Since I want to make an environment for my final major project, I decided to look into different games with environments in the Sci-Fi genre, relating to the type of environment I am planning to make. I will also be looking into the different mechanics and how they will be working however, the mechanics won’t be my main priority as I will mainly be focusing on the environments.
ENVIRONMENT
The first two mood-boards I created were focusing on the look of the space station I wanted to create for my environment. The first mood-board is a selection of different space stations from games and real life. I highlighted why I selected each one, helping me get an understanding of how to style my space station environments exterior (that’s if I don’t focus on the interior). The Second mood-board is focusing on the style of the interior. I got images from the exact same games/(real life) I chose for the exterior of the space station. I did this so that the style wouldn’t be inconsistent and random. I also highlighted why I chose each image for the second mood-board as well.
After creating these mood-boards relating to the style of the space station in my environment, I went to get opinions from my peers. These questions are asking the player which theme would be more ideal for my environment. As you can see on the survey from 9 results, the highest rated result was the industrial theme. This helped me get the idea to focus on the industrial style, rather than the other styles.
After I had finished the mood-board and survey for the exterior and interior of my space station environment, I decided to create a mood-board relating to the skybox of my environment, as that would be an important aspect in a space related environment. As you an see from the mood-board I chose 3 different options for the skybox of my final major project. These 3 different options being, Empty, Colourful and Not empty (has planets and asteroids around the skybox).
After creating the mood-board I decided to do a survey asking my peers which type of skybox would match my environment. I managed to get 5 responses from my peers and as you can see from the results, they mostly thought that an empty space skybox with stars would fit my environment. I honestly agree with this statement, as I was hoping to make my environment look abandoned, so it would make sense that it was in the middle of no where.
ASSET IDEAS
Container
One of the assets that I plan on making for my environment is a container, as I want the environment to feel like an industrial space station similar to Dead Space. Containers are usually an asset that adds to the industrial feel of an environment. Although I chose multiple different containers, I plan on making a futuristic abandoned container because in my free time I created a prototype of what the asset may look like.
Crate
Another asset I plan on making for the environment is a crate, I want to add this asset into my final major project for the same reason as the container. (Wanting the environment to feel industrial). As you can see on the mood-board I looked into two types of crate shapes for assets. I plan on making both a rectangular crate, and a classic cube crate, both with the industrial style matching my container model.
Monitor
Air Vent
MODULAR ASSETS
Wall + Floor
I decided to make a mood-board for two of my modular assets, these assets being the walls and floors for my environment. I decided to get pictures of sci-fi corridors from different games. I looked into two types of corridors, which are keyed on the side of the mood-board. I looked for industrial and sleek corridors to help me get an understanding/inspiration of how to create my modular wall and floor assets. I followed this same method with the mood-boards for my other modular assets.
Pipe
MECHANIC
For the final mood-board I decided to make for my research, I focused on the two mechanics I would want to implement into my environment if I managed to finish it with time left to spare. I got images from the games the mechanics mainly related to, these games being Portal and Half-Life 2 however, I also got inspiration from the game splitgate which takes the portal mechanic and uses it in a unique way. (Which is how I would want to implement the portal mechanic into my own game/environment).
After creating the mood-board for the mechanics, I decided to do what I did with the other mood-board. That being, creating a survey to get the opinions from my peers about which mechanic sounds better/which one would suit my environment more. As you can see from the results, not as many people voted on this survey compared to the previous one to do with the style of the environment space station. Luckily, it still gave me an understanding that people would prefer a Gravity Gun mechanic over a Portal Gun mechanic.
Game Design 