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Introduction to Level Design for PC Games
If you're like most gamers, you're always looking for more gameplay from your favorite games! Well now, thanks to today's technology and the tools developers are including in games, you can. Using the game editors that come with your game, or the free gmax software, you can create your own characters, weapons, objects, levels, and other assets. These
tools might seem intimidating at first but once you overcome the initial hurdles, you'll find that you can achieve almost anything with them.
Introduction to Level Design for PC Games is one of the best ways to get started. It teaches you everything you need to know about the fundamentals of game creation, so that the assets you create will work well with your favorite game. The focus throughout the book is on creating and texturing geometry for levels, but the concepts you learn and the tools covered in gmax can easily be applied to all types of asset creation. Plus, you'll begin to make the transition from player to creator, by learning many of the fundamental skills needed to become a marketable level designer. If you want to make game levels that many others will enjoy, you need to start with multiplayer levels, so the book covers popular multiplayer games, particularly First Per son Shooters (FPS). Working through the tutorials, you'll create a complete level and many of its objects. You'll find out everything you need to know to create all the elements of a level --geometry, textures, and exporting. And once you've mastered these skills, you can explore game industry jobs and salary ranges to see if this is your future!
SKILLS NEEDED
To get the most out of this book, you should be technically proficient with software so that you can install and configure gmax and Tempest. You should also be familiar with compression software such as WinZip, and a text editor (Wordpad or Notepad). Some 3D experience is desirable but not essential, because detailed instructions are given in the tutorials.
On The CD!
Full version of gmax 1.2
Trial version of Photoshop 7
Finished versions of the tutorial files
Completed levels for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Quake III Arena
Textures referred to in the tutorials
Color figures by chapter
Additional configuration information
Guide to Internet game level creation sites
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