Initial Brief

Below is an extended version of the project specification for this module. Several changes have been made since.

Due to me being ill, this brief is late. I apologize profusely for the inconvenience. Sadly, in our time, illnesses like pneumonia still have the audacity to not have a comprehensive scheduling system. You would think that in the age of advanced computing and nanotechnology, humanity would be beyond such inconveniences. This is all beside the point, however.

Pre-Production Concept: Necropolis Level

After a lot of deliberation, I have finally settled on an idea.

The aim of this project for this module will be to outline the design, aims, and creation process of an environment that will go into a game project. This will be a single level that I will design from scratch in an environment artist's perspective. Major points that will be covered will include the overall design aims, atmosphere, creation process, origin, architectural elements of the level itself, as well as the overall creation process within the engine. The research that will be involved will have to do with Soviet building techniques in the Kruschev era, how they have been adapted to simplify the creation of the level, the layout of a hospital, and how other games achieve an unsettling atmosphere (Cryostasis, STALKER, Silent Hill 2, Dead Space, Deadlight)

This project in this module will include the following:

• Introduction and Shortened Backstory - Concept of the Project (What the Level in the Game will be)
• Soviet Architecture - History and How it Ties In (research hospital layout, give background on Soviet style building technique and how it's adapted to fit another world)
• Level Outline - Concepts, Art, Level Map
• Modularity and Level Construction- How the Level Will be Created in the Engine (talk about techniques learned in past project and how they are relevant)
• Challenges - Stairs, Collision, Making it Real (look at how other games did it and what is impossible for one person to do)
• Things I Need to Learn in the Engine - fog/mist/smoke, flickering flames, decals, ambient noises, transparent glass
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

This project for this module with not go into detail of the background story of the game project in which this level is set. This project deals with only the level itself, as will the final Master's project this current one is attempting to support. A few character, narrative, and item-related concept might be included for perspective and to support the visualization of this level, but they will not be the main focus, as this is an environment-centered project, both for this module and the Master's project. The challenge will be to keep this on a scale achievable for one artist, as the amount of work that goes into creating one complete level is usually distributed amoung several individuals due to the amount of assets and props required to be strewn about the level for believability.