We have the upper Labyrinth constructed. I used a plane with a UV of my sketch as an initial guide.
I then researched how to edit UVs so that I can map paper like blades of grass to the maze walls.
The structure will be duplicated for the lower labyrinth. In the upper labyrinth the player starts out at the edge and moves towards the centre, in the bottom labyrinth the player moves from the centre to the outside where they will find the mystic tent.
This will create a nice circular story loop as the player begins their journey in a physical mystic tent (complete with real life mystic 🙂
I will then create the rhizome net maze by placing in the cross tunnels and edge borders (to prevent falling off the staircase).
We have the upper Labyrinth constructed. I used a plane with a UV of my sketch as an initial guide.
I then researched how to edit UVs so that I can map paper like blades of grass to the maze walls.
The structure will be duplicated for the lower labyrinth. In the upper labyrinth the player starts out at the edge and moves towards the centre, in the bottom labyrinth the player moves from the centre to the outside where they will find the mystic tent.
This will create a nice circular story loop as the player begins their journey in a physical mystic tent (complete with real life mystic 🙂
I will then create the rhizome net maze by placing in the cross tunnels and edge borders (to prevent falling off the staircase).
Greyboxing to test for composition and readability. Rockstar uses 3Ds Max and so I’m not certain but their previs models looked much better in that they were lit and had black outlines. I tried the toon outline material but it was pretty unreadable. As a compromise I am currently using a paper texture mapped for Mobile lit Vertex and Unlit.
I am now going to add the dark forest planar maze and complete the 3D Rhizome net maze on the spiral staircase as this will provide the opportunity to apply key theory taken from the GDC Paper.
Greyboxing to test for composition and readability. Rockstar uses 3Ds Max and so I’m not certain but their previs models looked much better in that they were lit and had black outlines. I tried the toon outline material but it was pretty unreadable. As a compromise I am currently using a paper texture mapped for Mobile lit Vertex and Unlit.
I am now going to add the dark forest planar maze and complete the 3D Rhizome net maze on the spiral staircase as this will provide the opportunity to apply key theory taken from the GDC Paper.
Wayfinding in general and particularly in VR Environments is essential in designing effective game design that delivers a satisfying and interesting user experience (whether for entertainment, arts and heritage or instruction).
This GDC paper on Environment Design as Spatial Cinematography, delivered by Miriam Bellard who currently works at Rockstar will help to inform my own environment design. Miriam has designed environments for Grand Theft Auto, King Kong and has also worked on Indie Work. The main focus is to create effective cinematic experiences by controlling the environment (because the player has control of the camera). I am interested in the ways we can do this so that I can create more effective experiences through my Environment Designs.
The paper spans the gap between film (animation) and games and so throughout the talk I was able to reference my own animation storyboarding and set design work. I was also able to refer to my ‘primal’ natural environment experiments in which I considered sign, symbols, paths, districts, sound, light as wayfinding Methods. This was informed by Barbara Tversky’s mental modelling ‘wayfinding’ theories.
When I listen to a talk I am always thinking about what I can take-away and apply to my own projects. By practically applying theory to practice (and vice-versa) my work improves. In this talk, Miriam highlights some interesting aspects of environment design that could be applied to my own project. So to break the talk down into essential chucks that are relevant to my project:
How do we design cinematic experiences by controlling the environment ?
Miriam begins with these three questions
How do we control 2D Screen ? How do we control Movement ? How do we control time ?
2D Screen
(We compose in 3D for 2D Screen)
Pre Vis – Creating white box models with clearly defined edges could be applied to my project as certain areas are brightly coloured. This could distract and conceal issues with structure and layout. Therefore looking at compositions without adding complexity could provide valuable information. I am going to add this into my design process.
Aesthetics & Functionality: Make sure the game design works for everyone – Games Design, Environment Art, Art Direction, Narration (Sound).
Choke Points – Start and end points can be composed as we know where the player is looking.
Through Routes – A/A (We decide where those choke points and through routes will be)
Previs/Final Product comparison shot – Would be good to include in the project work.
Design by moving through the space –
3D Markers – Divides the screen composition and ensures each shot has the same balance (in as much as possible).
