3D Environment Design. Everything you need to know

Why do the players of TES V: Skyrim and Dark Souls remember the atmosphere of these games for years but don’t really care too much about the game’s protagonist? Because these games have absolutely astonishing game worlds. The world of the game is often what players remember the most, and also it’s something that brings players back to the game, which helps to expand the game’s lifespan.

To build an attractive and atmospheric game world, the developers should be really good at all the aspects of game environment design. In this article, we will cover the general principles of 3D environment design in video games, and what specialists could help developers in this area.

What Is 3D Environment Design?

In our industry, 3D environment design is the art and science of crafting immersive, interactive worlds that serve as the backdrop for gaming experiences. This discipline involves creating digital landscapes, interiors, and exteriors that captivate players and seamlessly integrate with the game’s narrative and mechanics. It’s a holistic process that combines artistic vision, technical prowess, and an understanding of player psychology.

3D environment design is the invisible hand that guides players through a game’s world, emotions, and narrative. Enhancing immersion, emotional engagement, and gameplay integration can make a good game great. When executed on a decent level, environment design transforms games into remarkable experiences, leaving players eagerly awaiting their next journey into virtual worlds. This multifaceted discipline combines artistic creativity with technical expertise to construct immersive, visually compelling, and interactive game environments.

Who Are 3D Environment Artists?

So, what kind of professional do you need for your game to have a proper 3D environment design? Obviously, 3D environment artist! 3D Environment Artists are architects and engineers behind the world of your game. They are the visionary artists who bring virtual landscapes and settings to your game’s world.

If you are considering empowering your project with 3D environment artists, here’s a list of their skills we recommend taking a look at:

• 3D Modeling and Sculpting: Proficiency in 3D modeling tools like Blender, Maya, or ZBrush is fundamental (we will cover the required software further). Artists should excel at creating intricate, lifelike, and stylized objects and terrains and sculpting organic and hard-surface assets.
• Texture and Material Creation: Skill in creating high-quality textures and materials is crucial for visual appeal. Artists must understand PBR (Physically Based Rendering) workflows to correctly create materials that react to light.
• Understanding of Lighting and Shading: Lightning has become increasingly important with graphics technology advancements. Artists should understand how to create lighting setups and be familiar with shader systems.
• Environmental Storytelling: Good environment art can tell stories through their designs. 3D environment artists must be able to convey a sense of history, mood, and narrative through the placement of objects, environmental details, and overall composition. This is a part of the game development pipeline where 3D environment artists work closely with game designers.
• Optimization and Performance: Optimization is crucial in the era of demanding hardware. Artists must create visually stunning environments running smoothly on various platforms, balancing visual fidelity with performance considerations.
• Knowledge of Game Engines: An artist must be proficient enough in game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine to understand how to integrate assets, work with level editors, and troubleshoot technical issues.
• Collaboration and Communication: Effective communication and collaboration with other team members, such as level designers and concept artists, are essential. Artists must be adaptable and open to feedback.
• Staying Current: The gaming industry is evolving rapidly. To remain relevant, 3D environment artists should keep up with the latest tools, techniques, and industry trends. Continuous learning is vital.

What Are The Types Of 3D Environments?

3D environments come in various forms, each contributing distinctively to the player’s experience. These environments serve as the canvas upon which the game’s narrative unfolds, and they can significantly impact gameplay, mood, and immersion. Here are some general types of 3D environments commonly found in games:

Natural Landscapes: Natural environments include lush forests, serene meadows, arid deserts, and towering mountains. These environments can affect gameplay by offering challenges like navigating rough terrain or encountering wildlife.

Urban Environments: Urban settings include sprawling cities, futuristic metropolises, and quaint villages. They are the bustling hubs where players interact with NPCs, uncover secrets, and engage in quests. Urban environments impact gameplay by offering diverse opportunities for exploration, parkour, and dynamic encounters.

Interior Spaces: Interior environments range from spooky haunted houses to futuristic space stations. These spaces add depth to the game’s world and often serve as key locations for story progression. Interior spaces can influence gameplay by creating puzzles, providing cover in combat, or introducing environmental hazards.

