Daniel Underwood Level Designer

Daniel Underwood

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Level Designer Home No Frame

Hello, and welcome to my online portfolio.

I am a level designer from the Guildhall at SMU and have spent the last year and a half working at BioWare on Star Wars: The Old Republic .

I like to think outside of the box to create memorable gameplay moments that players remember long after they finish playing. My main focus is scripting and design, using my skills to create unforgettable locations and events. I am always ready to try something new and like to learn new tools just to see what i can do with them. I hope you enjoy my levels as much as I enjoy making them.

Thank you for viewing my work and feel free to contact me at dunderwood.jerome_gmail.com if you have any questions or want to see more.

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Individual Projects

Star Wars: The Old Republic

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Resume SkillsLevel Editors: Hero Engine, UnrealEd (Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War), Hammer (Half-Life 2, Portal), Elder Scrolls Construction Set (Oblivion), TorqueX BuilderLevel Design Skills: Level and game flow planning, documentation, BSP blockout, texturing, lighting, optimization, scripting (input/output and code based), AI pathing, trigger systems, movers, matinees, cascade,Art Tools: 3DS Max 2009, Photoshop CS3, Sketch Up 7Scripting Languages: Kismet, Hammer, Lua 5.1, C#Documentation Tools: Microsoft Office 2007: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Project, and OutlookSource Control Tools: Dev Track, Extra View, Tortoise SVN, Issue ManagerProfessional Game Experience at BioWareStar Wars: The Old Republic - BioWare Austin January 2010 - December 2010World Builder: Scripting May 2011- December 2011•Created gameplay to match story and critical path information provided by writers•Directly involved with quest flow planning and did basic scripting for two of the games expansion planets•Optimized previously created content for stability•Polished quest content for missions on 9 different planets•Polished quest content on three planets for E3•Used visual and sound effects to create dynamic in-game events •Designed and placed NPC's and cover in the game•Implemented the companion affection system and created and maintained documents for three of the game's companion characters•Created and balanced combat encounters for missions that scale up in difficulty•Fixed hundreds of scripting bugs•Worked with cinematic, art, writing, and programming departments daily to implement quest contentGame Experience at The Guildhall at SMUPrimae Noctis, Team Unreal Tournament 3 Project September - December 2009Level Designer •Created and maintained the Level Design Document for the Dungeons/Barracks level•Blocked out BSP, textured, lit, and placed gameplay elements for a single player level using the UnrealEd (Unreal Tournament 3) •Scripted five interactive gameplay elements using Kismet•Scripted AI placement and pathing using Kismet Portal Life, Individual Portal Project September - December 2009Level Designer•Created and maintained the Level Design Document•Blocked out BSP, textured, lit, and placed gameplay elements for a single player level using Hammer (Portal)•Scripted four interactive gameplay elements using Hammer•Scripted three Half-Life 2 like physics puzzles to solve using the portal gunControlled Demolition, Individual Half-Life 2 Project May - June 2009Level Designer•Created and maintained the Level Design Document•Blocked out BSP, textured, lit, and placed gameplay elements for a single player level using Hammer (Half-Life 2)•Scripted six physics puzzles and three objectives using Hammer scriptDoppelganger, Gears of War Individual Project March - May 2009Level Designer•Blocked out BSP, textured, lit, and placed gameplay elements for a single player level using the UnrealEd (Gears of War)•Scripted four matinee and AI sequences•Produced and maintained the Level Design Document•Scripted six objectives and five points of interestDM17, Individual Unreal Tournament 3 Project April - March 2009Level Designer•Blocked out BSP, textured, lit, and placed gameplay elements for a multiplayer level using the UnrealEd (Unreal Tournament 3)•Level based off of the original DM17 map for Quake 3•Created original design and gameplay and created and maintained the Level Design Document•Scripted four interactive gameplay elements using KismetThe Lost Thingamajig, Individual Oblivion Project November - December 2008Level Designer•Textured, lit, and placed gameplay elements for indoor and outdoor areas using the Elder Scrolls Construction Set•Scripted two quests, 45 lines of dialog, and three different AI behaviors using the Elder Scrolls Construction Set•Produced original design and gameplay and created and maintained the Level Design DocumentRom's Hard Drive to Silicon Valley, Team 2D Side Scroller October - December 2008Lead Level Designer•Created a 2D Side Scrolling Game with three other team members that used Torque X•Created and maintained Level Design Document for one level of gameplay and implemented two other levels and three boss fights•Scripted in-game events and menu system using VBScript and implemented sound effects and musicEducationThe Guildhall at SMU, Plano, TX December 2009Certificate in Digital Game Development, Specialization in Level Design GPA 3.41University of Arkansas Community College at Hope, Hope, AR May 2007Associates of Arts: General Education GPA 3.5

