My Chosen Specialization for this year is 3D Environmental Design and the methods behind it.
I will mainly be using Unreal Engine 4 for this as it is a software that we have used over the last two years and so it is where I have the most experience. For this research report I am going to be looking into different software that creators will use to create 3D and 2D Video game environments and asking How and Why these programs are better suited for their needs.
This year, my Final Major project for my specialization is going to be to create a single player video game level based around a post-apocalyptic New York, with a booming skyline and many famous landmarks in the horizon, namely the Statue Of Liberty – I have undergone the first steps of the creation process for this and started to draw up Concept art for how I would like to present this. With this being said I am going to start off my report by looking into Programs that can help artists produce their concept art and why they would choose to use software instead of physical materials such as a pen and paper.
The first software I will be investigating is Adobe Photoshop,
This is a very well known program, and for good reason, as a package it will include everything you need to get started in creating your art, it has every tool you could possibly ever need and if not, there are many plug-ins that you can install free of charge, this could be new tools, new overlays/designs and different presets for canvas sizes and quality. The use of Photoshop to create concept art may be useful for an artist because of the wide variety of choice they are given, they can chose exact canvas sizes by typing in their dimensions and then can change many features of each tool to perfectly suit their desires. Photoshop is mainly for Raster type files (A Raster graphic is a form of graphic that is made up of a grid of pixels, they will usually appear blurry when enlarged)
To start using Adobe Photoshop you will need to pay for a licence, this can be done through a subscription service on their website.
Once installed you can create a new project and use a preset canvas size or create your own and change many settings to tweak it to what you need.
Another Software that a concept artist could use is Affinity Designer.
Affinity Designer is a software that mainly specializes in Vector graphics, these can be scaled up and is mainly used for logos or graphics that would need to be scaled up such as an advertisement that will go on billboards etc.
The benefit of using this is that there is a complete package available for Computer or I pad, adding an extra benefit of mobility as if the work was saved in a cloud then the artist can work on it whenever they want to and on the go. Aside from this, it shares all the same features of Photoshop.
Affinity designer is available from their website after a one of payment which will provide you with a licence to use the product.
I will now be looking at software that can be used to create the physical video game levels, this could be a video-game engine or other creative software that will provide the user with all of the necessary tools to create their levels.
Unreal Engine 4 is the video game engine I have studied over the last two years during college and is the engine I have the most experience in, personally I will be using this engine to create my Final Project but will be looking at other resources that I can use to assist me in creating assets, including models, materials etc.
A developer may choose to use Unreal Engine 4 because you can install it for free and pick it up fairly quickly using online tutorials etc. Unreal Engine 4 also supports photo realistic graphics which can be used for a variety of interactive walkabouts such as a virtual house or museum or throughout a video game, an example of the Unreal Engine 4 Apartment demo can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVHkNiqMFxo
Unreal engine 4 is a free to use resource which can be installed through the Epic Games Launcher, there are many free plug ins that can be installed through the Unreal Marketplace which will benefit a developer when creating a project.
The Unity Engine is a free to use resource similar to Unreal Engine 4 for a basic version, however, to access all features you will need to purchase a pro licence which costs around $125 a month. The type of game you are creating is dependent on which engine you will be using, for mobile or 2D games you would be better off using Unity and for immersive 3D landscapes you will probably find Unreal Engine will suit your needs better.
If you were creating a simple game for mobiles or just a basic 2D game then The simplicity of Unity will be better suited for you as you can create a game ready to launch for any mobile OS straight from the engine, however some 3D projects can still be created through Unity but unless you have paid for a licence you will not have access to all of the tools you may need.
You can install a free to use version of Unity through their website, you will also find the Pro Version there at a cost.
Next I am going to be looking at methods I can use to construct my level, I am going to be creating modular set pieces (Roads, buildings etc) and piece them together to create my level, I would also like to include some form of underground subway just to add verticality to my level.
One method of video game level design is to create the level in separate pieces that you can attach together to create roads, walls etc. This is called Modular Level design.
