To celebrate #Blocktober, we collected 7 YouTube channels with tutorials and breakdowns related to level design and blockouts that we hope will be useful for all artists.
Hello everyone! Blocktober is almost over and in order to continue celebrating level design and Level Designers all across the world, we collected 7 great YouTube channels full of tutorials and breakdowns related to the topic. Some of these channels are fully dedicated to blockout and level design while others cover a variety of different topics that you can also find interesting. So, without further ado, let's get started!
GDC
We'll start our list with the one and only GDC, that needs no introduction. Many 3D Artists and Game Developers already know about this sacred haven of all things gamedev, but for those who are complete and utter beginners, GDC might become a great source of new knowledge.
GDC, or Game Developers Conference, is the world's largest professional game industry event, where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers, and others involved in the development of interactive games and virtual reality gather to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry. On this channel, you can listen to in-depth talks, inspirational lectures, and more from experts and learn a lot of new information, including, but not limited to, level design and blockout-related.
Myrkur Games
Our next channel is a little bit unorthodox since the creation of tutorials is not the main thing the team behind the channel does. Meet Myrkur Games, a developer team from Iceland which is fully committed to delivering an entirely new story-driven action-adventure game series called The Darken. Over the course of the development process, the team shares their entire progress through thick and thin, explaining the techniques they use and sharing tips and tricks along the way. Myrkur Games have a lot of interesting videos related to level design, so you should definitely check them out if you want to learn more about level design in games.
Griffitii
Our next channel is called Griffitii and was created by John Griffiths, the Lead Environment Artist at Cloud Imperium Games. This channel is notable thanks to the Blockout in 10 Minutes series, shared by the author 2 years ago for 2019's Blocktober season. In this series, the author shows how to blockout a variety of environments, explaining the techniques used in the process. Each episode also has a full-length version, where the workflow is explained in great detail.
Even though the channel has been inactive for 2 years now, John Griffiths can still be talked to via Twitter.
Level Design Lobby
This list would not have been complete without Max Pears and his Level Design Lobby YouTube channel. Max is is a Level Designer with seven years of experience in the games industry who worked on Cyberpunk and The Division. Max's channel is entirely dedicated to level design, on it, you can find dozens upon dozens of podcasts, tutorials, breakdowns, books, and other forms of educational content on the topic of level design.
So if you were looking for a channel that is all about level design, you should definitely check Max out. You can also check out our interview with Max where he talked about what it means to be a Level Designer, explained how to become a perfect Level Designer, and discussed the books on LD he wrote.
WorldofLevelDesign
Our next channel belongs to Environment Artist Alex Galuzin. Much like Level Design Lobby, this channel is entirely dedicated to the topic of blockout and level design. AlexG says that the sole purpose is to create tutorials through which you can learn how to design your own levels (maps) and create your own game environment art. The author shares everything he is learning, everything he is doing, and everything he knows.
Polygon Academy
Our next channel is Polygon Academy, an online resource for people who want to break into the video game industry or take their digital art career to the next level. The channel features tutorials and industry advice from professional artists and the gamedev community. Polygon Academy is focused on creating video game art tutorials and sharing relevant industry information based on 11+ years of game industry production experience. From lessons in level design and creating environments in UE4 to tips on how to get a job in the industry.
Aaron Stump
And finally, we have a channel that belongs to Aaron Stump, an Associate Level Designer at Treyarch Studios who worked on Black Ops Cold War and Warzone Season 6. On the channel, the author shares in-depth talks about level design from a game developer's perspective. The channel is full of various breakdowns and tutorials that cover different topics – from creating weapons in Unreal Engine to setting up doors. And, of course, Aaron talks a lot about blocking out environments to create game levels.
These were 7 great YouTube channels where you can learn more about all things blockout and level design. What channels did we miss? What channels do you think should be on this list? Be sure to leave your thoughts down in the comments below.
We also have a small surprise for our dedicated 80 Level readers. Some of you might know about our 80 Level Talent: Show & Tell page on Facebook, a place where fellow artists share their works, useful courses, guides, job offers, and more. To celebrate Blocktober, we decided to open our Reddit page for everyone to post on, much like on our Show & Tell page. You can now share your works and tutorials, ask for advice, or message the 80 Level Editorial Team directly through r/80lv.
Also, don't forget to join our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.