Source Engine Level Design - HL2 Mod - Double Action

Hello Steemians, I used to be a level designer as a hobby for over 15 years, I was never the best, but I did make a lot of fun maps that people around the world enjoyed. I always wanted to be a professional level designer growing up. I did nearly all my work on Valve's Source Engine using Hammer Editor. On average one of my maps would take me 5 months to make, I only made a few maps a year as I preferred to work slowly. My focus was always on the fun as the priority, so the level design was where I focused my time. I would describe myself as a level designer first, environment artists second.

May I introduce to you my map called Nightcall!

This map was designed for over-the-top stunt-action Hollywood-esque shootouts. It was meant to be a luxurious bachelor pad that doubled as an art gallery. All the art in the map is from oil paintings that my friend made in real life!

The map was nearly finished, however, the support of this game disappeared; with that so did my effort. This is only a memory now, with many lessons learned!

The interior had to be designed to be open and without clutter, for the game had people doing flips and dives everywhere while shooting. I made the map fun to traverse, and you could do wall jumps to get to additional floors, and dive through skylights while shooting. The map had a nice flow, where you never felt cornered and could always keep moving and fighting. Yes, you could go on the roof!

This is where I ask for Steemians help.

I had to quit this hobby for it never earned me a penny. I strived to earn a profit on Valve's Workshop, but I never was skilled enough to make it. Many people in my life ridiculed me for being a hobbyist level designer, and after working months to complete something to be ready to show it off, nobody in my life really cared enough to even look at it. To them what I was making wasn't art, it was lost in translation; it was a waste of time to them.

In 2015 I retired my desktop computer and stopped doing all level design. Ever since I've been waiting around for details about Source Engine 2, while drooling over everything made in Unreal Engine 4. Lately I've been thinking about level design more because of Steemit. I feel like I could create maps and tutorials for level design that many Steemians would love. I feel Steemit could enable me to generate income for the hard work I'd put in, making it very rewarding for me.

For me to start doing level design in Unreal Engine 4, I'd need new hardware to say the least. I'm interested in making a map for Squad as a long term goal on UE4. I plan to hone my skills by making small art projects that have short deadlines and many restrictions. I'd really like to create tutorials as well for the Steemit community on D.tube for example, because I think level design is an amazing art anyone can learn who wants to.