BA5 Studio Project | Production #05

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Okay so I am still very much studying World of Level Design's tutorials, tips and workflow methods in order to better acquaint myself with level design. 

 

Whilst my primary focus is to concentrate on the creation of assets that are build with game engines in mind and textured and rendered properly so that they can  become fully interactive within a game environment. However I am beginning to realise that I would like to have a go at creating an environment from Distorted Delirium and filling it with assets that I create. 

‘Ultimate Level Design Guide’ - World of Level Design

Ultimate Level Design Guide is a book written by Alex Galuzin that I got when I subscribed to the World of Level Design  website. I am currently reading it whilst I also type up this blog post as it has some incredibly helpful tips for level design which I believe will be immensely helpful for me. 

As I go through and read I will make notes which I can refer back to whilst producing my environment.

Storytelling Level Design

This is the first chapter in which Galuzin  talks about how to produce story and narrative within your environment. He states that there needs to be a reason for your character to be there, a purpose and a history.  He states that references and research are key to informing your environment before you have started it and lists 8 key media’s which can help you form your environment. They are: 

1: Architecture

2: Movies/TV

3: Books

4: Games

5: Music

6: History

7: Photography

8: Art

A great example of a game which has environments telling good stories is Irrational Games Bioshock. Galuzin gives this example in his book stating that the environments in Bioshock “communicate emotion, set atmosphere and gives a background story without explicitly telling you. It also lets the player fill in the gaps”

I have played Bioshock before and knew exactly what Galuzin was talking about, the environments in Bioshock are rich with narrative, story, emotion and atmosphere; all elements crucial to creating a believable world.  I played through the beginning of the game on my PC to get some screen shots and further my understanding of environment creation

This is a screen cap from the very opening section of gameplay in Bioshock. The environment sets the scene perfectly; the fire suggest panic and devastation while a large broken aeroplane set piece tells the story of why you are stranded in the water. These elements combined with the fact you are in what appears to be the ocean evokes emotions within the player such as panic and anxiety.

 

This is another screen cap of a broken plane, possibly a different one as there were multiple broken pieces, but this still tells a story. The multiple broken aeroplanes suggest you are not the only one to have crashed here and that you may not be alone. You can not interact with the tail of the plane, it is purely a set piece within the environment.

 Here I was standing in a large glass roofed hall which had a bright red banner up. This banner cant be interacted with but it helps tell the player about the environment and its history. There was once people here that this sign would mean something too, perhaps a convention of some sort? 

  

Here we can see protestor signs and suitcases that have been abandoned, left in such a way that suggests struggle and fight. It evokes the player to ask themselves, whose suitcases are these? Why are they here? It tells the player  parts of the story behind those who used to inhabit rapture and forces questions such as “why have they left?”.

 

The artwork on the walls gives the player a better sense of the time period of the game and helps them understand the rest of the decoration within the environments. 

 The furniture within the environments of Bioshock must be coherent with its time period and ensure that the player comprehends where they are. 

Here are more examples of the art work within the environments. The electrical “plasmids” sign suggests to the player that there are slightly “futuristic” elements whilst the larger painting ensures the player knows the time period of which this environment is situated. 

 

Although I don’t plan on trying to put bodies in my environments, this is an example of how assets were used to create a story within the environment. The dead body is placed next to a parade sign saying “Rapture is Dead”. This suggests to the player that the people who used to live here weren’t  happy for some reason, it suggests that their home suffered a tragedy and was “dead”. There is also a suitcase cleverly planted next to him within the scene with suggests he was trying to leave but got killed.

 Here is clever use of a couch asset which has been placed in a decorative water feature. The fact that it is in here evokes emotion within the player of panic and unsettling nerves. Why is that couch there and why does this whole place look so abandoned. Its slowly telling the player a story as they progress.

Galuzin talks about the environment leaving the player in thought and trying to make them put the puzzle together. Here is a perfect example in Bioshock where this is done. On the wall there is a large blood splatter, why is it there, who was injured/killed and why haven't they tried to clean the blood from the walls?    

 Here is an example of how prop placement within the environment can confirm the story and narrative of a game to the player. The sign suggests that it was a new years party in 1959 (which confirms the decoration seen earlier in the form of furniture, art and architecture) when Rapture was destroyed for whatever reasons. 

These party hat, alcohol bottle and new year banner props all complete the new year party scene.