EP: Level Design & Storytelling

I'm looking more and more into how other approach level design and storytelling efficiently. I found an article on worldofleveldesign.com (Link) that explains thoroughly an effective way to approach designing a game level. I've found it really helpful and informative for what I should take into consideration when planning what I'm going to make and how I'm going to go about it.

I decided to put together some notes that I can go back to when I want to check on things I should be considering at various stages through my project.

On top of that, I discovered an article that compares the storytelling in Dark Souls vs Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim (Link). Some points brought forward by the writer are spot on, in my opinion. There's commentary on the different forms both games present their lore and story arcs to their players. I've also compiled some points from this article into notes too so I can use them for reference in future when thinking of different ways of storytelling and why they're used.

EP: Research - Ragnarok Online

I've been thinking of storytelling methods and I have identified what types of storytelling in games I enjoy the most. Telling information through exploration and collection seems to be what I'm drawn to, I used to love playing Ragnarok Online and my favourite game of all time is Dark Souls; they both have storytelling through environment and item collection as a key feature.

I think if I add in items to collect or places of interest to interact, read and learn from in my game level that would be a much more clever way of implementing story into the game than just providing the player with a voice over or a floating dialogue box that explains what is going on. There are  difficulties with the collection ideas as I think I'd then need to develop an inventory system which may be quite complex and time consuming for this project. However, I do think it's still something for me to take into consideration when thinking about storytelling. 

My 'Ragnarok Online' Inspiration Board

EP: Planning & Organisation 1

I'm behind due to my own faults so I feel like I need to start planning my time out more effectively. I've made a plan for 26th February > 5th March in order to get myself as prepared as possible for the Pre-production submission deadline. If I try my hardest to catch up, I'll be back on track with the project and it should ease some pressure from my workload.

EP: Research - Peter Mohrbacher

I stumbled accross this artist while searching for inspiration for my NPC Character. I've found some pieces of concept art by Mohrbacher that I think I can use to inform my designs for the NPC Character.

Mohrbacher has some great deformations and disfigurments with his character designs, I think I need to keep in mind what I can do to the physicality of the human body design in order to keep a character looking like a recognizable form but very different. I want to aim for the mysterious, jarring, dark aesthetic and Mohrbacher's designs ooze a lot of that style.

Ideas of possible forms from Mohrbacher:

• Number of Limbs - More arms, legs. Less arms, legs. No arms, legs.
• Missing Mass - Holes in forms, lack of features (Eyes, Mouth, Nose, Ears, Feet)
• Movement - Floating, slithering, dragging, broken limbs (jittery, unnatural animations)
• Separated Parts - Sense of magic, surrealism. Interesting silhouette.
• Props - Scrolls, Books, Scales - Sense of intelligence, rank, power. Or weapons, tools - Show profession, martial skills.

My 'Peter Mohrbacher' Inspiration Board

EP: Research - NPC Guide

I've been looking at lots of different areas for inspiration regarding the NPC character that I'm aiming to make for the end of my level. The initial spark of inspiration came from 'The Angel of Death' in Hellboy: The Golden Army. I also recognized that The Faun from Pan's Labyrinth was a similar character:

• Dark Fantasy inspired Creature Design
• Mentor Character - Guides Main Character/Provides Story-related Information
• Humanoid with exaggerated/displaced Features
• Inspired from pre-existing Mythologies
• Cryptic & Vague
• Unsettling, inhuman Movement/Animations

My 'NPC Guide' Inspiration Board

My 'NPC Guide' Inspiration Board

Some extra images I have found below. I'm really trying to keep silhouette and form in mind as I think of ideas for my NPC Character. Recognizable but mysterious - also want to include explanations in the story obviously. I think I'll be reading into game story writing and refreshing myself on writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Glen Cook and Steven Erikson as they have inspired  the people that have inspired me. Lovecraft in particular has some great descriptions of weird creatures. I find Hastur and the Nightgaunt to be particularly inspiring (Nightgaunt; below, left) as they're enigmatic, creepy and still hold a lot of humanoid characteristics physically. 

EP: Initial Ideas

Here's a write-up I've done on my initial ideas. I've decided I'd like to attempt to include a character that can be used for story purposes and the players progression. Maybe seen as a sort of checkpoint - measure; a device to setup the rest of the games story and explain what's happening. Although, in the spirit of Miyazaki, I want to keep it vague - following the cinematic rule of 'Show don't tell'.

