Stranded Factory Visual Notes
Visuals in Stranded Factory were used to make the environment appealing, immerse players into the level, and tell a story.
Propping the Environment
With Gears of War being a cover-based shooter, the placement of medium and large props could easily alter how the level is played. Objects such as crates and shelves determined the paths through the environment and the location of cover zones. Careful consideration was exercised for how objects appeared aesthetically and affected gameplay. (See details on Flow Notes)
The placement of small props added another layer of visual interest by making the level appear more realistic and believable. It was these level visuals that allowed players to fully immerse themselves inside of a factory themed level.
Level Theme/Mood
Stranded Factory's level theme served the purpose of making players believe that they were inside a factory environment. If anything in the level appeared or felt out of place, then it risked breaking the player's immersion.
The level theme also resembled a factory that had been suddenly abandoned by its workers and then re-inhabited by human refugees. The level mood was created to feel like a large dingy industrial space that has been converted into a defensive refugee base.
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The service hallway, at the beginning of the level, also had a theme of abandonment and neglect that could be seen in the environment's visuals.
A mood of creepy isolation was created when players had to run in silence down a cramped and moderately lit hallway alone. The hanging lamps casting an isolated circle of light surrounded by shadow further complimented the service hallway's mood.
(See details on Lighting Notes) |
Storytelling
The story of Stranded Factory begins when locusts attack a nearby city and all factory workers flee in horror. After the locusts invade the city human refugees, known as stranded in the game, begin residing in the factory. Overtime more and more Stranded find shelter in the factory which gradually turns it into a defensive fortification. When the locusts declare the factory a threat they decide to launch a full scale assault on the factory's residence. The player controlled character Marcus Fenix is near the factory just before the attack happens and he decides to help the stranded fight back the waves of locusts.
First I informed the player of how this space was once a fully operational factory with the placement of objects like large machines, mechanical parts, barrels and crates. The trash, newspapers, oil puddles and destroyed pallets tell the darker story of how the factory became suddenly abandoned and neglected.
First I informed the player of how this space was once a fully operational factory with the placement of objects like large machines, mechanical parts, barrels and crates. The trash, newspapers, oil puddles and destroyed pallets tell the darker story of how the factory became suddenly abandoned and neglected.
Adding such objects as a refrigerator, shaving cream bottles, cereal boxes and a small pickup truck was designed to show how the stranded turned the factory into their personal dwelling. The metal panels on the second floor railing and sandbags along the second floor walkways give insight into how the factory was fortified to repel an attack.