In order for me to get any sense of idea about how effective my environments are going to be, it was imperative for me to understand the knowledge of level design as well, since environment design is the bigger part of level design.
One noteworthy attribute of environment design is arguably the vertical spaces of different elevations to avoid any flat ground. Precurrent Gaming (2022) discusses how verticality in Half Life 2: Lost Coast (2005) can “be used to build tension for the player”.
An example of this is found in the game Star Fox Adventures (2001) within the Ice Mountain and Snowhorn Wastes area. The ground has a variation of elevation changes that makes the level more interesting and keeps the player guessing what’s at the end of the path.
When we look at environment examples, we can understand for example, a small island setting is predominantly low-lying terrain with some objects and foliage scattered around.
Another advantage for the island environment is the sense of community and cultural diversity. ZoomZike (2018) mentions the cultural diversity in his video ‘Super Setting Sunshine’ when analysing Super Mario Sunshine (2002), stating that “They brand themselves as a friendly, relaxing tourist destination, boasting “the worlds’ finest resort facilities, a spectacular amusement park, and succulent seafood.”.”
ZoomZike also points out the connectivity of Isle Delfino, quoting “every level you travel to on this island can see other levels relative to its location.”, and how each level focuses on “each aspect of this island.” When Mario eventually rescues Princess Peach from Bowser, “The player will have gone through a fully developed fictional world dripping with more uniqueness and depth.” This develops the game further than any other Mario game.
Another interesting piece of information about Super Mario Sunshine is the last level. Corona Mountain can be seen from all of the locations on the island, providing the destination that Mario must traverse to rescue Princess Peach. Luckhardt (2020;p30-31) explains the game design term of “architectural weenies” and how they are there to initially act as a gateway to guide the player to the end of a level, using Bellard’s method (2019) to explain this theory.
Weenies can be seen in other games as well as from Super Mario Sunshine, as Totten (2014) outlines another great example is with The Citadel from Half-Life 2 (2004). Players see the giant tower in the middle of City 17 when they first enter. It is not only a landmark, but a waypoint for players to observe their progress in the game.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the reading and research through effective environment design methods has developed further my knowledge about how these landscape act in a way, and how level design theories can apply to them to give the players a waypoint to familiarize themselves with them, such as verticality and weenies. I’ve also learnt that worlds can leave an impact with its culture as well, leaving players wanting to explore more about them.
References:
Bellard, M. (2019) Environment Design as Spatial Cinematography: Theory and Practice [GDC Talk] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L27Qb20AYmc [Accessed 14th November 2022]
Guillon, T. (2015) Tropical Island [Artwork]. Available online: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RyeaO [Accessed 10th November 2022]
Luckhardt, S. (2020) Environmental Foreshadowing. BA thesis. University of Europe for Applied Sciences. Available online: https://www.samluckhardt.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020_ba_thesis_environmentalforeshadowing_luckhardt.pdf [Accessed 14th November 2022]
Nintendo EAD (2002) Super Mario Sunshine [Video Game] Nintendo.
Precurrent Gaming (2020) Half-Life 2: Building Tension with Verticality (Talking Topics on Game Design) [Video] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i39qnr16dEM&t=149s [Accessed 4th November 2022]
Rare (2001) Star Fox Adventures [Video Game] Nintendo.
noclip (n.d). Available online: https://noclip.website/# [Accessed 31st October 2022]
Totten, C. W. (2014) An Architectural Approach to Level Design. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis, CRC Press.
Valve (2004) Half-Life 2 [Video Game] Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/220/HalfLife_2/ [Accessed 14th November 2022]
Valve (2005) Half-Life 2: Lost Coast [Video Game] Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/340/HalfLife_2_Lost_Coast/ [Accessed 7th November 2022]
ZoomZike (2018) Super Setting Sunshine [Video] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxl6PNbmu_0 [Accessed 10th November 2022]