EP: Research - World Architecture

Because of Hidetaka Miyazaki's use of real world architecture to inform his designs for Dark Souls and Bloodborne, I decided I would also look into places that could possibly inspire some ideas for my own game. I've been thinking of the inclusion of a cathedral-like building or an observatory structure with a classical Gothic style. Various cathedrals have been really inspiring but I have also found some less classically-inspired structures to be helpful too.

I'm looking into a variety of stylistic choices for my own environment, such as:

• Silhouette
• Space - Vertical & Horizontal
• Level of Detail
• Shaping - Round vs Edgey
• Location
• Colour & Material

My 'World Architecture' Inspiration Board

'World Architecture' Continued

EP: Research - Bloodborne

The last one by From Software I'm looking at, I swear, is Bloodborne. Bloodborne isn't released yet however from the videos, demo gameplay and screenshots that I've seen it seems Miyazaki's new story will follow closely to the mechanics of Dark Souls and its story's tone. Due to Bloodborne being the newest of all the games I've looked at, I can see the clear jump in visual quality - the same classical Gothic architecture that was present in Dark Souls 1 & 2 seems to be back only much more of it as it seems to be set in a city-like environment and obviously the place has been created at a much higher quality than previous titles.

From what I've seen of Bloodborne, there seems to be a lot 'more' in general. More buildings, more areas looping back on themselves, larger interiors, huge structures and lots of pathways for the player to explore. The levels look highly complex and highly detailed, I think the aesthetic of Victorian England (mixed with the clear H.P. Lovecraft influences) come off great.

My 'Bloodborne' Inspiration Board

Regarding Bloodborne's environments, I think the worlds climate, weather and a touch of nature has really helped to make the game look visually appealing and atmospheric. Like Lords of the Fallen, Bloodborne seems to be paying a lot of attention to set dressing environments with input from nature/biological influences. In particular, I have seen a lot of areas covered in fog and smog, even as low as the ground, which keeps a sense of constant mystery and unveiled secrets. it really adds to the feeling of the world being enigmatic - luring the player in to explore as much as possible and uncover what's hidden in the city. This also accompanied by a liberal use of surreal rolling clouds in the sky with vibrant & colourful rim lighting. To me, it gives that same style of Dark Souls 1 & 2 that makes me believe I'm travelling through a far away land that's magical and different from our own - like an alternate version of reality.

 I've also seen some areas in the game where you can see the edge of the city, and it appears there's a long vertical drop into nothingness - clouds, fog, smog and smoke, which makes me think the game is taking place on some huge floating ethereal land. I love this kind of location idea and usage of, sometimes literally, smoke & mirrors to leave some thoughts up to the player to decide where they are, what they're doing and how it's possible.

EP: Research - Lords of the Fallen

Lords of the Fallen is a fairly new release which has since inspired the 'Souls-like' tag of game genre. It's very similar to Dark Souls in mechanics and attempts enthusiastically to imitate the efficient use of space and shortcuts in level designs that Dark Souls also offers. One of the biggest differences between the two though is the art style. Lords of the Fallen has a 'Blizzard' look in my opinion. Shoulders are huge, weapons and armour in general is large, exaggerated, stylized and unrealistic. It's fun and bold and works - the extreme shapes some of the items make offer up some unique silhouettes for characters.

The environments in Lords of the Fallen aren't particularly varied - chapel, snowy castle exterior, castle interior, darker snowy castle. it can be quite 'samey' but what designs do have, have been done very well in my eyes. Something I always notice when playing Lords of the Fallen is the feeling that the world is still alive. It follows with the theme I'm looking at; abandoned, ancient architecture in a mystical land. However with the weather interacting with the levels - constant  snow blizzards, rushing winds and natural sounds, it makes you feel that despite the place being almost entirely barren; nature is still present, the world is still living and breathing even in contrast to whatever has happened in the games story. 

My 'Lords of the Fallen' Inspiration Board

On top of weather effects, I also really love the usage of unnatural colour temperatures in some areas lighting. Lords of the Fallen sometimes uses luminous greens and bright reddish/pinkish light to dramatize the mood of the players surroundings. For instance, in the graveyard area, there's a vibrant green light shining from a crypt entrance. This has a great magical, dark feeling to it as often in games,  shades of greens, greys and dark blues together often signify something necrotic, undead or sinister. I really like this usage of colour temperatures to reinforce the personality of a setting.

Lords of the Fallen has really reminded me, I should take weather, climate and eco-systems into consideration with dressing my environment. I also need to remember to spend time on sound and how I can use noise to give an area depth and character. If I make sure sound and aesthetic link up well, it'll add an extra dimension to my environment and hopefully make it more believable to the player. I don't want them to be distracted by 'this is a game made for a university project', I really would like it to pass as a prototype designed game that has had thought put into it.