Composition – Divide into thirds (as in Painting/Photography/Cinematography)
Tangents – Avoiding Tangents can assist in reading a scene.Eg: How a desk relates to the wall etc.
Camera Angle –
Layers – Having foreground, midground and background elements can help create a sense of visual depth and creates parallax motion. The foreground elements move faster than the background.
Repeating Elements – creates a sense of depth as the player can judge what is close to what is far away (Dougal and the cow scene of Father Ted springs to mind… I keep a plastic cow on my desk to remind me of this…)
Atmospherics – Particles atmosphere scatter the light and make far away objects appear less distinct which creates a sense of depth.
Shapes – Emotional effects such as spikey forms are dangerous (broken rocks, bones, teeth, claws) and smooth, circular forms (such as rolling hills, bushes, trees) are safe. This can create an ominous or welcoming environment. Horizontal is stable, Vertical is powerful. Textures and Shadows can create strong shapes.
Movement
(To influence the camera we have to control where the player looks and goes)
Saliency – Meaning Attention, will control where the player looks (and the camera)
Bottom Up Saliency – Contrast of Colour, Size, Shape, Orientation, Texture, Movement more likely in a relaxed mode.
Top Down Saliency – Meaningful faces, humans, task object, safety (guns) in task mode.
Heat Map – Saliency (Attention) Maps reveal where players are looking windows and doors are associated with people.
Affordances – Will control where the player goes (and where the camera goes)
Affordances – The action and object allows. A floor affords walking, a window affords looking through etc
Misperceived Affordances – Eg: A chair that looks like you can sit on it but you can’t.
Signifiers – Signal the player needs to learn to communicate affordances i.e green traffic light. Can break the 4th wall. because we talk directly to the player.
Object Affordance – The player will move towards an object to use it especially if its the only object on the scene that that player can used.
Surface affordance – Eg : Tracking visitor movement through the Tate Gallery proved that we walk towards a walkable surface. They are more likely to walk towards a longer gallery because it is the larger surface. They will not walk at the edges. This was limited as it was a simplistic bot study. Usually there would be more going on.
Reward – In Video Games exploring for rewards influences player behaviour and so they will not necessarily take the wider surface but explore down dark alley ways in search of a reward.
Prospect and Refuge – Spaces can provide an epic view or enclosed protected spaces.
Primary Prospect and Refuge – The player has a view and safety where they are right now. There is nowhere in the player could move where they would be safer or have a better view.
Secondary Prospect and Refuge – The can see somewhere in the distance, where they will have a view and safety. This will make the player move. This may be coming out of the dark wood maze into the bright welcoming space of the fairground entrance.
Wayfinding elements affect the mental map but not directly affect the way the player might go.
Landmarks (Church Spire or Mountain)
Districts (Areas with own flavour)
Paths : Linear elements that afford movement (River if on a boat, Roads if in a car)
Edges : Linear edges that prevent movement.
Nodes : Moments of decision and choice
Time
(In film controlled by camera and editing but in video games space is experienced over time)
Repetition – Faster editing can create an intense moment in a film but by repeating elements in an environment we experience a rhythm over time. So placing objects closer together can affect the intensity of the rhythm when moved past them.
Varying intensity – means changing density over space so some areas being sparser with object places farer apart will be experienced as calmer areas whereas denser areas will appear more intense.
Transitions – Cut or dissolve in film. At Disney park they create stylistic transitions between districts. This is evident in lampposts and handrails. Designing coherence between spaces can be achieved by merging styles in a space that links the two. A doorway could be a cut and a veranda between two spaces could be a disolve. This could be useful in transitioning between the dark forest maze to the fairground and could be used at the fairground entrance.
Leading Lines – Myth: The viewer does not follow the compositional line but flicks across it. This is a spatialisation of an abstract concept and is not literal. The players eyes are not moving in a line and therefore we cannot lead the player by a strong compositional line.
Lighting – Myth: Lighting does not afford saliency. That is to say that humans do not necessarily walk towards the light. For example a sunbeam lighting a pathway does not mean that we will have anything to gain from going towards the lit ground. Light can reveal spatial information that we might not be able to see and so is useful but is not leading.
Mystery – ‘Weenies’ coined by Disney in that a sausage will lead a guest around the park. They are landmarks but also have mystery. The affordance is that there is information that we can learn. If we move closer to that spot we will get a view and information.
