Cost of Level Design
Author
I saw a similar thread that broke down what it would cost to have models made. Can anyone give me an idea of how much it would cost to have a level designed for me. Personally, I need a race course style level in the style of a need for speed-like game. What am I looking at paying if I went to an independent artist, a company that specializes in it, etc.? Thanks for your help. My game is all programmed, I just need it to look good now.
I would imagine you need both, or both wrapped into one. There's an art to mapping out the levels, and a whole other art to modelling them. So, just be sure you point out that you need someone to design and create the level once you ask.
Also, it might be worth posting an official "Design and Model this!" post in the Help Wanted forum if you haven't already. I can't help you on the price, though.
Also, it might be worth posting an official "Design and Model this!" post in the Help Wanted forum if you haven't already. I can't help you on the price, though.
Depends on the size of the level and the standards it needs to conform to. Even then, one person may ask 200 dollar, another may ask double or triple. I don't know what are regular prices though, if there are any 'carved in stone rules' at all. :)
And yeah, you probably want a person that's both capable of level-design and moddeling the stuff.
And yeah, you probably want a person that's both capable of level-design and moddeling the stuff.
Author
Right. I guess I'm going to need both. And I was planning on posting an official "make this for me" post in the help wanted section but I wanted to get an idea of what the cost was going to be first. I didn't want someone to say, "how much are you paying for this job?" And then have me respond with "iunno". I'm just curious if I'm looking for ballpark figures. Is it going to be in the hundreds? Thousands? The answer is probably going to be "it depends". So what does it depend on? Thanks.
we can really answer that question becouse its 100% dependant on what you want
art will be how many models you want and what level of detail
level design though will be significantly dependant on what type of levels you want and how developed your editing tools are
(a discription of what type of game your making would also help)
art will be how many models you want and what level of detail
level design though will be significantly dependant on what type of levels you want and how developed your editing tools are
(a discription of what type of game your making would also help)
Well a lot of it is subjective.
You will pay depending on how large the artist thinks the job is for him, and how close to his normal activity it is. You'll pay a serious quantity for an experienced artist, and perhaps very little or nothing for a noob. So it's important that you give them a good description of what you want. So essentially, the better way of going about this might be to say "I have $X, what can you produce for this?".
It's more likely to interest people in your Help Wanted thread and will create a sense that you are looking for bids and good value for money.
You will pay depending on how large the artist thinks the job is for him, and how close to his normal activity it is. You'll pay a serious quantity for an experienced artist, and perhaps very little or nothing for a noob. So it's important that you give them a good description of what you want. So essentially, the better way of going about this might be to say "I have $X, what can you produce for this?".
It's more likely to interest people in your Help Wanted thread and will create a sense that you are looking for bids and good value for money.
As everyone else has already mentioned, it's difficult to offer even a ball park figure without knowing more details of what you expect. Having never played Need For Speed before I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but I enjoy racing games in general and could probably determine what you expect if more information was given.
What's the scale and scope? Is it a 2 kilometer loop track or a 15 kilometer race to the finish course? Are you hoping to have a track designed based on a real location or fictional setting loosely based on reality?
On the artistic side of things, do you just need the landscape and course itself or are you expecting everything that comes with the level such as trees, rocks, fences, buildings, sky box backgrounds, etc.? For the models, does each model need a seperate collision model, destruction state, LOD's, and a detail model for the normal map? For textures do you just need a diffuse (color) and a bump, or do you need an ambient occlusion map, specular, specular power, emmissive, reflection, and cube map? If all these questions and more could be answered it would be easier for someone to give an accurate estimate to design and build your level, or at least offer a ball park figure.
If the project is compelling I might be interested in working on the level next month on the side but right now I'm buried in several next-gen game projects for my current job. I have both the design and technical art skills necessary to pull the project off even if the quality you expect is on the very high-end, but I may expect more than someone who is less experienced. For me it wouldn't be worth it for any less than $30/hour. Of course without knowing how many hours it would take I can't say that this figure is very meaningful.
What's the scale and scope? Is it a 2 kilometer loop track or a 15 kilometer race to the finish course? Are you hoping to have a track designed based on a real location or fictional setting loosely based on reality?
On the artistic side of things, do you just need the landscape and course itself or are you expecting everything that comes with the level such as trees, rocks, fences, buildings, sky box backgrounds, etc.? For the models, does each model need a seperate collision model, destruction state, LOD's, and a detail model for the normal map? For textures do you just need a diffuse (color) and a bump, or do you need an ambient occlusion map, specular, specular power, emmissive, reflection, and cube map? If all these questions and more could be answered it would be easier for someone to give an accurate estimate to design and build your level, or at least offer a ball park figure.
If the project is compelling I might be interested in working on the level next month on the side but right now I'm buried in several next-gen game projects for my current job. I have both the design and technical art skills necessary to pull the project off even if the quality you expect is on the very high-end, but I may expect more than someone who is less experienced. For me it wouldn't be worth it for any less than $30/hour. Of course without knowing how many hours it would take I can't say that this figure is very meaningful.
Author
Quote:
If the project is compelling I might be interested in working on the level next month on the side but right now I'm buried in several next-gen game projects for my current job. I have both the design and technical art skills necessary to pull the project off even if the quality you expect is on the very high-end, but I may expect more than someone who is less experienced. For me it wouldn't be worth it for any less than $30/hour. Of course without knowing how many hours it would take I can't say that this figure is very meaningful.
You asked for it:
Help Wanted Thread
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