Elements of game design, part four: environment

So time for the final part of this blog series; environment.

So we've talked about planning, art, story and characters so what else is needed to complete a game? Environments. Games would be pretty dull if you were just running around a black background for the whole thing. Whatever genre of game you're playing, there will be an environment  and a different type depending on what game it is you're playing.

Lets take a look at how the genre of the game can affect an environment. In first person shooters such as Call of Duty there's a very realistic environment created, mostly battlefields. This is because games like CoD are meant to feel 'real', like you're actually in a war thus the realistic environments are created.

First person shooting in CoD, a typical village warzone

The Ratchet and Clank games are adventure platformer games and their environments are completely different. They are more magical, filled with things that aren't real like floating platforms and mystical creatures and this fits in with the genre of the game they are set in, the environment helps to convey the idea of more of an adventure and not a fight for survival like that of CoD.

The futuristic Metropolis of Ratchet and Clank

Environments are so important because they really set the mood for a game. Imagine playing Call of Duty in Ratchet and Clank's environment and vice versa? It would completely change everything about the game and the characters obviously wouldn't fit into the environment at all. This is why it's so important to make sure you make the right environment when you make a game because it can disrupt gameplay if it isn't right and the emotion of the game might fade.

Because of general fps being very realistic though this doesn't mean that some fps have switched it up and made a new environment for their game for example, Halo. Halo is an fps war game but it's set in space so there's anti gravity, shuttlepads for space ships and a more fantasy feel to environment yet it's still an fps game. This is because the game is written differently, it has different characters and a different story so the environment has to fit in with this, despite it being an fps. See, we can clearly see now that planning, characters, story, art and environment all tie into each other in order to make a successful game.

The more futuristic environments of Halo

So how do level designers construct and decorate the environment to assist navigation through the level? Well picking a suitable genre is one thing but staying true to the story and character is the main thing, there's no point in trying to put characters in an environment that clearly isn't made for them as the game won't flow properly, people won't be able to connect to the characters and they will feel out of place thus making the game clunky and unenjoyable, environment plays such a huge role in the experience of a game that it has to be done right. The environment will influence the atmosphere of the game again by creating a world that the characters fit into, a good experience will be where everything links together and makes sense that those characters are in that environment. There is a balance between realism and stylisation supporting the player's beliefs in the game world but as I keep saying it will depend on the game itself and the characters, if the characters fit into their world then the player will enjoy them more.

A game I really liked with a brilliant environment was the Batman game Arkham City which was set in a massive city prison in Arkham that Batman is trapped in. It is huge and surrounded by freezing water, patrolled by thugs and Batman's most well known enemies and filled with iconic places such as Penguin's Iceberg Lounge and Poison Ivy's poisonous plants. This is what makes it so much fun to play in; it's exactly where you'd expect Batman to be.

The eeriness of Arkham City

The game took a dark turn, much like some of the darker Batman comics and the environment felt so cold and cruel, it just fitted in so perfectly with the whole storyline of the game, Batman tracking down Joker before he killed everyone on the island along with the ongoing feud between his and Penguin's factions, and Hugo Strange's cruel and calculating words to Batman:

"How does it feel Wayne, to stand on the very stones that ran with your parents blood? Do you feel sad? Full of rage? Or does that outfit help bury your feelings? Hiding your true self, you're a truly extraordinary specimen  I look forward to breaking you."

This being a recording left by Strange over the spot where Bruce's parents were shot dead in crime alley whilst Bruce mourns for their lost over a single rose.

Strange's words at Crime Alley

The darkness of the story fits in so well with the decrepit environment Batman is placed in and all the characters play into the story perfectly, everything is mapped out so well, Riddler's trophies scattered around the most grotesque parts of Arkham City and Mr Freeze trapped in the iciest ruins of it, it all weaves together so well and makes for a brilliant game, all down to how well the characters fitted into their environment.

So all in all a great game will come down to environment but also how well it will intertwine with the story, art style and characters, you need all of them working together in order to create an enjoyable, believable game.


Sources:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4413/action_adventure_level_design_.ph
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6147/the_bleeding_edge_cevat_yerli_on