3D Level Construction in 6 Steps ![Rated Excellent [5 out of 5].](/community/Themes/default/images/Star5.gif)
There are numerous approaches to designing levels for 3D games, it
really depends on the game itself as to what approach is best. The steps I will be discussing won't apply to all games, but they are fairly good as a general proccess.
The game I am building is called Kumari Kandum. To play this game, the player must move
their avatar left or right and fire crystals into chains of colored
crystals in order to match three or more of the same color. There are
various power ups that help the player by slowing down the progression
of the chain, or removing crystals, etc. The path the
crystal chains follow is determined by the design of the track they run
on. In Kumari, tracks can be flat, sloped, overlapping or any
combination there of. The players view is up and behind their
avatar on about a 35 degree angle. This means their view of the track and crystals can also obstructed based on
the level design. It's also possible to place objects in such a way as to interfere with
players shots.
Kumari has many levels, but every four or so, the player will encounter a "boss" style level which will utilize
one or more nasty tricks to make the level harder - such as a
track that will cause chains to obstruct the shots on other chains in several places, sloping of
the track, faster crystals and/or animated objects that will block shots from the player if
their shots are timed poorly. The level I am documenting is one of these
"boss" style levels that I have titled "
Critical Eyes".
Step 1: Sketch out your ideas
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I start
by sketching some ideas
on my Wacom Graphire
drawing tablet. Drawing on paper with rulers and scanning is
probably more precise, but I like to do it by hand. It
doesn't need to be perfect because it's never going to make it into the
game in any form. Concept art is a throwaway asset, but it's very
important in the process.
I draw the image very wide because Kumari scrolls left or right as the
player moves their avatar. In game, they will only see a
portion of the width at any given time.
During this phase, I may go through a few drawings before
selecting
something to build out. In this case, I was happy with the
first
sketch.
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Step 2: Consider Lighting
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I will use this image as an overlay in my final concept art.
The lighting will effect the colors and make it easier to see
what the true color of my 2D textures should be and which surfaces
should have specular reflection.
It will also maintain the details regardless of what I do in the final concept illustration. This is nice to have during the modeling.
The image was created with varying levels of black
and white in conjunction with the burn and dodge tools, from the line
art sketch. |
Step 3: The Final Concept Image
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The last bit of 2D
work I will be doing for a while is the finishing of the concept art
for this level.
This image serves several key purposes; it allows me to determine a
general color scheme, it defines what 2D textures I will have to build
later and it gives me a much better sense of what the finished level should look like.
It's also a good time to determine what additional little details you are going to want. You may notice that I changed the center of the image. I
didn't like the pillar there. I am not certain I like it at
the back wall either, but I am willing to see how it looks in the
actual level once built.
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Step 4: Scale is Critical
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Scale is critical
in designing a 3D environment. Probably more so in Kumari
simply because the player drags the mouse left or right to cross the
level. If the level was to large, the player would have to
drag their mouse over a large area.
To solve this, I ruff out the basic level and test it in game comparing
it to my concept sketches, then fix as necessary, rinse and repeat.
It won't match perfectly, but it should be close when done.
Trial and error is a big part of the process, but it does become more
scientific as you become experienced building levels.
For example, you can use the grid lines of your modeling tool
to assist you. For Kumari, I wrote down the key indicators in grid lengths, such as
maximum length and width of the level, and track width. I use them with
each level.
Another tip for determining scale that I do, is bring
in some previously created assets. In this case, I
brought in some items from a previous boss level, including
the entire track (visible on the right side of the first image).
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Step 5: Modeling
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After you're happy
with your basic scale, it's time to get down and dirty with your
modeling tool. I am using Blender. It's a great
open source modeler that has more then enough tools for what I am doing here.
As I did with scale, at this point I am continuously going back and forth between
Blender and the game to make sure I am creating a fairly accurate
representation. I'm also checking for any mistakes such as gaps or
flawed surfaces.
I monitor the game FPS to
make sure that I am not pushing the geometry to much. I
generally want the level to run at 200FPS in windowed mode at this
stage. Once textured and the level is being
played in game, it will drop by another 50-75 FPS on
my computer.
I don't texture the level until it's completely built. It's a
personal choice, but I recommend it because you may choose to drop
items, add in new things, or change the the size or
shape of objects. Making textures that you end up throwing away
is a waste of time.
The colors in this image don't really mean anything to the final level,
but they allow me to distinctly see the different assets that will need
to be textured.
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Step 6: Finishing Up
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You will notice I
have made several changes from the concept image.
- I felt the silver was to much in game, so I toned
it down with some brown.
- I decided to make the purple balls glow with
a swirling animated texture.
- I added a texture to the back wall because I felt it
was to flat looking.
- I made the path slightly brighter then the concept.
- I ditched that pillar on the wall and used a fire
cauldron I created for another boss level. I consider reusing
assets fine as long as it's done sparingly or for the purpose of
tying together levels.
Finishing the level involved several steps:
- Creating
textures for all the levels surfaces. Skinning 3D surfaces is an art in
itself, but basically it involves allot of work spread between the
modeling tool and your favorite image painting
software.
- Adding in the path tracks for the crystals.
- Placing
the Power Gems (collect 20 to get a free man). A power up of
sorts that
appears randomly in the game when the player makes a match.
- Coding for the red balls in the center.
They move up and down at different rates to block the players
shots on the back track.
- LOTS of play testing and tweaking.
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There you have it - the six steps of a Kumari Kandum level. I hope you
found this educational or picked up a tip or two to use in your own 3D games.
-Vorax