EP: Research - Arcania: Gothic 4

Another game within the dark fantasy genre I've been inspired by is the 'Gothic' series, in particular Arcania: Gothic 4. Oddly there's not a lot about the architectural designs or use of lighting that I find particularly interesting. However, I feel like the use of environmental location for the cities, villages and pieces of architecture are great. There's a varied range of cliff-sides, mountains and rivers that are used to surround the places of interest in the game.

Gothic 4, in my opinion, has quite wishy-washy lighting that looks quite bland and ordinary and I think it's a shame they haven't used obscure or dramatic lighting to add some personality to areas. Despite the vistas being great, the lighting lets it down for me. It may sound too harsh but I do think the game looks great in terms of structures and their locations, I just don't enjoy the lighting as much as the rest. I want to make sure that I pay attention all 3 of the aspects of my game level's visual style that are important to me:

• Location
• Architecture
• Lighting 

My 'Arcania: Gothic 4' Inspiration Board

EP: Research - The Witcher 3 Concepts

While The Witcher 3 isn't released yet, I've been looking at some of the concept art for the environment spaces and they look amazing. Witcher 3 is also fitting of the dark fantasy genre and it's only shown once again in the 3rd installment.

With the images I've looked at being concept art I think they feel much more expressive and emotive than screenshots of a level which has give a nice different dynamic to my research into environments. Following on with my common theme of looking into classical architecture and odd surrounding settings, Witcher 3 delivers. I love the use of silhouette in the concepts, contrasting architectural scales and shapes. There's one image in particular which has stuck with me, which is the one that has a huge tall tower surrounding by much smaller buildings and ruins in a spherical formation. It feels realistic and believable but at the same time it's not any kind of city layout you'd find in the real world. It treads on the barrier of real and fantasy in terms of structure in my opinion.

My 'The Witcher 3 Concepts' Inspiration Board

A great thing I've noticed in the concept art for The Witcher 3 is the use of lighting in the images. All of them contain only one light-source and it gives everyone one of the concepts the atmosphere of abandonment as there is no man-made lighting. it also makes each image appear to be set at dawn/dusk, a less 'awake' time of day to witness an environment; adding to the mood of unusual, forgotten areas.

EP: Research - The Talos Principle

I've only just found The Talos Principle after it's been raved about as being the next game for the 'Portal crowd'. The Talos Principle is a first-person Puzzle game that takes an android (you, the player) through several worlds - set in different locations in different eras, while you're guided through them by a disembodied voice. It sounds great, I've only managed to be able to play the Demo version so far but from what I've seen it has a great hub area that has inspired me which I'm going to save for reference just in case.

The Talos Principle has been a bit different in terms of research than other the other games I've looked into so far as what I think I will focus on the most are the game mechanics rather than the environment design. However, saying that the hub world for the 1st area (seen at the end of demo version) looks great, it has a classic Gothic cathedral interior with bright daylight shining through huge tapered windows and an extremely high ceiling supported by long, stretching columns. I really love this space in particular for interior ideas on a classical-inspired piece of architecture. It's light, open and oozes history and story, like there's a deeper meaning behind the location.

My 'The Talos Principle' Inspiration Board

In terms of mechanics though, I find The Talos Principle to be much more informative and insightful. I was originally worried that, working alone, I may run into time issues of not being able to model, rig and animate a full character along with the rest of development that will take place in order to create my game. I am also very aware that if I wanted a combat system, with the style that I'm aiming for, I'd have to create equally detailed enemies with an AI system and then implement a combat system for the player to go with it. This might prove to be too time consuming, therefore making my game a first-person puzzle game could be a suitable alternative style of gameplay.

The Talos Principle has snippets of the aesthetic I want with the medieval, classical buildings mixed in with a sense of exploration in an abandoned, barren, far-off land. obviously The Talos Principle has some advanced puzzle mechanics that I may not be  able to replicate efficiently and the lighting of the game generally seems to be much more realistic and 'light'. Some parts don't fit into what I'm looking to create but The Talos Principle has really reaffirmed that I can put my ideas into a tangible format and it not be too ambitious of a project.

EP: Research - Elder Scrolls Online

Having recently played around a bit with Elder Scrolls Online, I spotted some great atmospheric environments in the game that I found to come out of nowhere. While I don't think they necessarily fit in with what I've seen from past expansions of the Elder Scrolls series, I do really like some of the lighting Bethesda have used in areas.