Fantasy Realms: Fantasy environments introduce players to magical realms, from enchanting fairy forests to mystical temples. These settings allow for creative storytelling and offer opportunities for epic battles and encounters with mythical creatures.

Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian Worlds: These environments present bleak, ruined landscapes, often filled with danger and despair. They set a somber mood and impact gameplay by emphasizing survival, resource management, and decision-making.

Sci-Fi Settings: Futuristic space stations, alien planets, and high-tech laboratories fall under this category. Sci-fi environments introduce cutting-edge technology and advanced weaponry, influencing gameplay with futuristic mechanics and challenges.

How To Create 3D Environment Art? The Stages of 3D Environment Design

Creating captivating 3D environment art for games is a multi-step process that requires a combination of artistic vision, technical expertise, and a deep understanding of how narrative and mechanics should work in this particular game. Here are the key stages in creating 3D environment art:

1. Conceptualization and Design:

• Reference Gathering: Artists collect references, including photographs, paintings, and real-world locations, to inform their design and ensure authenticity.
• Concept Art: The process often begins with concept art, where artists visualize the environment’s look, feel, and key elements. These initial sketches serve as a foundation for the 3D design.

2. Blockout and Layout:

• Blockout: This stage involves creating a rough, simplified version of the 3D environment using basic shapes and geometry. It allows artists to establish scale, layout, and gameplay considerations.
• Layout Planning: Artists determine the placement of key assets, landmarks, and points of interest within the environment. They also consider player flow and level design at this stage.

3. 3D Environment Modeling:

• Low-Poly Modeling: To optimize performance, high-poly models are simplified into low-poly versions suitable for real-time rendering. Artists must maintain visual fidelity while reducing polygon count.
• High-Poly Modeling: Artists create detailed 3D models of the environment’s assets, including terrain, structures, objects, and vegetation. These models aim for realism and detail.

4. UV Mapping and Texturing:

• UV Mapping: UV maps are created to unwrap the 3D models, allowing 2D textures to be applied accurately. Proper UV mapping is crucial for texture quality.
• Texturing: Artists apply textures to 3D models, including diffuse, normal, specular, and other maps. Textures bring life and detail to the environment.

5. Material Creation:

• Shader Development: Artists create shaders to define how materials react to lighting and other environmental factors. Shaders play a significant role in achieving realistic visuals.

6. Lighting and Atmosphere:

• Lighting Setup: Artists design the lighting environment, including natural and artificial sources. They carefully consider how light interacts with materials to create realistic and dynamic scenes.
• Atmosphere and Effects: Environmental effects like fog, particles, and post-processing effects are added to enhance the atmosphere and mood.

7. Testing and Iteration:

• 3D Environment Artists test the environment in the game engine to ensure it performs well and aligns with the intended player experience. Iterations are made to address issues and enhance the environment’s quality.

8. Finalization:

• Once satisfied with the result, artists finalize the environment, ensuring all assets are properly placed, optimized, and integrated into the game.

Creating 3D environment art is a collaborative process that involves close communication with other team members, including level designers, writers, and animators, to ensure a cohesive and engaging gaming experience.

What Software Is Needed For 3D Environment Design?

Creating 3D environment art for games requires a suite of specialized software tools catering to different design process aspects. Here’s a list of essential software used by environment artists, along with how each tool is utilized:

Blender:

Modeling and Sculpting: Blender is a versatile open-source software that environment artists use for 3D modeling and sculpting. Creating 3D environments in Blender is a great idea for a wide range of assets, from terrain to intricate objects.

Autodesk Maya:

Animation and Rigging: While primarily known for animation, Maya is also valuable for environment artists. They use it for rigging and animating environmental assets, such as moving vegetation or dynamic objects.

ZBrush:

High-Poly Modeling: ZBrush excels in high-poly modeling and sculpting. Environment artists rely on it to create intricate, detailed assets like character models, statues, or terrain details.

Unity:

Game Engine: Unity is a popular game engine for real-time rendering and development. Environment artists import their 3D assets into Unity, where they set up scenes, apply materials, and create interactive environments.

Unreal Engine:

Game Engine: Similar to Unity, Unreal Engine is another widely used game engine. Environment artists utilize it to build, light, and optimize game environments, using its advanced rendering capabilities.

