Defining Vessel’s demo space #2

Hey there! Welcome back. This week will be the final week before revealing the prototype of Vessel so before moving forward I want to close the process behind building the Harbor space. This is a continuation of Defining Vessel’s demo space so make sure to check that one out first!

From sketch to blocks

Now that the space was sketched the next logical step was to move the design to a 3D space. This might sound silly but if you never did it before it can be quite challenging. For me the hardest part is transitioning from an undefined area into something that is compelling, has meaning, and it is fixed. 

The wording might seem strange but when you define an area on paper, essentially, you are defining boundaries. Even if you give some meaning to that area it usually lacks a lot of detail. For example, I defined a space called Information Office, the sketch allows me to imagine the scale of this area and its function but it can be from a booth in a square to a fully fledged office building, or a military facility given the context.

To begin with I started building the same areas that I have drawn with plain geometry: boxes, planes, etc. Just to understand the scale of the space. This step is crucial because the more you get into it the more you see that the original sketch has room for improvement. I got the sketch areas defined as very basic 3D areas. At this stage those are basically the floors and some navigation walls, I already noticed that the level was way smaller than I thought. I notice it comparing the time that I used to navigate it against the time spent on a similar area of a reference game. For this example I used Crow Country which I highly recommend.

I imagined alternative ways to connect these key areas. Maybe the employee parking has direct access from the road instead of being a part of the public one? The offices can be bigger by adding more stories into them? Few more areas were added to fulfill the needed space. Finally, I had a very nice level that was all flat. 

Then I started working on heights. While making a flat level is possible, when working with an over the shoulder camera it makes the game feel boring and disorienting. So I used the heights to give the player a few emotions and direction. 

I placed the public parking at the top of the level with a view of all the Harbor. From there we can highlight all the important places. Most of them are buildings or structures that grow to the sky so they are easily spotted. Then I played with the heights and navigation to offer viewpoints of certain combat areas. This helps the player to understand the challenge and define a strategy before it gets to the situation, it also helps build tension by anticipation. 

Once navigating the level felt natural and it had a pretty decent flow, which meant that we had the player just pushing forward and doubting where we wanted to, I placed a few logical events and gates. At this point of the development those are mostly doors that open when a certain pick up is taken. This helps us to test the actual time and player navigation at the actual level. Once we reached a third of the targeted time of the demo (around 10 minutes out of 30) we moved into the next stage.

From blocks to prettier blocks

Now that the block out was essentially done from a level design perspective, it was time to think about how to fill the actual space from an artistic point of view. Maybe those boxes are actually a cargo container? Maybe this building can be more brutalistic? Is the parking a floor with a few fences or is it a building?

The main goal of this stage is essentially build a plausible space that captures the mood of the game and reinforces the design. One of the best examples of this is the initial parking exit. One the first block out we place it directly in front of the final puzzle, the hanging ship. In this stage this idea is reinforced by framing it with the door and making it the first thing the player sees. 

While there is a more artistic intention in this phase, it is important to still stick to basic shapes and models whenever possible. That’s mostly because we haven’t validated the level yet. So even if it is counterintuitive, building this first version of the level and committing the final art for later on the project is saving both time and effort. 

From prettier blocks to mood capture

Once this stage is finished and we have a level that is fun to navigate and readable by someone external, it’s time to capture the mood of the game. In here we want to use the same approach, we are just evoking the final mood not building final set ups. 

In order to do that, we set up the most representative lighting for the level, in this case a night light and some visual effects like fog. While those vfx aren’t really mandatory for the process they will be a key part of the visual identity in the project.

And that’s it!

To sum it up: stick to the most basic form you can. If your game isn’t fun and evoking the desired emotions with a block out adding more sophisticated art won’t fix it. It will only raise the costs. Next week's post will be something special. It will be a Vlog to show up the prototype that we presented to Epic Megagrants. Don’t sleep on it! As always I will read you in the comments!