Bobby P

Lead Level Designer

Bio

Bobby Pavlock's passion for level design dates back to the Doom/Doom II days, when he authored several popular Doom 2 wads and dominated the Doom2 Deathmatch scene, including a good old-fasioned beatdown of Gearbox's own Randy Pitchford, which he lords over Randy's head to this day.

Bobby continued his work in level design, releasing award-winning levels for Quake and Quake II, before he was finally discovered and snatched up by the industry in 1998. His most recent work prior to joining Gearbox was as Game Designer for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Length of time I have been employed in the industry

9 years

Game companies I have worked for

Retro Studios
3DRealms
Inevitable Entertainment
Rogue Entertainment
Ion Storm

Titles I have worked on

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Duke Nukem Forever
The Hobbit
American McGee's Alice
Daikatana

Advice

Resources I would recommend for those interested in getting into game development (books, tutorials, sites, etc)

Get involved in the mod community. I started by scouring the internet for any and all information about how to create levels for the game I was interested in. Then I just started building, building, and building some more. When I finished a level, I would show it to as many people as I could to get their feedback, and then I would make any changes/improvements. After that, I would release the map to the public. After several map releases, my name started to get noticed.

Nowadays, in addition to being involved in the mod community, there are several Game Design schools, such as the Guildhall at SMU, DigiPen, and Full Sail. Some of the top Game Schools are woth checking out, as they have pretty successful track records with job placement upon graduation.

At the end of the day, it is all about your portfolio. Whether you teach yourself or attend a Game Design school, your potfolio of work is what is going to get you hired. Build up your portfolio with examples of your best work, and then start applying for jobs.

Favorites

First game I remember playing

Pong

All-time favorite game

Doom2

Non-video gaming hobbies

Reading
Playing with my daughter
Watching college football
Beer and BBQ

Favorite bands/music

I like all kinds of music, but if I had to pick:
Gary Allan / Country music

Favorite books/authors

Anything fantasy. I particularly like the Dragonlance series

Favorite TV shows

Friday Night Lights
The Office
House
Scrubs

Favorite movies

Lord of the Rings trilogy