Area Design II | 09.10.09

Building 101 - Area Design Part 2 PART 1 RECAP In our last entry, we covered the basic history and reason for creating the area, a 6x6 swamp area, for the player to explore. All that's been done so far is the creation and layout of the area, which consists of two hills, one in the bottom left corner and the other in the top right corner. The rest of the area is split up between land and water. We've also determined that the player will transition to the hill in the bottom left corner of the area. They'd be coming here because of rumors they heard in the village close by of people coming into the swamp to hunt for a rare fish not returning. Some speak of finding villagers, friends and family members turned to stone. NOTE: No sounds, lighting or placeables have been placed in the area at this point. DEFINING THE AREA Sure, an area can be created quite quickly and patched together but care and thought should always accompany such design. One important process to think about is the flow of the area and how we want to give information to the player as they explore our creation. Defining what's in the area will give strength to the backdrop of the story we wish to tell. In this case, it's petrified villagers, turned to stone in some of the most unimaginable positions as they attempt to flee what it is they last saw with their living eyes. Of course, there hasn't been a villager yet who can speak of what it is that's turning people into stone statues, so wild rumors can flow from their lips and even create false trails the player may or may not fall for. AREA BREAKDOWN The flow of information for any story can come from a number of means but one should also be careful not to divulge too much information as to spoil the atmosphere we want to create. Let's take a look at how the area will unfold as we progress to its completion. Each red numeric circle is some sort of event, small, medium or large, that the player can find something worth exploring. Take note of how each corner of the area has a red circle. By keeping to this general standard when creating an area, you define a sense of reason for the player to explore everything, yet not feel empty by creating a "running around" syndrome. Not every corner needs to POP out at the player but it should offer something. Even the most basic text display describing a strange looking tree or finding an empty bottle floating in the swamp creates area depth. AREA FLOW Now that the highlights of the area has been determined, we can begin to create the area and bring its design to life. 1. As already noted, we want the player to start here. During the creation of the area, we want to make sure the player is drawn to location 3, either when they first come to the area or eventually by exploring all four corners of the area. At one point or other, they'll have to cross the middle of the map. 2. The rock fissures are small and do not stick out unless the player moves close enough to learn that information. Having two of them allows the creation of the caves and caverns below to either connect or not. Even if they do connect below, we're giving the player a choice on which side they enter from. 3. Here is the location of our petrified villager and it's the most important location in the area for it brings truth to what the villagers were speaking about. As noted, with three of the four corners of the map exploration locations, the player is bound to find the villager before anything else. Plus, a petrified villager will stick out like a sore thumb when players hit TAB. 4. Remember that other hill in the top right corner? This is where a boat crashed at one point, grounding itself on the hard rocky surface, cracking its hull and eventually sinking. The remains of the boat still exist but its contents are long gone. ?. These are up in the air design choices. The question mark in the bottom right isn't a bad place for an encounter of some kind as it is out of the way and secluded but the encounter should have nothing to do with what's turning the villagers to stone. The second question mark could be much of anything. Perhaps a small container that floated away from the broken hull of the ship or an item one of the villagers dropped while trying to flee. BRINGING IT TOGETHER The next steps we'll be covering is sound placement, placeables and lighting.