How did I deal with…?

Level Layout for Video Game

The goal of this project is prototyping a video game from scratch. The game bases on a player character in the 3rd person and one prototype level. Gameplay and interaction in the prototype are the same for all levels.
This is what this level looks like in real time (Unreal Engine, no UVW or textures):

The solution I'm developing consists of:

If you want to know more about modeling for environment, architecture, and props, click on these case study links:

Modeling Exterior Env.

Modeling exterior environment for render time by drawing CAD floor plans and elevations, extruding quads in Maya.

Modeling Arch. Interior

Modeling architectonic interior, drawing CAD floor plan and elevations, modeling rooms and furniture using quad extrusions and NURBS in Maya.

Modeling Level Geometry

Modeling real time level geometry using CAD floor plans and elevations, blocking out meshes and adding details in 3D Studio Max with booleans and stacks.

Modeling XReality Prop

Modeling prop glasses assets for an augmented reality app. 3D scanning, adding retopology with Quad Draw in Maya, and setting up with Python tool.

Modeling Prop

Modeling a prop hand grenade asset through references, templates, schematics, modular polygons & UVW in Maya. Sculpting detail in ZBrush.

Doing research

The first step is doing a research pass. According to the game documentation, each level has to show a specific architectonic style. For this specific level, I'm getting my inspiration from the ancient Persian architecture, where the bazaar plays an important role in the urban layout:

Drawing a layout

As you can see, I'm anticipating interaction between player character, environment and crowd (I'm driving the NPCs with an artificial intelligence engine). I have to know what places my character can access and what cannot, what buildings can she go into, etc.
These are some of the floor plans and elevations for this level:

Modeling placeholders

I'm making placeholders for the buildings and the ground. When ready, I'm importing the simple geometry into the level, and letting my 3rd person character interact with them:

Adjusting sizes

Thanks to these tests, I'm now in the position to determine the fittest sizes and proportions for my buildings. Here you can see a comparison between placeholders and geometry with a 1st detail pass in 3D Studio Max:

Modeling details

When ready, I'm importing the finished geometry into Unreal Engine using Datasmith.
For more information about environment pre‑production, visual development and Concept for 3D, click on the following workflow breakdown links:

Guidelines for Real Time

Establishing guidelines for a real time 3D production pipeline. Research, One Page Design, developing environment, characters and programming interaction.

Developing 3D Pipeline

Writing a 3D production pipeline for render time using pre-production, production, and post-production, including modeling, VFX, and compositing.