Mining Site OSL57 Visual Notes
Telling a Backstory
Mining Site OSL57 has a back-story that explains how a mining station came to be inside a natural crater. I used the level's visuals as my primary tool for relaying this back-story as players ran through the environment.
Industrial themed props were placed to hint at the lucrative mining operations happening within this natural crater. Rock and vegetation meshes give insight into how nature overtook this crater which resulted from a meteor impact. The gun emplacements and space ships communicates the recent battles waged over this mining station.
Level Theme and Mood
Creating the mining station's industrial theme included placing various assets like heavy machinery, pipes, metal racks and grated floors. Strong tiled textures and metal trim enhanced the main platform's industrial appearance.
In stark contrast, the nature assets were used to create the mining station's surrounding environment. Rock cliffs, ferns, bushes, trees and a lake all worked to oppose the heavy grade industrial theme. The terrain was mostly painted with grass and dirt textures while sand textures were painted near water to create beaches.
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Throughout the level players can find where the two contrasting visual themes are intermingling with one another. Several non-playable areas have clusters of industrial objects appearing to be trapped within a natural setting.
Propping the Environment
Over the course of finishing Mining Site OSL57 props gradually replaced BSP brushes to make platforms and bridges appear less boxy.
Props were then placed as decorative objects to give the level more visual appeal and add a sense of realism. They also served the purpose of adding cover, creating hidden areas and breaking up the line of sight across the entire level. (See details on Flow Notes)
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