🟧Blockout

BEGINNERS

Try to add a little variation in the height of your world and don't be afraid to delete blocks to make the base of your world smaller if it helps you finish by a deadline.

2. CREATIVE CONCEPT

Mission 1

DEFINE ENTRIES & EXITS

For every playspace planned, how will players enter and exit those spaces for the visual impact needed (hallways, doors, teleporting, etc)? Create a sketch for each playspace with entries and exits marked.

How will those spaces be connected to each other? What will the player see while moving through these transitions? How can you improve transitions for the best aesthethics and feel?

Mission 2

SKETCH & BUILD A MINI BASEMAP

LEVERAGE VERTICAL SPACE

Think outside the box to use as much space as possible to add more gameplay.

Arrange sketches from Mission 1 with gameplay areas in sequence (if gameplay is linear). Visualise how play in each area will be connected to others.

Create a Rough Basemap. VoxEdit is an excellent tool to build a scale map of your Experience (1 voxel : 1 block) to guide the next step of greyboxing because you can select and move voxels. In Game Maker, you can not move blocks, and it's much easier to work on a smaller scale.

Mission 3

BEGIN GREYBOXING

Use your rough basemap as a guide to create the basic 3D shape of your Experience with blocks only. For now, stick with very basic colours or simply grey. See Greyboxing.

3. ALPHA PRODUCTION

Mission 4

ADD LARGE ASSETS

Place the largest assets that will frame out gameplay spaces visually or provide access to other areas. Modify blocks if needed to fit these pieces.

TEST

Press TAB to explore the whole Experience to ensure:

• Gameplay areas provide enough space for player interactions with objects

• Entries and exits of gameplay areas align naturally

• Entries and exits align to your visual hierarchy

Modify as needed.

Mission 5

ADD VISUAL EMPHASIS/TEXTURE

Begin adding colour and texture blocks with variation without pattern, avoiding overuse of texture and conflicting textures. Create paths to guide players through gameplay areas and stay focused. See Blockout Aesthetics.

TEST

Press TAB to enter play mode and test how the world will feel for the player. Do the colours and patterns used in your blockout help them stay on the right track? Do they help players find surprises? Is it comfortable for the eyes?