Children of Ug-Qualtoth
 - Level Designer -

​My Development Period: 4 months
Group Project
Engine: Fallout 4 Creation Kit 
Status: RELEASED in 2020 [Xbox One and PC]​ 

​​Project Summary: 
Children of Ug-Qualtoth [CoU] is a suspenseful lovecraftian dungeon mod with a sprawling dungeon, unique enemies, new rewards, and custom composed music and sounds. Follow the trail of the Dunwich company and discover a disturbing past long forgotten.

The mod was developed over the course of 4 months by myself (Level Designer), my brother Paul (scripter / programmer) and our friend Dan Victory (composer). I designed, implemented, optimized, setdressed, and setup all encounters and sequences in the mod.

In December 2021, we released a substantial Redux patch that added new Textures, sounds, enemies, and encounters with help from the original devs alongside the new crazy crew that's joined our team to develop "Whisper's of Ug-Qualtoth" the sequel to CoU (currently a WIP). 
Detailed Role Descriptions / Tasks: ​
Concepts​:               
  • Notes from other departments referring to what needs to be in the design.
  • Paperdesign (Drawing, Adobe Photoshop, Paint 3D, AutoRealm)
  • Graybox design in Creation Kit with gameplay implementation. 
  • Initial proof of concept with gameplay examples. 
    • ​Build a level to test new gameplay mechanics.
    • Create small initial testing rooms with filled clutter to help distinguish the feel / aesthetic of the dungeon
​
Development:               
  • Expand upon initial proof of concept and implement designs into a new level.
  • Clutter / Decoration Pass 
  • Create and implement encounters: 
    • ​Combat
    • Puzzles 
    • Scripted Custom Events
    • Creating custom NPC's
    • Set Pieces 
  • Playtest Level (Recurring throughout development
  • Optimization Pass (Navmesh, Lighting [#oflights], Boundaries, z-clipping, collision checks, Framerate between PC and Xbox One, etc.)
  • Early polish with frequent playtesting sessions. ​
  • Final Polish.

Release & Post-Release: 
  • Post-Launch patching
  • Launch title on Nexus Mods and Xbox one
  • User-feedback over popular mod-conflicts. 
    • Resolving issues where other mods might make changes to the same objects in game
Download and play the Mod on:
In-game screenshots of the dungeon. For the portfolio, I've significantly increased the lighting so the design is easier to see. Actual lighting is much darker.

Reception by the community

Children of Ug-Qualtoth was chosen by Bethesda Softworks as a featured mod for the month of May 2020.
Children of Ug-qualtoth has been received by many as one of the best horror Quest Mods for Fallout 4 with numerous amounts of positive reviews, videos, and feedback from the community. The mod has been released and optimized for Xbox and PC. Between the platforms it has:
  • 300,000+ Downloads
  • 2,100+ Endorsements on Nexus Mods
  • ​1,000+ Ratings with a 5/5 ⭐ rating on Bethesda.net
  • ​52,000+ favorites on Bethesda.net
Recommendations: 
Dan Victory
Mixing and Mastering Engineer;
Sound Designer for Children of Ug-Qualtoth
​​
"The quality of Jim's work consistently exceeds expectations. He has a great eye for detail and a perception for what just works in a level's design. From both a player's, and a developer's lens.
This made working with Jim both a joy and and an absolute breeze! 
He has a great sense for collaborating with, and managing teams of developers and artists on projects. Scrums were always a safe place to grow and develop our ideas and designs.
We first crossed paths on Skyrim mod development team 4+ years ago, and Jimmy instantly became one of my favourite and dearest peers & friends. The momentum which he has maintained since then has been nothing short of astounding.. this guy is a true grafter and backs up his working ethic with talent."
Reviews of the Mod (pulled from Nexus Mods / Reddit / Tumblr, etc.): 
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