Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

substantial reference points. Not all of them are visual. Some are conceptual. Some
are concrete game devices that have worked to great effect in other games.
As an example of a drawing that could be used as reference material, consider Figure
1-1, which shows The Mole of Hadrian (from “Antichita Romane”) by Giovanni
Piranesi (1720-1778). Hopefully, you can see immediately how such a drawing could
influence environmental construction, mood, texturing, and lighting. Not bad for
one drawing. You wouldn’t necessarily try to replicate the look and feel of the drawing—although
you might be tempted. Better still, it would stand as a great reference
point and starting point for developing the visual style for the parts or whole of a
game—a springboard for visual ideas with a common starting point. This is the critical
point in using environmental references and sketches to support your regularly
rushed previsualization phase.
Architecture for Game Levels
Game worlds offer definite freedom in architecture. It is a “controlled” kind of freedom
because as you are building up game environments, you must constantly weigh
options and make trade-offs. For example, you might want certain physical features
and complexities that would look wonderful to the player, but those same features
FIGURE 1-1
Piranesi’s The Mole of Hadrian
C H A P T E R 1
5
Previsualization