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Through the Forest

Development Info

Engine: Unreal Engine 4

Dev Time: 2 Weeks

Design Goals

  • Create a visually beautiful and semi-fantastical walking simulation that focuses on world building.

The Inspiration

I decided to create this project because as someone from the desert, I found walking through the forest to be something almost otherworldly feeling. This feeling is what I wanted to get across to players as they see the boy first enter the forest. 

I am aware however that some do not find simply walking in a forest magical, so I added some elements that made the experience somewhat of a mystery. That is where the idea of a hidden carnival comes in. One you can only find if you are lost. 

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I looked to games and films that had similar ideas such as "The Darkmoon Faire" in World of Warcraft as well as drew on the mystical wonder of childhood from Pan's Labyrinth.

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ForestEnd1.png
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The Enviroment

I kept three key things in mind when creating the player space. 

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First, I wanted the player to feel lost and as if this forest could swallow them up. In order to achieve this I designed the landscape to be higher around the player and placed towering trees leaning in toward the critical path. I did have a little trouble keeping the play space in scope when trying to keep the forest feeling expansive. I did end up shrinking the space as well as blocking off the player from certain areas and just used a lot of the map for assets to build out the forest.

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Second, I wanted the aesthetics to be visually striking. The assets I used were all free on the Epic Marketplace. There was a mix of different sets that I used so had to make sure that they all fit together well. I achieved this mostly with lightning which gave everything a similar tone in texture and quality.

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Last, I wanted the sense of childlike wonderment and curiosity to be at the forefront of people's minds. Even though the player doesn't know quite where they are, they still are enjoying themselves in the experience. I added some wildlife to keep the player feeling at ease and not completely alone. 

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Critical Path

The player starts their journey in a cave that blocks off the view of exactly where the player is. This is meant to put players a bit on edge but more so to invoke curiosity rather than fear.

 

As they move onward, they begin to notice something odd. There are fairy lights and pennants hanging from the trees and rocks ahead. This leads the player out of the cave into the start of the forest at the top of a hill. From this vantage players can glimpse through the trees an old carnival tent. This is the second odd visual after the lights and pennants. 

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As player move forward a fox is triggered to run out from behind a tree and leads the player through the forest. This along with the lights are meant to lead the player in the intended direction.

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The next location indicator on what direction to go is the Ferris Wheel and Fireworks now visible through the trees.

 

As the player catches up with the fox down the hill they find themselves in a small clearing with a few other carnival tents and the fox they had been following. The fox stops and seems to look in the direction of a spiraling portal. It is here that the player sees a portal to what seems to be the elusive Ferris wheel they had been able to see throughout the level. 

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To end the experience, players move through the portal and the world fades to white.

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ForestOverheadKEY.jpg

Level End

Level Start

Player Path

Key Moment

Lighting and Atmosphere

Contrast was one of the top aspects of my level's aesthetics that I really tried to exemplify. The first example is the most obvious which is the nature of the forest mixed and in contrast with the man made carnival assets. 

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Seeing these two types of objects occupying the same space creates some dissonance in the brain where we know they don't show up together in the real world. This much nature is only seen around man made structures when they are abandoned. However this place seems to be alive.

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Another element of contrast was with the lighting of the scene. Cool vs warm tones as well as light vs darkness.  Warm tones such as the fairy lights are there to guide the player whereas areas with cool blue tones are areas not on the critical path.

 

 

ForestLightShafts.png

Post-Mortem

Challenges

  1. Lighting a nighttime level while still showcasing the surrounding environment.

Solutions

  1. Used warm light to guide the player to look in the direction I wanted them to go and see the things I wanted them to see.

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