This type of level design is usually found in buildings for smaller details such as pipes, cave systems where you create bends, slopes etc and just piece them all together to create a fully custom cave, or for a city with the streets, the roads etc.
Another method is to use Procedural generated worlds, games such as Minecraft (Mojang,2009) and Rust (Face punch, 2013) include this type of level design, the way this works is that it will randomly generate a seed which will have certain biomes such as snow, desert etc and create a level to a scale set by the developer but will randomly place all of the biomes and assets available, this is only done in mainly survival games where the developers do not need to create a detailed video game level for a story as the whole premise of a survival game is to survive.
Here is an example of a randomly generated seed from Rust, you can clearly see three separate biomes, the snowy north, the green midlands and the desert south. Each of these will have unique assets such as trees, buildings and “monuments” which are like Rusts equivalent of Dungeons.
Next I am going to be looking at pacing in a video game level.
When creating a level for a video game you do not want to have a constant stream of action otherwise the player will get bored of the mechanics and gun play, even games like DOOM (id Software, 2016) which is known for being nothing other than a shoot everything you see, constant action game will control the pacing of their game by having the downtime in their stages where the player can scavenge for ammo or health.
Downtime will usually be just before an arena filled with enemies or a boss battle.
When a level has the correct pacing the game itself will feel more balanced as if it is too fast paced then the game will become too repetitive but if it is too slow then it will be boring.
This graph demonstrates how your level should look in terms of pacing, you want to give the level a strong start so a big action sequence or a cool cinematic to get the player incited then slow it down a bit where the player is maybe walking through a corridor or down a street but then have the small spikes where an action scene will play out such as an counter with a few enemies to slowly build up for the climax of the level, this would usually be the climatic ending such as a big escape or one big final fight.
Bad pacing in a video game will usually show either a constant stream, or too much progress to quickly or too little, you want it to look like you’re climbing a mountain where you will need a few breaks but you are making progress.
Replayability is a large part of a video game and this can be achieved by having secret quests/missions or through the world alone, whether it is a constantly evolving world that will always have something new to explore such as the constantly changing world of Fortnite (Epic Games,2017) where currently a ice storm has covered the map and randomly spawning zombies are a new threat, or the mysteries, secrets and “Easter eggs” that surround it, an example of this is Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games,2018) the massive open world has hundreds of mysteries that will keep the player exploring and coming back to the game to find more, none of these mysteries have any impact on the main story at all but all have such a high level of detail and work well with the video game environment.
Case Study Open World Video game –
I’m going to conduct a case study into the open world level design of Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios, 2015) ,
The design of Fallout 4’s open world is fairly basic but appears very detailed, the theme of the game being post-nuclear wasteland really benefits the developers as they get away with using barren landscapes and dead flora/trees. An area in the game that is arguably the least detailed feels the most detailed due to the atmosphere, this being the glowing sea, this was ground zero of the nuclear bomb as so everything in the area is decimated, there are few ruined buildings, no trees or flora to be found but instead a thick greenish/yellow radioactive fog and radiation storms, there are also many higher leveled enemies, this area feels the most alive somehow as the scarcity of buildings means that every structure in this zone is highly detailed and each one has it’s own story. For example there is a collapsed house that when you climb into using a hidden entrance you will find a dead Raider next to a suit of power armor with supplies littered around him, details like this really give life to this zone and make it one of my favorites.
An example of modular level design in Fallout 4 is the settlement building, every type of structure can be pieced together to give you a completely unique result, they have modeled walls, foundations, doors, floors and many decoration items which can be constructed in game and placed wherever and however you like.
Bethesda keep Fallout 4 repayable through the size and detail of their levels, it is entirely possible to complete the game without hardly exploring the world at all but they want it this way as every time you play the game you can do more and more side missions which will have you search every corner of the wasteland, using quests to guide a player to a certain area of your video game level is a smart choice because when the player goes to this area they have not explored yet they are more likely to return later on in their play through.
