KYLE UMBENHOWER
Lead Level Designer - World Builder - Scripter
Witch's Brew
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Responsible for all the level design, all the level art, and the majority of the mission work on this side mission area. I also contributed to the lighting art pass.
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Since this takes place in the Jacobs Estate dogleg map, my level art work can be seen around the eight-minute mark, but I'm responsible for all the level design, combat, and most of the mission work seen in the entire video.
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Visually this is my favorite level art piece I've ever worked on and proud to be the only level designer also allowed to do level art.
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Although I'm a level designer first, the level artists know they can lean on me when overwhelmed. The same goes for missions, though before this game, level design and mission design were the same things at Gearbox.
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This was the map where I finally hit a wall and realized I was trying to do too much. I wanted to be the guy who did everything, and although I was successful, it wasn't sustainable. There is a good reason why the industry has moved to more specialized roles as games have increased in size. This life lesson is something I often share with young designers who don't understand the importance of work-life balance.
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This mission was one of the favorites I've ever worked on. It involves swamp witches kidnapping children (with a surprise twist that the children are actually Tinks), beer (Witch's Brew), and a dark tone that was fun to create.
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Responsible for the optimization pass, using performance captures to make good decisions about what to optimize.
Fast forward to around the eight minute mark for the Witch's Brew mission.