- Sep 27, 2008
- 271
- 149
Hello again forums! This post will seem familiar because I made one last year around this time!
My name is Dan Merboth, I am an associate level designer at Raven Software. Before my professional life, I was a prolific and terrible mapper in the TF2 community, making many posts on these very forums!
I was hired at Raven Software in August 2011 as an intern in a new design program, created to get Raven back to its roots in the mod community. A long time ago when I was just starting out with level design, Raven had this reputation of being close to the mod community, and thats gone away a little.
I was offered a fulltime position in January 2012. Between then and now, I built two MW3 DLC levels (Decomission and Boardwalk) and made significant contributions to nearly every MP map but three.
The program I was a part of was successful, and we're gonna keep doing it!
WHATS CHANGED FROM LAST YEAR:
WHAT THIS MEANS:
WHAT THIS DOESN'T MEAN:
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
SOME QUICK ADVICE:
PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE WEBSITE, ESPECIALLY ABOUT NAMING CONVENTIONS AND FOLDER SCHEMES. Both of those are VERY important to how MW1 handles loading levels. If I have to spend half an hour placing files in the right spot and compiling your level, your chances of getting to a phone interview or beyond are drastically reduced. I am not trying to be snarky or mean with this! I want to help you!
Beyond the above, I can answer any questions you have about studio life, my typical workday, the internship. And if I can't answer it, I'll try to find someone who can.
My name is Dan Merboth, I am an associate level designer at Raven Software. Before my professional life, I was a prolific and terrible mapper in the TF2 community, making many posts on these very forums!
I was hired at Raven Software in August 2011 as an intern in a new design program, created to get Raven back to its roots in the mod community. A long time ago when I was just starting out with level design, Raven had this reputation of being close to the mod community, and thats gone away a little.
I was offered a fulltime position in January 2012. Between then and now, I built two MW3 DLC levels (Decomission and Boardwalk) and made significant contributions to nearly every MP map but three.
The program I was a part of was successful, and we're gonna keep doing it!
WHATS CHANGED FROM LAST YEAR:
- The deadline is July 1st, 2013. Thats a whole lotta time! We pushed it back to help out with the apartment situations.
- We do not want playtested maps. This leads us to have higher expectations for your designs! Trust your senses, focus on fundamentals and good building practices. You can work on your iterating/feedback skills when you get here.
- The design has changed. Hargeysha has been replaced by Lockdown, a fortress island. Described by one of our design interns from last year as "Simple, yet challenging for someone new at Radiant."
WHAT THIS MEANS:
- You'll get to work with highly motivated designers who've been building levels for a very long time (they're also cool as hell).
- You'll work in a building I've had to describe as "not like Grandma's Boy, its like a regular job but we make awesome games."
- 12 month internship. 2-3 spots (as far as I know).
- It is paid (don't know how much).
- You should be familiar with CoD, preferably the more recent games like MW3 and BLOPS 2. Its not a deal breaker if you're not but you would have to get familiar with it if you do a good job on the design test.
WHAT THIS DOESN'T MEAN:
- It is not a guaranteed position, you'd be applying, taking the test and I'd be recommending you. It'd certainly give you a leg up over people who found the page randomly.
- I can't guarantee we'd be working together. I'm sorry!
- This is not a remote job, you'd have to relocate to our beautiful offices in Madison, Wisconsin (Madison owns though so its cool).
- Because of the above and difficulties with visas, we can only take people with US citizenship.
- You must be 16 or older to be eligable for an internship.
- The test must be done in MW1 Radiant. I cannot accept entries in Hammer, UnrealED, Quark, Worldcraft, or any other obscure editor!
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
- Visit: http://www.ravensoftware.com/careers/designtest/
- Follow the instructions.
- Email me at: dmerboth (at) ravensoftware.com with your name and portfolio. Please CC dan (at) danmerboth.com so I can be sure I at least get one copy of the email. In the subject put "RAVEN INTERNSHIP:" + your name. The subject line is very important.
- Formally apply for the level design intern position on Raven's website.
SOME QUICK ADVICE:
- Use my portfolio as a benchmark. Our HR staff has told me a few times that they measure incoming employees against my portfolio for intern and associate level. It also gives you some pictures of the MW3 DLC levels I built.
- Follow the one sheet on the design test page, but don't be afraid to innovate. We will be asking you questions about what you change, so be ready to rationalize it.
- Take your time with the test, theres no timelimit besides the deadline, but remember the more time you spend on it the better it needs to be. We'll ask you roughly how much time you spent so don't lie!
- I cannot stress this last part enough, so I'll bold, italicize, underline, and make it huge:
PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE WEBSITE, ESPECIALLY ABOUT NAMING CONVENTIONS AND FOLDER SCHEMES. Both of those are VERY important to how MW1 handles loading levels. If I have to spend half an hour placing files in the right spot and compiling your level, your chances of getting to a phone interview or beyond are drastically reduced. I am not trying to be snarky or mean with this! I want to help you!
Beyond the above, I can answer any questions you have about studio life, my typical workday, the internship. And if I can't answer it, I'll try to find someone who can.