Now I have a rough idea what sort of environment I wish to create I can begin expanding on that idea. I will create some 2D sketches to help demonstrate the visual for the environment I have in my head, which will also help me start to make a tally of the assets I will require and the creative methods the environment will allow me to experiment with.
:: 2D Sketches ::
While I have always found it difficult to express the visual I have for a 3d environment with a 2D format such as a sketch these do serve to give a very rough idea of the kind of environment I wish to create. They also allow me to start developing a list of assets I will need in my head before I create the 3D Blockout of the scene.
Environment artists are at their core visual storytellers. An environment which tells no story is almost guaranteed to be a forgettable scene. So instead of simply a medieval castle ruin how about I flip the scene to tell a story the viewer can digest. Maybe instead of a castle gate the ruins are a ancient prison, the gate bent, crooked and broken (such as the gate shown (Ref.1)). What caused this damage? How long ago did this prisoner escape? The modern campsite beside the gate (such as the one shown in (Ref.2)) also brings with it worldbuilding questions. Why are people still interested in whatever happened to the ruins? Maybe whatever broke out is still being hunted to this day.
Instead of the gate being a castle portcullis it’s instead going to be a sewer system gate, which has at some stage been broken open from the inside. The campsite is going to be made of modern furnishings, in the style of an archaeological dig. Like the one found in ‘Assassins Creed: Origins’. (Ubisoft, 2017). This will allow me to play with lighting in fun ways, such as having construction lights flicker and the cool blue lights of the modern day computer equipment. I can also experiment with VFX in the form of smoke from a generator or a low fog in the European swamp setting.
I also intend to create a stream coming from the broken gate, to add interest to the landscape other than the assets I create. Plus this would allow me to progress with creating wet dirt and mud ground textures for the environment. It would be nice to show a difference between the wet dirt around the stream and the dried dirt underneath the tarpaulin. Perhaps with muddy footprint heading in various directions around the camp, showing the activity of the occupants.
:: Project Timeline ::
I need to create a timeline for my project early in development. This is to make sure that the idea I have is not too large or complex for the timescale I have been provided. There will be a lot of experimenting with this project, and I anticipate having to model and remodel parts of the environment many times to make sure the final scene is of a truly professional standard. Therefore it is vital I keep track of my timeline.
Above you can see a screenshot of the Gantt chart I created for the purposes of helping me keep on schedule while creating my scene. (Download for the chart provided). By referring back to this schedule when I start producing my environment I can make sure I am not being too ambitious with my environment or taking too long with a certain aspect of environment creation to the detriment of another.
:: Summary ::
In this blog post I have developed the initial environment idea I thought of previously and showed the kind of scene I am imagining through my 2D Sketches. This shows some of the assets I will be needing to create and gives an overall sense for the scene, ready for me to expand on that with a 3D Blockout.
I also created a Gantt chart to show the kind of timeline I set myself for this project, allocating time to the various sections of development I think will take longer than others. Though this naturally is subject to change as the creation of an environment rarely goes completely smoothly or as planned. Fortunately, there is time within my timeline for me to course correct should I encounter any issues.
:: References ::
ScereBro PSNU (2017) ‘Assassin’s Creed Origins – All Present Day Scenes and Gameplay’ [YouTube Video] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U9Z3fFKq10&t=51s&ab_channel=ScereBroPSNU [Accessed 06/12/2022]
TaleWorld Entertainment (2020) ‘Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord’ [Video Game]. Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/261550/Mount__Blade_II_Bannerlord/ [Accessed 06/12/2022]
Ubisoft (2017) ‘Assassins creed: Origins’ [Video Game]. Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/582160/Assassins_Creed_Origins/ [Accessed 06/12/2022]