This week we are continuing our series of developer interviews; this week its the turn of our Lead Level Designer, Maniche!
How did you get involved with TW?
I was casually modding back in the day for myself; I started out creating small maps with the Valve Hammer Editor, before discovering the awesome-looking Crysis and the beautiful graphics it showcased. I quickly grabbed a copy of it and started playing around in the Sandbox Editor, creating a trekking map known as "Woody". I got contacted by a now-retired member of the Traction Wars team, and as you say - the rest is history!
I've always been fascinated by WWII so it was a natural step to join such an interesting project
What does your role involve?
My role involves working alongside the other Senior Developers by managing the different Departments to the best of our abilities. Mainly my work entails doing level design with the rest of the Mapping Department. The hierarchy at Traction Wars is quite flat, I do however conduct and hold weekly meetings where we discuss the work already done by reviewing this week's work, providing suggestions for any alterations based on recent gameplay-testing and discussion between the other Level Designers etc., as well as keeping my Department in the loop of any news from the other Departments. I also delegate new work for the coming week or so for our next session. While most of my time is spent either discussing development with the rest of the development team or playing around in the Sandbox Editor, I've provided any help I can in other parts of the game development like Recruiting and News Posting.
What is your favourite thing you have done so far in TW?
My favorite thing is definitely seeing how everything everyone has done over the past months and years, come together to form an actual working game. It gives me great pride to share just that with everyone here at Traction Wars, both current members and previous ones; we've had our fair share of difficult times and obstacle down the road, but I'm happy that we seem to find solutions to everything we set our minds to; Traction Wars consist of a bunch of friendly and informal people, talented in their own area, and I'm especially proud of this exact approach we have to the development and team spirit. A personal favourite of mine would be the Pegasus video we did, as it showcases just what we're capable off.
Has Traction Wars been a learning curve for you and what has been the biggest lesson it has taught you so far?
Definitely! I've matured over the years, both in my skill set as a Level Designer but also on my interaction with other developers and Community members. Traction Wars have provided me the relaxed and flat-structured hierarchy that enabled a younger me to develop my talent more, opening the world to new and exciting ideas and techniques that I’ve used throughout the maps I’ve been working on. One of the biggest lessons would definitely be how important a good communication channel is, as we’re unfortunately not sitting in an office like so many other teams. That way, communication might be demanding at times but I'm pleased to say that Traction Wars have managed that better than most.
If there was anything you could do in Traction Wars, what would it be?
I’d love to do Modelling but I’m terrible at it! Not because I necessarily wouldn't have enough motivation but rather because I just can’t seem to grasp it for some reason. I’ve been trying a bit throughout the years but I’m perfectly happy with my position as a Level Design, as it’s clearly the most fun (even though the other Devs will state otherwise).
What is your favourite cookie?
“Less is more” so for me it would definitely be a simple traditional cookie containing small chocolate pieces, and hazelnut for the extra texture! You can definitely drop them off at my postbox.
What is your favourite feature of Traction Wars?
Suppression as it makes it obvious that you need to play effectively as a team to get stuff done. It’s such a powerful offensive tool that must be executed with precision to be as valuable as possible, and it can literally turn the combat in your favour! I'm excited to tell and show more once we’re happy with it, as it’s still a few things we can always improve
Have you got any sneaky previews for us?
Just this..
Team Recruitment Spotlight
LEVEL DESIGNER
Level Designers/Mappers work as part of a team and are tasked with creating multiplayer levels with a strong emphasis on historical accuracy to real world locations and compatibility with tactical gameplay. CRYENGINE experience is not required but experience in level design in a modern engine and samples of previous work is essential.
We will be back in two weeks time with another update but in the meantime you can find us on social media from the links below!
it says www . tractionWAS . com in the footer-links on this page ;).
the link is still working though.
Well that's embarrassing! Well spotted.