Daniel Underwood Resume.doc

Daniel Underwood Resume.pdf

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Star Wars

Star Wars: The Old Republic

For the last year and a half I have been working on Star Wars: the Old Republic at BioWare in Austin. I worked on quests for over 9 planets in the game. The amount of content that I worked on for any planet could vary based on the complexity of the quests I had to script. One of the biggest challenges I faced was scripting the content for groups. I always had to think when I was scripting how would this work for players if they were in a group while also keeping the quest accessible for people who wanted a single player experience. This lead to many changes in how I thought about and designed my quests for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Listed below is what I would have to do on any given quest that I worked on. By clicking on the pictures below you can see a more specific list of what I did for a specific planet.Look at any documents on the quest to make sure what I was scripting kept in line with the story. Place any NPCs that were required for the quest. This includes friendly NPCs that you receive quests from and hostile NPCs that you are told to kill. Make the objects that the player interacts with in the world. These could be anything from a datapad that the player picks up to a giant AA gun that you blow up.Script the conversations that players have. I would also have to work with the cinematics team to make sure that they had everything they needed to work on the conversation.Script any quest related events. This includes things like ambushes, escorts, mapnotes, quest tracking, NPC idle animations, and journals.Communicate to other departments what is needed for a quest. Sometimes I would need to talk to programming or art if I needed something special for a quest.Fix any bugs that might come up for the quest.

Korriban
Dromund Kaas
Balmora
Belsavis
Voss

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Individual Work

Individual Work

Below is a collection of some of my best individual works. These projects were created using several different engines including the Unreal Tournament 3 Editor, Hammer, and the Eldar Scrolls Construction Set.

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Rom

Rom's Hard Drive to Silicon Valley

I acted as Lead Level Designer of a team of four. I designed and implemented one level and three boss fights and implemented the other two levels. I also scripted in-game events and a menu system using VBScript and implemented sound effects and music. ROM's Hard Drive to Silicon Valley is a 2D single player platformer built in the TorqueX Builder. The player must help ROM avoid enviromental hazzards, and battle broken robots, hover toliets, and laser tosters while travling to Silicon Valley. Build Time: 10 Weeks

Spring Rom
Spideer Rom
Spider Rom
Lazer Tosters
Acid
Refurby
Ram

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Primae Noctis

Primae Noctis is a stealth, action game based on the Braveheart I.P. It follows the story of Cora Keith, a woman from the Scottish Highlands who seeks to assassinate the English lord responsible for the rape and murder of her sister under the rights of primae noctis. The player can switch between three forms, each with unique abilities, in order to fight and sneak through the lord's castle.I worked as a level designer on Primae Noctis. I designed and scripted gameplay for the dungeons and barracks and also created the particle effects for the game. The rooms of the dungeon are designed to let the player move around a little and get a better feel for the skills they learned in the previous tutorial level. Each room of the dungeon and barracks was designed to make use of one of Cora's three forms. While it is not required to use any one form in a room it does make the game easier to play. Build Time: 3 Months

The Dungeons
Glowing Doors
The Dungeon
The Barracks

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DM17

This map is based off of the DM17 map from Quake 3. I wanted to create an enviroment that had not previously been done in Unreal Tournament 3 so I decided to make the level look like ruins in a swamp. Build Time: 4 Weeks

DM17
DM17
DM17
DM17
DM17
DM17
DM17

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Doppleganger

Doppleganger

Doppleganger

In this direct focus study I wanted to do something that had not been done in Gears of War to improve my kismet skills, so I decided to have the player attack locusts disguised as COG soldiers. Below is a basic rundown of what happens in the level.Brovo Team was sent to find a locust machine that could change the appearance of locust soldiers to look like COGs. Now you have to find the missing team and complete their mission. In the beginning of the level the player miust fight several locust disguised as COG soldiers. After making it to the basement the player sees the machine in action and must kill several more of the imposters. Before planting a bomb to destroy the machine the player has the option to use the machine and change into a locust. After planting the bomb the player must then make it out of the house before the bomb explodes.Build Time: 6 Weeks

Doppleganger - The Piano
Doppleganger - Basement
Doppleganger - Basement
Dopplegnager - Basement
Doppleganger - Stairs

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Doppleganger Videos

The Transformation into a Locust

The Upstairs Fight

The Basement Fight

Doppleganger

Doppleganger

Doppleganger

In this video we see the player first engage the imposters. After killing several of them the player manages to make his way to the piano which gives good flanking cover for almost everything in the room. The rest of the locust are dealt with quickly and the player can move on to the basement.
This video shows how the locust can become COGs. After the reveal of the machine the player kills the locust. After the locust are killed emergence holes open and more imposter climb out. After killing the rest of the locust the player must plant a bomb on the machine and can choose to use the machine to become a locust.
This video shows the player using the machine to become a locust for the rest of the level.

