Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

as the wrapper on a paint can. It covers the surface of the cylindrical paint can with
visual materials information.
We need to make a preliminary texture list for our cathedral example. A quick
look at the textures we might want for this area include the following:
� Stained glass windows
� Stone floor 1 and stone floor 2
� Carpeted floor
� Turret steps
� Wall 1 and wall 2
� Turret wall 1 and turret wall 2
� Turret wall trim border
� Door 1 and door 2
� Altar covering
� Organ covering
� Organ bench
� Wooden pews
� Decorative columns
These should suffice as a first-pass listing. It’s important to think of these textures
in terms of how they support and define the visual look and feel you’re trying to create
or replicate. Make sure you have as much relevant reference material as you can
gather. “It’s bumpy” or “It’s rusty” is not entirely helpful. In what way is it bumpy?
What kind of rust? A visual reference is worth 1000 words. Be prepared to show your
texture artist photographic or illustrative samples. This is why the previsualization
phase, and the organization of this visual data, can be a helpful team time-saver.
Props
C H A P T E R 1
Props are 3-D models of objects that litter or populate a 3-D environment. Each of
the physical objects you find around you in an environment are potential props in our
created environments. Tables, chairs, phone booths, trashcans, and street lamps are
all examples of props. We need to model these and include them in our environments.
Again, this is where setting a visual style in a previsualization sequence is so important.
We’re not just making any street lamp; it has to be a street lamp that complements
and supports the visual style we are working in or working for. A street lamp in
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Previsualization