Hi All! Learning principles of level design to join games industry

[Zeothul]

Hi All--I've been a competitive online gamer for a long time, from Starcraft, to CS, to WoW, but now my current passion is Team Fortress 2. My favorite class is the Soldier.

I am thoroughly enjoying my time so far with the Hammer Map Editor--I am trying out my hand at level design to try and break into the gaming industry.

I have a marketing degree from the University of Texas at Austin--so if anyone has any advice on breaking into the business/producing side of the games industry I would love to hear it. My current strategy is to build skills in level design/game theory to make myself more employable on the development end.

Nice to meet you all!

 

[MangyCarface]

Welcome!
If you've got a serious interest in the industry, this is the place to be. We're a little snobbish when it comes to this form of "art."
Please be sure to visit the steam group, where your beginner questions will always be answered swiftly.
Most everything you need, however, can be found here:
http://www.interlopers.net/index.php?page=errors Error page for your compile logs
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page Valve developer community wiki, has information on nearly all entities, tutorials etc.

If you'd like to look at the design mentality for TF2 we have a couple good, more intellectual threads floating around.

I believe if you want to talk to people also working into the industry, I think Arhurt and Snipergen are both pretty far along that path.
Good luck mate, see you around