“My job right now is Fortnite Creative, and that is my dream job.”
☆ NintendObs Weekly – Monday, November 18, 2019 – Sunday, November 24, 2019.
Community Spotlight – Jesgran
11.18.2019
Fans of Deathrun will know the name Jesgran. Hailing from Oslo, Norway, his Deathrun maps are enjoyed by players all over the world. Let’s jump into the interview!
Fortnite Team: What made you decide to jump into Creative Mode?
Jesgran: I’ve always loved to create, and to be able to express my art in my favorite game was just amazing!
FN: Do you consider yourself more of an artist, level designer, coder or game designer?
J: I’ve made a huge variety of maps over the past year. From art and level design in Jesgran’s deathrun, to making music maps with millions of views on YouTube and Twitter. I also enjoy coding music sequencer zones for Zone Wars.
FN: Is Fortnite the first game you ever created or modded for?
J: No, I have been editing and creating in other games in the past. I’ve always been a huge fan of games where I can make my own worlds. From race tracks in Trackmania, bases in Clash of Clans, Minecraft Creative and now Fortnite. I’ve also worked in 3D programs such as 3D Studio Max, 4D cinema, substance painter and more.
FN: You have created lots of maps other than Deathrun. Could you explain your creative process?
J: It really depends from map to map. I usually try to make the level design first, to make sure everything works as intended, before I put a lot of hours into making the actual map. I find a lot of inspiration from images, art or other games and combine it into my own world, with my own style. I always have a clear idea of what I want the complete product to look like before I start building.
FN: What is your favorite thing you made in Creative Mode?
J: My favorite things I made in Creative Mode is the giant Skull in the spawn of Jesgran’s Deathrun 2.0, the Phoenix in Jesgran’s Deathrun – Rise from the Ashes and the Colosseum Zone Wars map.
FN: What are your favorite things about Fortnite and Creative Mode?
J: The amount of updates and new content we get, and that there is always something new to explore.
FN: Where do you get your ideas from?
J: I get ideas from the people I play with, from different social media, films, other games and art.
FN: Who is your favorite creator and why?
J: My favorite creator right now is Rynex. I love the amount of detail he puts into each map, and he always comes up with new and unique ways to play creative.
FN: What brings you the greatest joy from working in Creative Mode?
J: Getting good feedback from maps and seeing people play my maps on different social media, after a long project is finished.
FN: Do you have any tips for someone who is just starting in Creative Mode?
J: Don’t expect a map to be complete within three hours, and don’t rush your map to be finished. Take your time If you want the final project to look good and play well.
FN: Do you prefer to work alone or as a part of a team? Why?
J: I prefer to build the map alone. Once my project is complete, I use playtesters to test the map. I usually have the whole map in my mind before I start creating, and I feel like If i collaborate with more people, it might turn out differently than what I had in my mind. I usually have 50-150 playtesters on each map, I always start to playtest with casual players, and the map often looks totally different from the first to the last test. When I feel like the project is done, I collaborate with pro players. If I make a deathrun or escape map, I collaborate with World Cup qualifiers for creative, and If I make a competitive PvP map or ffa map, I collaborate with World Cup qualifiers for BR.
FN: Do you have a dream job related to your work in Creative, or do you do it as a hobby?
J: My job right now is Fortnite Creative, and that is my dream job:)
FN: What kind of feedback do you look for when you put your creation out into the world?
J: I always try to find the constructive feedback that could help me improve for future maps.
FN: What is your testing process?
J: It depends from map to map. In deathruns, I usually test with one person at a time, to see if the path is always clear and easy to follow, if it’s not too hard and just general feedback of improvements. In Zone Wars, I usually do an open lobby until we are 16 players, and I test and try to get as much feedback as possible from the 15 people through voice chat. After the casual testing is complete, I have pro players for that map test it. The process is usually 2 hours of testing, then spending the rest of the day fixing what I got from feedback, then I’ll do that over and over for 1-2 weeks.
Thank you for the interview Jesgran! You can add “Jesgran’s Deathrun Rise from the Ashes” to your Creative queue by clicking HERE, and don’t forget to follow Jesgran on Twitter!
— The Fortnite Team
Source: Epic Games.
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