Splash DamageBlogThings You Were Too Afraid to Ask: Dave 'ducks' Johnston

Splash Damage Blog

Things You Were Too Afraid to Ask: Dave 'ducks' Johnston

Submitted by badman on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 14:24

Hot on the heels of last week's riveting premiere installment where Tim 'spacemonkey' Appleby spilled his guts for us, we've now got Dave 'ducks' Johnston telling it how it is. Dave is best known for creating de_dust for Counter-Strike (which is actually the most popular map for any online shooter ever made!) and despite his recent promotion to Captain, he's lost none of his humility or handsomeness.

Read the full interview on his profile page and find out how he came to Splash Damage, what his inspiration for de_dust was, his thoughts on level design, and much more.

14 Comments

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Florisjuh
This means that instead of painting characters and beautiful environments, I get to draw badly-proportioned stick figures and map topologies, and collaborate with the real artists, the real coders, and fellow surreal designers to plot and plan maps for our next top-secret game... and then make them. Mmh too bad he isn't saying "top-secret ET:QW map pack" :(
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Posted on 27 March, 2008 - 21:08
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[]v[]
Nice one captain Dusty. :)
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Posted on 15 April, 2008 - 00:11
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hamsterbandit
hi. im no artist so when i heard about this kin of job i was thrilled. i have always taken level design into account while playing videogames and i was just wandering what kind of degrees i would need for a job like this?
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Posted on 3 January, 2011 - 12:47
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d1ver
Wow, that's amazing. I gotta call my mum and tell her I found a guy who made de_dust!) Seriously tho, I've had countless fun playing this particular map for so many times and now I'm thrilled to finally have a chance to say "thank you" for that. Thank you, Dave. I'd love to see you guys create something with Brink that will stick with players for so long and resonate with a sweet nostalgic feeling years after playing is done.
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Posted on 4 January, 2011 - 21:38
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mortis
Don't make me fire up unreal editor and whip out a one day knock off map! Radiant makes me want slash my wrists after about 15 minutes.........
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Posted on 6 January, 2011 - 17:11
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AnubisToxin
Well good sir. What would you say to someone who has started school for game design? My passion lies very specificaly with level design. I am playing around with the UDK and am way ahead of my class when it comes to lighting and texturing. I would love to work for Splash Damage at some point. Just curious if there are any pointers you could dish out for me?
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Posted on 13 April, 2011 - 01:58
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Crispy
Well good sir. What would you say to someone who has started school for game design? My passion lies very specificaly with level design. I am playing around with the UDK and am way ahead of my class when it comes to lighting and texturing. I would love to work for Splash Damage at some point. Just curious if there are any pointers you could dish out for me?\
I'm going to paraphrase what Laurel said when someone asked her how she got so good at drawing, because it applies to all disciplines "Make lots of maps. Then make some more." I'd recommend finding a game/mod that you enjoy playing and making a map you'd like to play. The emphasis is definitely on finishing your work and releasing it to the public, because only then will you start experiencing feedback and bugs, and learn how to gauge their importance and prioritise those issues. The more maps you release, the faster your workflow and the better your approach. Plus if a potential employer can play your work or view it in an editor, it's evidence of most of the skills they will want you to have.
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Posted on 16 April, 2011 - 12:59
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zidanewolf
Wanted to ask Dave some Questions about level design and his work. I am going to school for game art and design and wanting to focus on level design. I know there is a lot that goes into it all wanted to talk to some one in the field and get a heads up.
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Posted on 2 August, 2011 - 15:27
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ducks
Wanted to ask Dave some Questions about level design and his work. I am going to school for game art and design and wanting to focus on level design. I know there is a lot that goes into it all wanted to talk to some one in the field and get a heads up.\
davedust at splashdamage dot com :)
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Posted on 3 August, 2011 - 09:30
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bastuden
I get no respect...
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Posted on 7 August, 2011 - 19:53
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bravodwayne23
Wanted to ask Dave some Questions about level design and his work.
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Posted on 23 August, 2011 - 08:06
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Salteh
Wanted to ban a spammer.
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Posted on 24 August, 2011 - 15:17
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badman
Come on, give the new guy a break. :D
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Posted on 24 August, 2011 - 17:17
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Kurushi
q2dm1, check half life, check... female, check? Damn, so close, so close.. ;( Inspiring interview and a slap in the face to finish some maps of my own :mad:
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Posted on 2 September, 2011 - 02:11