Question: What makes a environment vivid/living/interesting

onewinged

Hello people!
I'm in need of some assistance.


I'm a student and during the coming four weeks I'm going to try to answer the question: How to create a vivid/living/interesting environment in a games by using the optimized modular modeling.


When it come to modular modeling part I'm well aware that there is more than enough information on this forum alone about it, but I'm having a hard time finding information about what makes a environment vivid/living/interesting.


If you have any articles or any other sort of information about this subject I would appreciate you sharing it with me.


I would also like to ask you what you think make and game environment interesting, and how you would go about to make it. This will probably vary from person to person but I believe there must also be some kind of work-flow and/or design process that helps with the creation of vivid/living/interesting environments.


Thanks in advance /onewinged

spiderDude

That is a very broad question, I don't think you're going to get a precise answer.

Like anything else that looks vivid/living/interesting, it all boils down to good
knowledge and execution of the Principles of Design.

ikken

onewinged wrote: »

I would also like to ask you what you think make and game environment interesting, and how you would go about to make it. This will probably vary from person to person but I believe there must also be some kind of work-flow and/or design process that helps with the creation of vivid/living/interesting environments.

it all comes down to your art direction. vivid and interesting environments are the ones with better/best creative work done before you jump into modelling package.
if you are just being taught how to make objects and throw them together in a level editor, it will work well from a purely technical art point, but for anything else, you need to study basic design concepts first (mood/theme setting, reference research, rounds of sketches on both environment wide and single prop wide scale, etc.)
it all depends on well executed pre-production basically

breakneck

In general, modular modeling makes for very boring environments. You have to expand beyond that to create something interesting. I'm not saying don't do modular, I'm saying thats not the answer to your question.

what makes an environment interesting:
tell a story. tell several stories. anything that you can convey to the viewer that sparks the imagination. It can be subtle things like crumpled up papers near a trash can. Or it can be very large and obvious things like a flood washing away a city. Story is told through lighting. Story can also be implied, if done correctly. Be creative in conveying a story.

As far as what kind of workflows to achieve this - there are a billion ways. The correct order in which you do things I feel is very specific and can help you a lot.
for example:
first you need an idea on paper. don't start in 3d. that will usually end bad. Initial ideas better come out on paper, and changes happen easier/quicker on paper.

second, once you have a strong idea of what you want to make, find reference. Part of making something interesting is making it something people can relate to.

then you make it!

I could get extremely long winded about this topic, but I'm sure there are many great resources around the net. In fact, I'm sure our wiki has some great info on this very top.

http://wiki.polycount.com/
http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryGameDesign#Level_Design


Another thing that comes to mind is study art. study the great painters of the past, study current art, study what makes 3d environments successful and unsuccessful. Learn. Then learn some more. Learn about art everyday. Here is a link to a lot of current 3d collections and many have some good scene breakdowns.
http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryReferenceGameArt

onewinged

Thanks for the answer so far.


Breakneck: I read a book called Preproduction blueprint: How to Plan Your Game Environments and Level Designs


Brings up all the things u mentioned and more. So it seems I was starting on the right track.
Recommend reading it for those who haven’t.


When it come to the modular modeling bit I'm well aware that modularity can make boring and repetitive environments. Part of the this project is I'm going to figure out what modular modeling is and to figure out what ups and downs it brings.


Cheers onewinged

Selaznog

1.) Have a focus. Set it up so the scene draws you in to a main structure that you spent a long time making. A great example of this would be the gunner in Prometheus being the focal point and the organic textures around him being the environment. Another example could be a destroyed street in the middle east somewhere with a tank in the middle, being the focus with the amount of detail on it. This also helps tell the story.

2.) Concept everything before you start...composition is really important for showing off your scene. Choose a starting comp for when your camera starts moving, and a final comp for when it fades out.

3.) Have a strong concept and follow the shit out of it

Lazerus Reborn

Art style, color pallet & execution, are what make a vivid environment for me.
I have a tendency to side toward stylised work though, but a finely executed normal piece is all the same.

Eric Chadwick

Composition, narrative, lighting.

mystichobo

Lens Flare.

Rockley Bonner

^ also bloom.

onewinged

Once again thanks for the replies so far! Crossing my fingers for some more! The more the better!
Cheers onewinged