Reflection Interestingly, Miriam contests the notion of a visual line that leads the eye through an image as well as how lighting an area will attract attention. This is something I have been testing in practice and was unsure about.
Testing the flow of visitors through the Tate Gallery as well as depicting hotspots of where an observer is moving is brilliant test methods to evaluate the effectiveness of an environment design. The concept of Lines of desire springs to mind. For example, if a university campus was designed without any paths but completely laid to grass, students would reveal their lines of desire as their footsteps would wear down the grass. In real-life, rather than use a concrete path, a student might cut across a flat, more direct route to an entrance. Thinking about this reminded me of the location I studied in the Pennines where ‘lines of desire’ were revealed by hitchhikers who strayed off the National Trusts own Stone paths to find their own way.
Action
Strip out all the colour and create a white box with black line prototype.
Construct the dark forest ‘Planar’ maze, entrance, fairground and spiral staircase ‘Rhizome’ net maze with these principles in mind.
Wayfinding in general and particularly in VR Environments is essential in designing effective game design that delivers a satisfying and interesting user experience (whether for entertainment, arts and heritage or instruction).
This GDC paper on Environment Design as Spatial Cinematography, delivered by Miriam Bellard who currently works at Rockstar will help to inform my own environment design. Miriam has designed environments for Grand Theft Auto, King Kong and has also worked on Indie Work. The main focus is to create effective cinematic experiences by controlling the environment (because the player has control of the camera). I am interested in the ways we can do this so that I can create more effective experiences through my Environment Designs.
The paper spans the gap between film (animation) and games and so throughout the talk I was able to reference my own animation storyboarding and set design work. I was also able to refer to my ‘primal’ natural environment experiments in which I considered sign, symbols, paths, districts, sound, light as wayfinding Methods. This was informed by Barbara Tversky’s mental modelling ‘wayfinding’ theories.
When I listen to a talk I am always thinking about what I can take-away and apply to my own projects. By practically applying theory to practice (and vice-versa) my work improves. In this talk, Miriam highlights some interesting aspects of environment design that could be applied to my own project. So to break the talk down into essential chucks that are relevant to my project:
How do we design cinematic experiences by controlling the environment ?
Miriam begins with these three questions
How do we control 2D Screen ? How do we control Movement ? How do we control time ?
2D Screen
(We compose in 3D for 2D Screen)
Pre Vis – Creating white box models with clearly defined edges could be applied to my project as certain areas are brightly coloured. This could distract and conceal issues with structure and layout. Therefore looking at compositions without adding complexity could provide valuable information. I am going to add this into my design process.
Aesthetics & Functionality: Make sure the game design works for everyone – Games Design, Environment Art, Art Direction, Narration (Sound).
Choke Points – Start and end points can be composed as we know where the player is looking.
Through Routes – A/A (We decide where those choke points and through routes will be)
Previs/Final Product comparison shot – Would be good to include in the project work.
Design by moving through the space –
3D Markers – Divides the screen composition and ensures each shot has the same balance (in as much as possible).
Composition – Divide into thirds (as in Painting/Photography/Cinematography)
Tangents – Avoiding Tangents can assist in reading a scene.Eg: How a desk relates to the wall etc.
Camera Angle –
Layers – Having foreground, midground and background elements can help create a sense of visual depth and creates parallax motion. The foreground elements move faster than the background.
Repeating Elements – creates a sense of depth as the player can judge what is close to what is far away (Dougal and the cow scene of Father Ted springs to mind… I keep a plastic cow on my desk to remind me of this…)
Atmospherics – Particles atmosphere scatter the light and make far away objects appear less distinct which creates a sense of depth.
Shapes – Emotional effects such as spikey forms are dangerous (broken rocks, bones, teeth, claws) and smooth, circular forms (such as rolling hills, bushes, trees) are safe. This can create an ominous or welcoming environment. Horizontal is stable, Vertical is powerful. Textures and Shadows can create strong shapes.
Movement
(To influence the camera we have to control where the player looks and goes)
Saliency – Meaning Attention, will control where the player looks (and the camera)
Bottom Up Saliency – Contrast of Colour, Size, Shape, Orientation, Texture, Movement more likely in a relaxed mode.
