Greetings, everyone! We’re excited to share some fresh updates about our project and introduce a new section – “Developers’ Diaries.” Here we will talk about the process of development and take a peek behind the scenes of this fascinating process. In the first article of this series, we will examine the creation of game locations using one of them as an example.
When level designers receive a technical brief, it outlines key points that must be considered when creating the map. For improved efficiency and understanding of the process, several drafts of the future location’s layout are created. Before starting the creation of the location, the designer studies reference materials suitable for the specific location: photographs of the area, environmental elements, buildings, and other objects. Curating references is a crucial stage; it’s where one can already envision the future appearance of the game scene. We aim to create highly realistic game locations to immerse players in the atmosphere of the narrative mission. By the way, level designers enjoy hiding Easter eggs.
After gathering sufficient materials, the designer begins creating a layout, determining the size of the map, the playable area (marked by the blue line in the examples below), and the placement of key scene objects. During this process, not just one, but several layout options are created with different arrangements of elements, which are then approved by the game designer and art director.
After the location layout is successfully approved, the level designer proceeds to create it in the Unity 3D editor. Creating and populating a location is a creative process that requires not only inspiration but also technical knowledge and an understanding of level design and game design principles. During the creation process, the appearance of the location may change several times until it satisfies all participants in the development process.
To achieve an engaging location, we pay special attention to selecting objects tailored for it. All bushes, cars, logs, and rocks have undergone rigorous selection!
Are those strange buildings in the screenshot real? That’s how buildings and structures look during development. At the beginning, they are just cubes, allowing us to check how well the placement of objects aligns with the narrative mission’s scenario. Additionally, this approach allows us to test the functionality of various game mechanics.
But of course, buildings require more detailed refinement. The designer assembles a building prototype considering the grid layout, the arrangement of its main elements, and only then hands over the materials for final development to the 3D modeling department.
But that’s not all yet! Once the building is modeled, it needs to be configured so that it can be destroyed, explored under the roof, break down doors, or climb through windows. After that, the building with its settings undergoes thorough testing, and only then is it integrated into the project.
But even when all objects are placed in the game scene, the work is not finished. There’s still lighting to configure, additional details to add, appropriate sound design to create, and decisions to make regarding the weather: will it rain or will the sun shine brightly. Nevertheless, it can be said that the main part of the work on the map is completed.
With that, our first developer’s diary comes to an end, but as they say, to be continued!
Until we meet again!