Phantom fury hallwau9/1/2023 This gives a sense of place, and the impression that it’s truly lived in and not just an empty shell. A bar should have bottles and glasses, an office should have desks and chairs, and so on. Rooms couldn’t be random collections of objects. While already frustrating with mouse input, it’s even more awkward when you’re using a gamepad or keyboard-only controls (which the game also technically supports). These kinds of decisions not only make the levels feel more coherent and connected, they also affect the believability of the game environments and the gameplay itself.Īn example of this is that switches and buttons for normal progression were placed at “eye level”, the height of a centered view, so they could be easily pressed without having to do small up and down micro-actions. Sometimes as simple as “all electrical sockets should be 2048 above the floor or counter”, or as complicated as “fire extinguisher explosions should always leave wall damage”. I worked closely with Max and others to decide on things as mundane as general door size (576-1536 Build units), average hallway width (1024-2048), and the size and placement of objects. It was important to maintain consistency in all of the levels. Darker or more opaque glass blocks enemy line-of-sight and doesn’t break when hit, while clear/thin looking glass is something flimsy that could be smashed to pieces. We were less strict with consistent window appearances, but because we had both breakable and unbreakable glass, plus some glass that enemies couldn’t see through, we still had to establish a few rules. In the few exceptions distant doors could be opened by an unconnected switch when there is a security monitor nearby to see what changed. This connects them logically and mentally for the player as well, helping them feel less lost. If a door is activated by a switch or puzzle, the switch should be next to the door or connected to it visually whether by cables, pipes, lights, or otherwise. Keycard doors should be seen before the matching key (otherwise - did you really need a key instead of a puzzle/switch?), and as mentioned above are required to have a nearby color match to the key that unlocked them. A sound effect when moving is a must - the sound tells you when something has happened, including an enemy coming in the room! Those doors must be dimly shaded and have a “perma-locked sound effect” trigger added. No fake/false doors except if absolutely necessary for a convincing environment. To paraphrase a bit, doors need to be lit if they’re usable, including lighting up important doors as they unlock. Inconsistent door designs create confusion and frustration for the player, and frequently in the Build Engine also cause death! Things might get stuck on them or between them. Doors were an important early decision, as they cause changes to the environment when opening and closing. Background objects and details were kept dim by comparison.ĭoors and WindowsPresenting the Ion Fury Door Bible ! Yes, it’s true - they’ve got their own guide courtesy of Max. Right: Smooth shadows that take up lots of walls and time.)īright lights draw the eye’s attention and players will move toward them, so bright points of light and highlights were used to signal where to go next. Lighting a scene requires some forethought: in BUILD it’s all done by splitting up sectors into the right shapes with more and more walls, shading each surface by hand! We kept it high contrast, which meant it was easier to make out the “critical path” and also kept down the number of wall splits the level designers would have to create. These cues quickly create a mental map for players. Mappers were able to easily pick out colors in a scene that would subconsciously draw attention. Keeping this basic color structure lets places be more distinct, and visually clear. The only exception to this was space around keycard doors being colored like the key they require. The mapper could decide which color should be most prominent/a base, then use different contrasting and complimentary colors in important areas. Color and LightingBesides the overall theming, each area of a zone had to decide on a general color palette.
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