Top Down Saliency – Meaningful faces, humans, task object, safety (guns) in task mode.
Heat Map – Saliency (Attention) Maps reveal where players are looking windows and doors are associated with people.
Affordances – Will control where the player goes (and where the camera goes)
Affordances – The action and object allows. A floor affords walking, a window affords looking through etc
Misperceived Affordances – Eg: A chair that looks like you can sit on it but you can’t.
Signifiers – Signal the player needs to learn to communicate affordances i.e green traffic light. Can break the 4th wall. because we talk directly to the player.
Object Affordance – The player will move towards an object to use it especially if its the only object on the scene that that player can used.
Surface affordance – Eg : Tracking visitor movement through the Tate Gallery proved that we walk towards a walkable surface. They are more likely to walk towards a longer gallery because it is the larger surface. They will not walk at the edges. This was limited as it was a simplistic bot study. Usually there would be more going on.
Reward – In Video Games exploring for rewards influences player behaviour and so they will not necessarily take the wider surface but explore down dark alley ways in search of a reward.
Prospect and Refuge – Spaces can provide an epic view or enclosed protected spaces.
Primary Prospect and Refuge – The player has a view and safety where they are right now. There is nowhere in the player could move where they would be safer or have a better view.
Secondary Prospect and Refuge – The can see somewhere in the distance, where they will have a view and safety. This will make the player move. This may be coming out of the dark wood maze into the bright welcoming space of the fairground entrance.
Wayfinding elements affect the mental map but not directly affect the way the player might go.
Landmarks (Church Spire or Mountain)
Districts (Areas with own flavour)
Paths : Linear elements that afford movement (River if on a boat, Roads if in a car)
Edges : Linear edges that prevent movement.
Nodes : Moments of decision and choice
Time
(In film controlled by camera and editing but in video games space is experienced over time)
Repetition – Faster editing can create an intense moment in a film but by repeating elements in an environment we experience a rhythm over time. So placing objects closer together can affect the intensity of the rhythm when moved past them.
Varying intensity – means changing density over space so some areas being sparser with object places farer apart will be experienced as calmer areas whereas denser areas will appear more intense.
Transitions – Cut or dissolve in film. At Disney park they create stylistic transitions between districts. This is evident in lampposts and handrails. Designing coherence between spaces can be achieved by merging styles in a space that links the two. A doorway could be a cut and a veranda between two spaces could be a disolve. This could be useful in transitioning between the dark forest maze to the fairground and could be used at the fairground entrance.
Leading Lines – Myth: The viewer does not follow the compositional line but flicks across it. This is a spatialisation of an abstract concept and is not literal. The players eyes are not moving in a line and therefore we cannot lead the player by a strong compositional line.
Lighting – Myth: Lighting does not afford saliency. That is to say that humans do not necessarily walk towards the light. For example a sunbeam lighting a pathway does not mean that we will have anything to gain from going towards the lit ground. Light can reveal spatial information that we might not be able to see and so is useful but is not leading.
Mystery – ‘Weenies’ coined by Disney in that a sausage will lead a guest around the park. They are landmarks but also have mystery. The affordance is that there is information that we can learn. If we move closer to that spot we will get a view and information.
Reflection Interestingly, Miriam contests the notion of a visual line that leads the eye through an image as well as how lighting an area will attract attention. This is something I have been testing in practice and was unsure about.
Testing the flow of visitors through the Tate Gallery as well as depicting hotspots of where an observer is moving is brilliant test methods to evaluate the effectiveness of an environment design. The concept of Lines of desire springs to mind. For example, if a university campus was designed without any paths but completely laid to grass, students would reveal their lines of desire as their footsteps would wear down the grass. In real-life, rather than use a concrete path, a student might cut across a flat, more direct route to an entrance. Thinking about this reminded me of the location I studied in the Pennines where ‘lines of desire’ were revealed by hitchhikers who strayed off the National Trusts own Stone paths to find their own way.
Action
Strip out all the colour and create a white box with black line prototype.
Construct the dark forest ‘Planar’ maze, entrance, fairground and spiral staircase ‘Rhizome’ net maze with these principles in mind.
