Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

Building Game Worlds
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U L T I M A T E G A M E D E S I G N
FIGURE 2-7
Our mesh created from contour lines
low you to stamp or “instance” objects all over your map or level. This is where the
modularity and prefabrication planning really delivers.
Think of a file reference button as a cookie cutter that lets you stamp pieces all
over your map the way you would stamp cookie patterns into cookie dough. Once
you stamp the cookie dough, you’re committed. Once you stamp a model on your
map, however, you have the freedom to move it. Oh, the beauty of digital tools!
For example, you might want to place a group of towers or satellite dishes onto
one section of your map, and then place bridge pieces and rock walls onto another.
This is accomplished by file referencing.
Suppose you’ve built an archway piece that will be used repeatedly throughout your
level. We already know that smart asset design affords maximum reuse. We are always
striving to get the most out of every asset created. You may create a placeholder archway
piece while the final or “in-game” version of the archway piece model is being
completed by a 3-D artist.
For our purposes, let’s assume that you have the final archway piece ready to use.
Once you have created a file reference button called “archway” that is associated with