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Thingamajig

The Lost Thingamajig

The objective of this mod was to create environments and quests using the Eldar Scrolls Construction Set. Two quests, over 50 lines of dialog, and AI behaviors for three NPCs were created for this mod. The quest is rather silly since the player must quest for someone's lost thingamajig.Build Time: 6 Weeks

The Lost Thingamajig
The Lost Thingamajig
The Lost Thingamajig
The Lost Thingamajig
The Lost Thingamajig

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Portal Life

Portal Life takes place after Chell escaped form Apature Science. Since Chell has no idea what is happening in the outside world she stumbles into a town that has been taken over by the Combine. Luckly for her most of the Combine have been called away to fight the resistance and only a few were left to guard the town with turrets and forcefields. Chell must now use her portal gun to topple towers and buildings to navigate her way through the town before the Combine catch her. Build Time: 16 weeks

Portal Life
Portal Life
Portal Life
Portal Life
Portal Life

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Cliffside

"Cliffside" is inspired by the cliff side village from the movie The Time Machine. The goal for this map was to create a vast and believable enviroment by using static meshes and lighting. Build Time: 8 Weeks

Cliffside
Cliffside
Cliffside
Cliffside
Cliffside
Cliffside

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Controlled Demolition

Full Playthrough

Controlled Demolition

Controlled Demolition

"Controlled Demolition" is a Half-Life 2 level that takes place after the Combine have been defeated. The humans are now trying to rebuild but there are still some lingering Combine forces to deal with. They have taken many of the building workers hostage and are threating to blow up the building. Now the player must defeat the Combine by swinging objects over to an adjacent building to kill them. After the player sets off the all the traps they can swing over to the other building to take the fight to the remaining Combine and rescue the hostages. Build Time: 4 Weeks

Falling Building

Controlled Demolition

Controlled Demolition
Controlled Demolition
Controlled Demolition
Controlled Demolition
Controlled Demolition

This video shows a better clip of the building being destroyed.

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Controlled Demolition Videos

Full Playthrough

Falling Building

Controlled Demolition

This video shows a better clip of the building being destroyed.

Controlled Demolition

First the player must attach a hook to a propane tank to swing it over to the other building. Then the player releases a bundle of steel girders to crush another group of Combine. Then after destroying a section of the building to kill several more Combine the player must swing over to the other building to take out the remaining Combine and rescue the hostages.

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About Me

Bio

Recommendations

I grew up in a small town on a farm. After all the work was done there was not much to do so I just played games. My childhood was full of Super Mario, Zelda, Donky Kong, and Final Fantasy. Since we did not have much money I had only a few games to play, and I played them over and over untill I started looking at how they were put together. It got to the point that when I did get a new game I could find many of the hidden items just by thinking "you know if it were me I would put something behind that" and sure enough most the time it would be there.

When I got older my love of games stayed with me and I eventually decided to get out of the horrible world of retail and began my quest to become a game designer. I got into the Guildhall at SMU and began the toughtest and most enjoyable year and half of my life. I made a ton of new friends and was very happy to finally be able to talk about a games I had played and have people actually understand what I was talking about. Then I got hired at BioWare and thus started my most enjoyable experence to date. I actually looked forward to my next day of work, unlike my horrible retail job. My love and passion for gaming knows no bounds and can't wait to start my next project.

"I had the great pleasure of having Daniel on my scripting team during a critical period of development on Star Wars: The Old Republic. Our team was given the task of polishing the critical levels that represented the game for the press demonstrations at E3, and the quality of Daniel's work greatly contributed to the huge positive reaction and multiple awards the game received at the show. As a game play scripter, Daniel regularly churned out huge amounts of content (probably more than any other member of my team), without sacrificing quality or stability. He was the first person in the office every morning, and often the last to leave at night. He approached the most difficult tasks cheerfully, without complaint, and often found unique solutions to difficult problems. On a project as large as SW:TOR, it becomes necessary to hire developers on a contract basis, and it's always difficult when the contract of an excellent designer like Daniel reaches the limit of allowable extensions. Not only do I wish I could keep Daniel on the team; I wish I could clone a dozen more of him. I would work with him again in a New York minute, and I highly recommend him to prospective employers. You would be very lucky to have him."Wynne McLaughlin, Senior World Designer, BioWare AustinTeam Lead while I worked at BioWare

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