Building gameplay environment

Development World Creation
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1

Hello,

I’m new to the community and this is my first thread, and i apologize if i don’t respect the rules .

I started a project 3 months ago by producing the character , clothing and animations with success but when i start building environment i found myself in a loop without producing any section in the first level design plan. I’m just asking Senior Level designers here or anyone on any methodology i need to follow to succeed building an environment or any tips you use .

This is the way i work assets :

  • I build all geometry in Maya

  • I use mudbox in texturing , sculpting and normal maps generation

  • I used the BSP as basic prototyping in UE4 as mentioned in the UE4 conference about Level design but it didn’t worked for me.

    Thank you for your feedback .

Sincerely
ZEN

2

Hey Zen. Welcome to the forum!

I just have a few questions before I can give a proper answer: What exactly causes you to loop back?

Do you just feel the environments you created aren’t up to the standards you set for yourself? Are things just not getting done fast enough?

Also: Have you tried sketching out your map ideas before hand or even creating written (or typed) documentation?

~ Jason

3

Hey Jason,

Thanks for your Reply,
I sketch my idea’s, levels and i sliced the first (where i’m stuck) to sections , even the 3d elements , i put deadlines for myself and i respect the time but when i import the assets in UE4 and i start building my level every time i’m blocked . I can’t decide though for the standards i’m satisfied if i respect next gen gamers required quality.
I hope i’ve answered your questions. And thanks again

4

Alright I think I know what you’re problem is.

It can really be one of two things:

  1. You’re working a bit too hard on these levels: It happens, you may just need a few days to clear your head a bit a reevaluate exactly what it is you’re trying to do.

  2. Deep down, you don’t feel satisfied: Yeah, I know, this one sounds a bit strange, but it can easily be true. Maybe take a step back and make sure you’re working a project you really care about and have a passion for.

To add on to my second point, I’ve constantly postponed an idea I love simply because “it’s impossible” and because “I needed more skill”…

Ultimately, I wasted five years of my life because I kept trying to develop smaller games. The thing is, I didn’t have a love or passion for any of these games so when I finally got to start developing them…I always quit and went to work on another idea because I could never commit to these small

ideas because I didn’t care about them.

I’ve finally decided to just forget about the fact that I have about a 99% chance of failure and I’ve just started to go forward with the idea I love…

I couldn’t be happier. Make sure you really are doing an idea you love and you aren’t limiting yourself because you believe you can’t do something.

The pain and hardship of trying to do the impossible will be worth it when you actually complete the task (which, if you strive to do it, you will).

Sorry, I know my response got a bit out there…

~ Jason

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Thanks Jason, for sharing your experience which i’ve found very important to me , and also both advices and you are completely right about going hard on the development process .
Thank you again

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Anytime!

I’m glad I could be of help.

Good luck and let me know if you need anything else.

~ Jason