Episode 8 in the Inside Crytek interview series at MyCrysis shows us a glimpse in the life of Game and Level Designer Jey Hicks. Jey is an avid FPS fan and has a background on modding games such as Battlefield and Crysis. Jey is currently working on a "top secret title" at Crytek Frankfurt. We can see the fruits of his labour in the forest part of the CryENGINE 3 GDC 2009 trailer.

Today sees another addition to our "Inside Crytek" series. This is a series of Q&A's with different members of the Crytek team, where they answer questions on all sorts of topics. These are not just ordinary interviews though. Once their intro has been posted you get the opportunity to ask them your questions!

This time we are speaking with Jey Hicks.

What do you do at Crytek?

I'm a Designer working on a top secret AAA title. I spend most my times designing and building the levels, but I am also heavily involved in designing and implementing the core mechanics of the game.

Why did you want to work in the games industry and how did you get started? Do you have any tips for people wanting to get started in the industry?

The first part is simple, I have loved games since I was a small 80s kid playing Space Invaders on my uncles’ computer and I still love games to this day. I always have made custom levels for games I play, first maps I made were for Duke Nukem 3D. I only really started doing other development stuff when I got into Battlefield series. I worked on several mods for those games including Conflict 2142, 21cw and more. I even started a mod for Crysis called 28 Months Later, which is still in production, though I don’t have much time for it anymore.

Why Crytek?

Why would you ask me that? It is an honour to work for this company. I love working on the best tools with cutting edge technology and pushing it as far as we can.

Do you have any tips for people wanting to get started in the industry?

Don’t give up. I applied to many game developers for jobs, the majority I never heard back from. Make your CV/portfolio to the best of your ability. Modding is an excellent way to get into the industry, however if you're new to it don’t try and start you're own mod, join an existing one ;)

What are the best and worst parts of your job?

Best - Making things go boom. Every day is different here, at weekends I find myself wishing I was still at work, so sometimes I come in anyway.
Worst - Not having enough time in the day to do everything I want.

What are you working on at the minute?

I would love to tell you but it’s totally hush hush at the moment. Fear not though, I will ensure you that this will be an awesome game.

What types of games do you like, and what's your favorite game of all time?

I’ve always been a FPS fan. I’ve played all the best PC shooters, I’ve got to say my favourites are the Half-Life series, and the Battlefield series. I hope DICE will hurry up and release Battlefield 3.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?

I enjoy playing games, my guitar, snowboarding, hanging out with my new friends here in Frankfurt, chilling with my German girlfriend. Ooh, German Beer (getting a bit of a beer belly here, like Lee XD)

Fan Q&A

Did you apply for Crytek or did Crytek recruit you on let's say some kind of an exhibition?

I sent Crytek my CV and portfolio. A couple of weeks later I got a call from them...

When you, for example, need a new building do you create and texture it yourself or do you let some of the artist do that? Meaning: you build everything in a level by yourself?

At Crytek we have two types of level designer, the gameplay/scripter guys and the beatification artists. I however am one of the few guys who do both. So yes I make and texture the level myself. However that does not mean I make all the beautiful models placed throughout my maps, that’s the job of the art team.

What's the hardest part in building a level?

Debugging and polishing.

What is your favourite level so far? (Of course in a Crytek game, and a level on that you have worked on)

Well the only one I can really talk about is the one you may have seen in the GDC demo. I worked on the forest environment section.

Cevat Yerli said in an interview that when he went to the UK, to see the Free Radical studio, he only saw consoles and that Frankfurt was entirely the opposite of this. Do you guys have consoles now, or did Frankfurt stay a PC only studio?

Yes we have consoles. I have a Xbox 360 dev kit in front of me now.

I really want to be a game developer can you give me some advice?

Get on LinkedIn. Work really hard on making the best portfolio/CV you can possibly do and don’t give up.

If you could design your own game, what would it be like and why?

I have many games I would like to make. I would really love to make a new snowboarding game, in a similar style to Skate. All snowboarding games out right now are way too arcade-y and very unrewarding. Also I have plans for a zombie apocalypse MMO.

Will we see other levels than jungle and ice in Crysis 2? Just nod twice when the answer is no, once when the answer is yes.

I nodded but I’m guessing you didn’t see how many times ;-)

What are your most favourite, the best level out of Crysis?

I really like the harbour from Crysis. The whole experience of that map was pretty epic.

How much freedom do you have since you're not the Lead Designer?

Loads. Tons of my ideas are making it into the game I am working on right now.

Do you have a favourite mapping snack?

Curry snackers - It’s a German dish; chopped up sausage in curry sauce with curry powder sprinkled on top.

Do you have other girlfriends from other countries?

I have 1 girlfriend at the moment, the gorgeous Natalie. She is German and I met her out here in a bar.

Do you always hide Easter eggs or your name in the level?

Of course. However we have to declare all our Easter eggs now due to the “Hot Coffee” incident in GTA San Andreas.

Do you find that some of the fun playing a level is lost because you made it? Or is it more fun?

It depend on if I like the game I’m working on. So far I’ve liked all my games, so yes I do have lots fun. Sometimes it's even more fun as I can add secret things that only I know about muhaha ;)

In Closing

A special thanks to Jey for taking the time to complete the Inside Crytek article and community answers, I’m sure they will be of great use too all the guys here. The next Inside Crytek article will be up soon and we'll be allowing you to ask even more questions to another member of the Crytek staff in a short while.

- MyCrysis Team

MyCrysis: Inside Crytek - Jey Hicks - Game / Level Designer
MyCrysis: Inside Crytek - Jey Hicks - Community Answers!