As Art Director, I worked a lot on concepts during pre-production, specifically for the environment. As these came together, so did a style guide.
This concept is absolutely too ‘open-worldy’ for a level – Brian had said we could not go this direction for the project.
Nonetheless, it’s vital in coming to terms with where we are in this game. Sure, it’s an abandoned robot facility, but the world that it’s in is everything. I imagined a post-apocalyptic environment, with burnt trees and terrain; and in amongst green clouds of gas: our facility. I made sure to add a protagonist and dragonfly companion to help establish the narrative.
Developed/alternate versions:
This one below takes the idea from above, and contextualises it into our game. I imagined that the broken window could look out to a giant image plane, effectively creating the illusion of a wider environment. I tried a couple variations. The green and orange still feels right to me – it’s pure sci-fi meets steampunk, which was an idea we’d discussed on day one.
Process:
I envisioned three key locations: the outside platform of the factory, the science lab and the factory itself with the conveyer belt and fire.
Refined Level Concepts
Without exterior elements, it becomes a bit trickier in my opinion, and a bit of a leap from what I’m used to from Semester 1 and the outdoor environments. Whilst the value theory reminds the same, you have to be more innovative with where that lighting comes from, as it’s not necessarily a sun.
Here’s some level lighting concepts I did, without the window.
The light from the ceiling/top corner was a real breakthrough (no pun intended) in creating that sense of atmosphere (and contrast) that I’d achieved before when using natural outdoor light.
Isometric Concepts
Alec had also suggested during our Week 2 Presentation that I use isometric camera to help aid level designers, so I did these as well:
Helpful isometric concept videos I used:
The Style Guide
Working with Lucas on a Discord call, we established our style guide here.