Autodesk 3ds Max:

Modeling and Visualization: 3ds Max is a powerful 3D modeling and visualization tool. It’s used by environment artists for architectural modeling, interior design, and creating complex objects or structures.

Substance Designer:

Texture Creation: Substance Designer is a dedicated software for procedural texture creation. Environment artists use it to design and edit textures for 3D models, ensuring high-quality, realistic surfaces.

Substance Painter:

Texture Painting: Substance Painter is another tool for texture creation, focusing on texturing 3D models with precision. Artists use it for detailing and adding intricate textures to game assets.

World Machine:

Terrain Generation: World Machine specializes in generating realistic terrains. Environment artists employ it to craft diverse and natural landscapes with realistic erosion and terrain features.

Houdini:

Procedural Generation: Houdini is renowned for its procedural capabilities. Environment artists use it to generate complex, dynamic environments and effects, such as terrain deformation and destruction.

SpeedTree:

Vegetation Creation: SpeedTree is used for creating realistic trees and vegetation. Environment artists design custom foliage for their game environments, enhancing realism and variety.

Photoshop:

Texture Editing: Photoshop is indispensable for texture editing and compositing. Artists refine and enhance textures, create normal maps, and design texture variations.

Marmoset Toolbag:

Real-Time Rendering: Marmoset Toolbag is a real-time rendering and presentation tool. Artists use it to showcase their 3D environments in high-quality, real-time renders for portfolio or feedback purposes.

Environment artists often use a combination of these software tools, depending on their specific project requirements and personal preferences. Familiarity with multiple tools allows 3D Environment Artists to create environments that are not only visually attractive but also seamlessly integrated into the gaming experience.

The Challenges of Designing 3D Environments

Designing 3D environments for games is a rewarding but complex endeavor with its own challenges. For example:

1. Performance Optimization: Balancing visual fidelity with performance is a constant challenge. High-quality 3D environments can be resource-intensive, and artists must optimize assets, textures, and shaders to ensure the game runs smoothly on various platforms.
2. Consistency: Maintaining visual consistency across an entire game world can be difficult, especially when multiple artists work on different assets. Ensuring that the art style, lighting, and textures remain cohesive is essential for immersion.
3. Asset Creation: Creating detailed 3D models and textures for a vast environment is time-consuming. Artists must manage their time effectively and prioritize assets to meet project deadlines.
4. Realism vs. Artistry: Striking the right balance between realism and artistic expression is challenging. While realism can enhance immersion, too much realism may limit creative freedom. Artists must make decisions that align with the game’s vision.
5. Scale and Proportion: Properly conveying the scale of an environment can be tricky. Designing spaces that feel vast or intimate, as required by the game’s narrative, is important but challenging to achieve.
6. Storytelling Through Design: Environment artists often need to tell stories through their designs. Ensuring that environmental elements convey meaning and narrative without overwhelming the player can be delicate.
7. Technical Constraints: Staying up-to-date with the latest software, hardware, and rendering technologies is demanding. Artists must adapt to new tools and workflows to remain competitive.
8. Interactivity: Designing environments that respond to player actions and fit within the game’s mechanics can be complex. Artists need to consider how the environment will impact gameplay and player engagement.
9. User Interface Integration: Ensuring that the 3D environment seamlessly integrates with the game’s UI can be challenging. Elements like HUDs, menus, and interactive elements must be designed to complement the environment.
10. Environmental Effects: Implementing dynamic environmental effects like weather, day-night cycles, and destruction can be technically demanding. Artists need to ensure these effects enhance gameplay without causing performance issues.
11. Narrative Alignment: Ensuring that the environment aligns with the game’s narrative and world-building is critical. Artists must constantly reference the game’s lore and storyboards to maintain consistency.
12. Cross-Platform Compatibility: Games are often developed for multiple platforms with varying hardware capabilities. Artists must account for these differences and create environments that perform well on all platforms.

The bottom line

Navigating the 3D environment design challenges requires a blend of artistic expertise, technical acumen, and adaptability. Successful environment artists are adept at finding creative solutions while maintaining a strong commitment to the game’s vision. Overcoming these obstacles results in immersive and visually stunning game worlds that leave a lasting impact on players. Drop us a line if you need any kind of assistance with the 3D environment art for your game