Development of Game World Environment

A location in a game world will be alive and much more believable if it interacts with the world environment. Taking reference from real world location helps to build both location and narrative in a game.

A Building In SS15

• A building (pasar/market) in SS15. By itself, it doesn’t tell much about its uniqueness. It has the design of Malay House (roof), just like any other Malay buildings in Malaysia. However, its environment causes it to stand out. None of its surrounding buildings have the same design (Malay House) and most of them are connected like a terrace. Besides, this building is one of the largest/spacious buildings in the area.
• From these features, in a game world, an important location such as a temple in a religious town, can be emphasized through the referred environment of the building mentioned. A unique architecture in comparison to the environment and visually isolated by its environment stress its important role in a game world.

A Village In Vernazza

The pictures above are taken from Google Image.

• They are taken from different angles. It is a seaside village/town called Vernazza in Italy. The flora of this particular environment is characterized by plants like the sea fennel, the sea groundsel, the two-coloured groundsel, the rue and other typical species of the maquis. Throughout the territory bushes like rosemary, thyme and lavender grow, strawberry-tree and juniper. In Vernazza it is also possible to see a great number of Indian fig plants (third picture) . It is also a good habitat for numerous animal species, like the herring gull, the peregrine and the raven, dormouse, weasel, mole, beech-marten, badger, fox and wild boar. (Source)
• Disaster in Vernazza: In Vernazza, the streets are narrow and the cliffs around the town are vertical. When there is heavy rain, part of the mountain collapses and like a dirt tsunami, sweeping up everything with the rush of flowing water, rocks and mud. (Source01 , Source02)
• In a game world, Vernazza’s environment can be used as a reference. Due to its environment, a self-sustaining seaside village contains rare resources (plants and animals) players can loot/collect. Besides its own culture, the environment of the seaside village can be used to advance gameplay/story in a game. For example, when the player reaches the village, the villagers are facing a great danger as the rain is waking up the monster in the mountain.

A Temple In China

Images taken from Google Image. Google Street View

• First picture is Hanging Temple in China, and the second picture is a dam and river beneath it. It is not built in a cave but the walls are built onto the cliff to support the structure. (Source) It is located in a canyon.
• In a game world, it is normal to have mountains or buildings/temples. With the environment of Hanging Temple as reference, a building that is built onto the cliff will emphasize its important role in the world. Its fascinating architecture blends in with the environment/cliff and becomes a part of the canyon. The hanging building in this environment creates a sense of danger, mystery, and ancient. Players may be amazed by it especially when they are viewing the environment and the building itself from bottom to top (in the canyon – like in Google Street View), thus, they are likely to reschedule their journey for visit the dam, the river end, and the hanging building.