In my opinion the pacing of Fallout 4 is really well done as it is entirely up the the player and how they want to play the game, there are the down times where you are walking across the wasteland and then will either end up at a location full of enemies or you will get ambushed by a group of raiders or muted animals, the game will always keep you on your toes as they don’t want you to get bored, the quests given to the player also follow a similar trend as if you choose to rush the quest then you can complete it as quick as you like but if you take the time to actually explore the game you will find greater rewards, essentially meaning that the more work you put in then the more you will get out of it.
Cast Study 2 Linear video game world –
For a Linear video game world I am going to be investigating how Naughty Dog Game Studios created the world of “The Last Of Us”.
Firstly, The Last Of Us is a linear based video game which includes designated paths across the level which are used for the player to progress.
Creating a linear video game gives the developer more time to add smaller details to perfect the atmosphere that they are trying to achieve with the level.
One of my favorite levels in the game is the subway which is cluttered with loose papers, suitcases and other personal belongings, this gives the impression that people were trying to escape the larger city through whatever means that they can, personally I feel that this really solidifies the back-story about each individual area, using small details to create a story for a level reinforces the theme of the game because everything is abandoned and rusted down showing that it is post-apocalyptic. The level design of The Last Of Us serves to be a interactive and narrative form of storytelling as the characters will talk to each over naturally throughout the level and in a way hint at the goal of the level without making it obvious that this is a narrative and direct form of storytelling and giving the player their goal. The interactivity of each level could be from using switches to open a door or moving an item out of your path through a puzzle, these puzzles are meant to be rewarding to you as the characters will sometimes celebrate when you correctly complete one of them to give the player a sense of accomplishment.
The way Naughty Dog control their pacing is by having the player explore each area for ways to progress as there is no direct route, this gives the illusion that the world is larger than it really is. The pacing in a level is mainly controlled by the lighting, sometimes the player will have to rely on their torch to progress in these levels, this acts as a way of controlling the pace as when combined with eerie ambient sounds it gives the player a reluctance to rush ahead as there could be enemies waiting around the corner for them, this combines themes of horror, action and adventure which give a perfect atmosphere for the chosen theme of their levels such as the previously mentioned subway.
Replay ability
The Last Of Us is more of a one time experience, just like a movie where when you are playing for the second time around all of the suspense and exciting moments are removed as you already know what is going to happen, the way the developers keep it interesting is by including many small details and secrets in each level that only a keen eye will spot, this could be newspaper articles or notes left around.
Practical Exploration
The Problem?
I don’t know what visual and audial clues I would use that subtly suggest a players path to progress through a story.
The groundwork
My basic “foundation” is mainly comprised of lighting that points a specific direction that guides the player, I want to research ways that do no intrude on the player and are as minimalist as possible as to not hinder the game play/flow of a level so that the player stays immersed in the world. Some video games use a arrow on the HUD or large flashing arrows throughout the level, but this ruins the immersion and so I would like to combine visual and audial elements to create a path that isn’t blatantly obvious to the player.
The Attempts
For my first attempt I researched the use of lighting to direct a player, for this I used the opening sequence of the Last of Us.
You can see that the floodlight is telling the player where to go without explicitly stating it, this is a good form of instruction as it doesn’t intrude the player’s view and is a subtle indicator as the light is simply directing your eyes to the exit.
This form of direction works well but it is a bit too obvious as it is the only light source in the vicinity.
A game like journey has no HUD indication at all and does not tell you where you must go, instead it relies on the players choice, instead of lighting or large arrows, journey uses the landscape to guide the player by having a large empty world but then the smallest items that are on the horizon that naturally draw the player in.
The Solution
When combined with the sounds of the wind etc journey is the type of direction I would like to make work in my game, to do this I will need to make something that stands out but is not too obvious.
To do this I will combine elements from the last of us and journey to create subtle indications that will nudge the player on the correct path without being blatantly obvious.
Here I created a basic scene in a cave where the entrance has a wind ambient effect which indicates to the player that there must be an exit through this passage, I also added a floodlight to experiment with lighting and show the scene, it also acts as a blatant guide for the player, similar to the previously mentioned scene in The Last Of Us.
Jake Ling's Game Development Progress Blog. 