Places like the starting prison and the realm in The Harborage quest are set in other realms/plains of existence and I think this reflected very well by the dark, moody and surreal-like coloured environments. The idea of having a very civilized structure or series of constructions planted in a strange location, abandoned and barren; really appeals to me. It continues on from the themes in Dark Souls 1 & 2 which have inspired me. I'm reminded again by Elder Scrolls Online to think of location and setting, possibly attempt tie in why the game is taking place in said strange land and how the player got there.

My 'Elder Scrolls Online' Inspiration Board

In regards to the lighting - I particularly like the darker areas in 'ESO', I think the use of contrasting light temperatures is great and Bethesda aren't afraid to inject some vibrant colours into environments to convey a sense of wonder & mystery. The Harborage area has a mixture of horror, surreal fantasy with Victorian, classical architecture, it reminds me of H.P. Lovecraft. I really like the difference in design - very formally structured buildings mixed in with a primal, natural and chaotic setting. it's unsettling and may create some discord for the player - really interesting concept that I may want to look more into.

EP: Research - Dark Souls 2

Dark Souls 2 is also inspiring to me. While I think Dark Souls has much more character and personality in its environments, I do think Dark Souls 2 has a great sense of scale and use of location for architecture. Castle and towers on high mountains, cathedrals and ruins on open seas. It also benefits from having more up-to-date visuals which help the appearance of the vistas in the game.

A primary source of ideas for me has been the area: Heide's Tower of Flame. It has a very regal, classical architecture inspired style to the whole place with parts them look reminiscent of Ancient Greek buildings. Also, something I really like about the area is its lighting. Anor Londo in Dark Souls looked like a masterpiece however the orange light of the place which bled into every bit of its area sometimes appeared too monochromatic to me. I understand why it was like this, orange  and bright to look celestial as it was the city of the Gods but I just prefer the area of Heide's Tower of Flame in Dark Souls 2. It's brighter, there are nice breaks between colours: Deep blue sea and sky, orange horizon and white and cerulean tiled buildings.

My 'Dark Souls 2' Inspiration Board

A key thing I like about Heide's Tower of Flame is that it's in such a weird, surreal location. There's a huge cathedral, a dome-shaped building and a big tower with intricate pathways and detailed bridges all in the middle of the sea next to a huge mountain range. Why not build on the land? Why the sea? The tower looks quite lighthouse-like I suppose but still, there's no ruins or civilization on land. It's weird and unlikely but I think it looks great and adds to the sense of being in a far-off enigmatic land.

EP: Research - Dark Souls

To begin with Environmental research, I'm looking to the Dark Fantasy genre, as Dark Souls was the initial inspiration that sparked this whole idea I thought I'd start off with it first.

Dark Souls has a lot of 'realistic' architecture. Believable structures that don't seem too fantastical but have that added style which you don't often see. Interestingly, it's quite common knowledge that Hidetaka Miyazaki (From Software), the lead designer of Dark Souls, took a lot of inspiration from real world architecture. One of the most notable areas in-game that was real world inspired is Anor Londo. Anor Londo, mainly its interior with its marble spiral staircase, is based on the Milan Cathedral. This has reminded me I need to look at real world architecture too as I could find some great ideas from other places besides digital artifacts.

My 'Dark Souls' Inspiration Board

I recognize that taking on the responsibility of creating an entire game myself is a lot work, therefore I want to limit the scale of the level and plan out accordingly how the space will be used. I found the starting place of Dark Souls one to be the perfect example of what I want as a final piece.

The Northern Asylum, a disguised tutorial island, in Dark Souls is a small area that includes an underground prison and a chapel built on the side of a cliff-face. The small space is used very efficiently as not only does the player travel horizontally, but the level snakes around on itself vertically to flesh out the area more - it makes the environment more real, believable and understood by the player. Luckily I've managed to find a floor plan of the level with a legend that makes it very understandable from a design perspective. Also, I came  across a map of Lordran which is the larger mainland of the game, I want to include this in my research as this also shows efficient use of space in level design.

Asylum Floor Plan

Lordran Map

EP: Statement of Intent

This is the Statement of Intent for my Extended Practice module. 

In short; I want to create a Game with a Dark Fantasy aesthetic. I want to support it with its own original lore and it should appeal to gamers who enjoy the RPG, Fantasy and Puzzle genres. With the project I'm really hoping to push my skills in new pieces of software I've not touched before and produce things I haven't tried too. This may include: intermediate coding, GUI design and implementation and combat mechanics. These aren't priority but I am still researching into them.