Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Many designers also work the
wow factor
into props. If a character needs to
progress through various difficult levels, defeat bosses, fell dragons, and so on,
part of the reward is a cool-looking prop.
Creating environments
You've written your script and designed amazing characters and props, and
now you must build your stage. The stage for the game can define much of the
game's look and feel. It sets up the mood, inspires, and amazes. With each sub-
sequent game, designers are learning that audiences want bigger and better. In
other words, if players experienced a stunning world in one game, they want to
see more in the next one. Games that rely heavily on realism aim for even more
realism in subsequent titles.
If you're attempting to design a game for a particular market, then you should
look at the games that have been successful in that market and study the qual-
ity of their environments.
2D/3D
When you're designing environments for 2D gaming, it's useful to think of
dividing the layouts into distinct foreground, middle-ground, and background
elements. Being able to draw those areas helps to impart a sense of depth to the
world being created.
Figure 3.14 shows a screenshot of gameplay from a 2D massively multiplayer
online game (MMOG) called
Elgaill Town
. Notice how the foreground elements
work well with the toolbar and statistics about the status of the avatars, while the
middle-ground and far-background elements add to the look and feel of the world.
Whereas 2D worlds tend to be viewed from the same point of view (POV), 3D
worlds are designed in a much more sophisticated manner. Whatever appears in
the foreground may shift to the middle ground or background (or even be out
of sight) if the player moves their avatar. If the avatar turns without moving off
the spot where they're standing, you see the environment change as the avatar's
POV shifts.
Figure 3.15 shows the development of a world from concept drawing to finished
world. The center image is an environment built within the CryENGINE from
Crytek. Some 3D backgrounds are built in 3D software modeling programs, such
as Maya, 3ds Max, or Cinema 4D; other worlds are generated directly into engines
that have been designed to create custom worlds and assemble the gameplay.
parallax movement
adds a sense of
depth in 2d environ-
ments. As the cam-
era pans, the objects
in the foreground
move more quickly
than the objects in
the distance.
