[ EU ] You live in Skyrim . It is your job to keep lit all the candles in the abandoned caves and dungeons and castles .

My heart was pounding and my hands were sweaty as I opened the large entrance door. `` Hi I'm here to meet Jeff'', I stammered at the receptionist. She smiled friendly. I guess I'm not the first one to make a fool of themselves here, in these sacred halls, where worlds are crafted. 
 
 `` Just go through the hall to the right. It's the last door on the left. He's expecting you.'' 
 
 He's expecting me? Of course he is, we made an appointment, but why did she say it like he's waiting? I expected that he would be buried in work, that I'd have to wait until he finished some important task before he could talk to me. I'm not late, am I? I quickly check the time on my phone. No, I'm five minutes early. Just to be sure, I also quickly check the email in which he invited me, in case I remembered the wrong time. No, everything's good. 
 
 I take a deep breath as I walk along the hallway. Most office doors around me are open, I can see the artists and developers work their magic. Most are entranced by their work and do n't even notice my presence. Others are talking and joking, I ca n't hear about what. They quickly smile and wave at me as I walk by. 
 
 As I reach Jeff's office, I hesitate for a second, then I knock and open the door. I did n't know what I expected, but Jeff looked surprisingly young and friendly. He looked up from his desk as I entered. 
 
 `` Ah, you must be Philipp. Come in.'' He stood up to greet me and shake my hand. `` So, Philipp, tell me about yourself. Why do you want to be a level designer?'' 
 
 I took a deep breath. I knew that the answer to this question would be way more important than any question about my hard skills. The job of a level designer differs greatly between studios. They always have to teach their design rules and workflows to new people, no matter how experienced they may be. But you ca n't teach someone to fit into the team. 
 
 `` There are so many reasons,'' I started, and instantly regretted it because now I would have to come up with a lot of reasons... `` It's all I ever wanted to do, ever since I was old enough to understand that games are made by people and that you could do that as a job. When I was twelve, I wrote an essay about how Thief: The Dark Project used light and shadows both as a gameplay mechanic and for guiding the player. It's trivial and funny to read nowadays, but I've been analyzing level design ever since. Soon after, I started building PvE maps for Half-Life. Eventually, I went to game design school to get a formal education and besides school, I started making mods for Oblivion. That's when I knew that I just had to come here. Your games are so detailed and beautiful and full of good and evil, life and death, light and darkness, and I want to be a part of it.'' 
 
 That long monologue left me breathless, and I hoped it was enough to convince him. 
 
 `` You mentioned game design school,'' Jeff said, unimpressed. `` What did they teach you there?'' 
 
 `` Well... To be honest, not that much. I do n't want to sound presumptuous, but I had learned most that from books and online articles before. But it was still a good opportunity to work with a team on a project under time pressure. So I learned a lot about project management, I guess.'' 
 
 Jeff smiled weakly and looked at me over his glasses. `` I do n't usually hire people from game design school. They learn all the wrong things and fancy themselves as great designers when they ca n't even tell me the names of three level designers they admire. Who do you admire, Philipp?'' 
 
 That one was easy. `` Shigeru Miyamoto is an absolute genius. Just look at the first few minutes of Super Mario Bros., how absolutely perfectly that teaches you how to play. I also admire Hidetaka Miyazaki. Dark Souls has such a beautiful, coherent and functional level design, I cried tears of joy when I first played it. And then, of course, you.'' I smiled sheepishly. 
 
 Jeff rolled his eyes and chuckled. `` Alright, you sure seem to have the right kind of passion. I also checked out your Oblivion mod. I think your dialogues were a little too wordy. But you're not applying as a writer, so what. The level design was solid. I like how you put those candles everywhere.'' 
 
 `` Yes, I think it's important to always have an explanation where the light is coming from, and I found those candle assets on the Nexus and I thought candles never really look out of place. Though maybe I overdid it a little. It does n't really make sense that all the candles are lit in an ancient tomb that has n't been disturbed in a thousand years...'' 
 
 `` So what do you think?'' Jeff said. `` You wan na do this for our new Elder Scrolls game, too?'' 
 
 My jaw dropped. They offered me a job. They want me to work on the next Elder Scrolls title. I had so many ideas! I would build dungeons that tell a story through the environment, that actually made sense, where you circle around in a spiral and get back to the landmark you saw at the beginning and be awe-struck by how large and beautiful and believable this world is. I would help them create the best Elder Scrolls game ever! 
 
 `` Of course I do! ``, I blasted out. 
 
 `` But I must warn you,'' Jeff said. `` We're getting close to release. The next few months will be full on crunch time. You'll basically live in Skyrim. And you wo n't rest until every building, every tomb and every last cave is littered with burning candles. You think you can do that?'' 
 
 `` Wait a minute, you just want to hire me to put candles everywhere?'' 
 
 `` Someone has to do it.'' 
 
 `` But that's completely unrealistic. Why would there be candles burning in an ancient tomb? Who would light a candle there?'' 
 
 `` Well you would, Philipp! Now, do you want the job or not? Because if not, I'll just bring the guy with the glowing crystals back in.''
