has a degree in physics/optics, I believe.

if you take into account jobs like washing dishes, serving in mcdonalds, barwork etc, then Ferrets comment about a decent wage would be valid. (even though i dont know the figures, i reckon it's a reasonable assumption)

however, if you're basing it on the average salery of a D.C. lawer, then yup, they pay you plums.

if it's what you love to do, then well done on getting there, and a good wage is a bonus.

KungFuSquirrel said:

Unless for some ungodly reason a Physicist decides to be a level designer, than you have chaos.

Designers come from all walks of life. BadMofo had a degree in biochemistry or something from Virginia tech. Many at Raven have English degrees. One of our designers was an architect for a while. Tommyd has a degree in physics/optics, I believe.

What I meant by that comment was that a person who's only love is physics would have a hard time changing careers into something else. If we look at both TommyD and Badmofo, they love to map as well, so they'd be quite fine a level design. See my point now?

If you like to design and create levels, then thats good.
If you like to design and create levels for a job, thats even better, tbh, enjoying something you like when there is more pressure with a deadline and such, is hard work.

I get moments where I want to map, and have no inspiration or deisng
ideas, and moments where I have design ideas, but open up hammer and
can't be bothered - but NEVER at the same time.

I had one of these a couple nights ago, and got out TFC_Theft again. By the time I had gotten Hammer reinstalled and all the textures recovered off the second hard drive, I had not much energy left to map, but I still added a couple halls and a neat room (or so I thought).