Small Enviro Piece (God of War inspired)
polycounter lvl 11
Hey all,
Just a small piece I'm working on before GDC. Referencing God of War mainly as my inspiration: I want to create a small & closed scene that still gives the player a sense of being small in a large space.
Here's a few images of where I'm at now, currently battling with pillar/support styles. The 3 blocks in the back are going to be 3 large statues. Yellow blocks represent human reference (32x32x96)
Here's my main reference piece.
Just a small piece I'm working on before GDC. Referencing God of War mainly as my inspiration: I want to create a small & closed scene that still gives the player a sense of being small in a large space.
Here's a few images of where I'm at now, currently battling with pillar/support styles. The 3 blocks in the back are going to be 3 large statues. Yellow blocks represent human reference (32x32x96)
Here's my main reference piece.
Replies
Nothing wrong with that of course, but if you want to really achieve that roomy feel, you'll need to find another method that works with your pillars.
Edit: Giving the ceiling more empty space would probably do it. Turning the concept upside down, basically.
Edit #2: I think removing the two pillars and archways in the center would also work. You'd have less repetition in your scene and more to communicate the room's size.
Current state of the enviro:
The piece above the archway in the 2nd image is probably going to be some sort of relief/etchings/something that I'm not sure of yet. Not as much time as I'd like getting devoted to this, but hopefully I'll have more time in the next few days and the weekend. I also scaled down the pillars, they were reading too thick. Does this look more open and grand? I'd like to move into the modeling of assets here soon so I can focus on the texturing and lighting. Thanks for any and all c&c.
Had an idea at work, to give the environment a stronger function/purpose: images, then text.
The idea is that each door leads to a maze that the player would have to go through and solve a puzzle, activating the icons on the reef above the corresponding door. After activating both reliefs, the large gate that I blocked out would open, revealing the final location/destination.
Although I'm not re-creating the concept, I am using it for scale and design aesthetic. One thing that really stuck out once it was said was that the environment dwarfs Kratos: there's not a lot of micro detail, it's a lot of large shapes. Everything stands so tall and large over Kratos. So with that, I'm trying a different approach with the environment. Does it feel more "grand" now? I feel that it's getting close, but not quite there yet.
If you really look at the concept and try and break down the elements, you'll see there really isn't much to it and the whole thing can be build with only a few modular pieces. If you do this, you'll be able to see what defines the architecture and how you can reproduce the style to it's full potential.
Primarily everything in this scene is either a circle or a straight line (excluding a few detailed areas).
Firstly, you'll notice that almost all the round elements, if connected or mirrored they will form a perfect circle. However, there is only area that breaks that shape and that is the center piece archway, which forms an oval shape. In a way, it's allowed to break the rules slightly because it is a feature, it is meant to be stand out and requires attention. But it is still using the same design principal.
Next you have the rectangular/straight lined features. You'll see these shapes were specifically left for the pillars and the walls. Why there and not everywhere else?
Well by having long straight lines, it emphasises the illusion of height. It will make the scene seem far more grand and dwarfing to the character/viewer. Even the detailing on the wall is rectangular and not a square, which is still using long straight lines.
Squares seem to be only left for the floor and ceiling. Simple shape, not to draw too much attention but to complete the harmony of the scene.
Finally, you have the detailed flourishes in the scene. This seems to be the wildcard, something that takes these basic geometric shapes and tells them to cram it! They look like they belong with this architecture because they take from the 2 main design elements. They are long lines, but instead of straight they are curved. They aren't curved enough to complete perfect circles so they are their own design element. They look like vines or thorns on a rose stem or something like that. These designs are used sparingly and only in key areas, such as where a wall meets the ceiling.
There you have it, four simple rules. So to maintain consistency with your environment, keep those in mind when creating your assets. It will show through that your scene was designed and thought out before it was built and that it was built that way for a reason.
Hopefully that helps with you going forward with your scene.