Environment Choices

The player is able to experience the following environments,

• Medieval period tower dungeon
• Secret underground military facility (sewer-like design)
• High tech laboratory

Dungeon Environment

Dungeons had a dim and chilly atmosphere. The lights used were fire torches that lined on the walls with some distance apart from each other. Prisons may also have existed to lock up prisoners. There may be a cemetery where all dead bodies are thrown and decayed as skeletons.

However, there could be parts of the dungeon where there were no light. It could also be flooded in certain areas where there were leaks.

Gaps of light could also enter from the ceiling as a dungeon may not necessarily be located underground. Streams of light from the sun rays can be seen as dust particles reflect light. Refracted light from the ground or wall surface of the dungeons would show the realism of the granular materials used to built the dungeon.

Dungeons are things of the past and mostly used to portray the ancient times in the medieval ages where kings and knights existed. Dungeons and magic are usually portrayed together in movies and stories today and are a form of imaginary entertainment. Myths and folklore about the dungeons are spread throughout history and replayed as fantasies even today shows how interesting dungeons are to the community.

Facility Environment

Facility environments differ from one another depending on its purpose. Types of Facilities includes, Military, Education, Research, Government, Training, Manufacturing, Sports etc.

High-Tech Facilities may look high-tech today would not be high-tech in the future as no one can predict the future accurately. Trains could travel faster, system processes might be more complex and machines would be more efficient.

Computers are a common thing nowadays and would be in the future too. Server rooms would get bigger to store huge amounts of data and networks would get incredibly efficient and intelligent.

Old equipments may also exist in the future as they are still useful and the company might not get newer ones as they are too costly. However, there might be a labratory full of old equipments separated from another room full of new equipments.

Lectures or conference rooms are useful to disseminate updated information to large groups of people in one go to save time. A computer, multiple projectors and Av system would allow this room to serve its purpose.

There are many other rooms to consider in a facility. These include washrooms, laundry, storerooms, locker rooms, arms rooms, kitchen etc.

Even huge temples and dungeons of the past can have facilities. Each room has a certain purpose to serve whatever needs. The design can vary depending on the era in which it was built and the purpose it carries. Players prefer some realism in their games and it would not be a good idea to design a room without giving an impression of replayability.

Sewer Environment

Model and Textures

These sketches could be used as a guideline to draw the 3D version in 3D Studio Max:

Sewer sketches from Google 3D Warehouse

Link

Sewers are usually designed to be tunnels carrying dirty liquid stuffs. A sewage could be a normal drainage system or a domestical one where all the human wastes are found. No player would want to go down a domestical one.

3D sewer models created using Poser 7

Link 1	Link 2	Link 3

3D sewer models created using 3D World Studios

Link

3D sewer models 3D Studio Max

Link

Sadly, all these models are not free for download. Though there are free 3D models available on the net, there exists the limitation of finding one to meet one’s expectation.

Free 3D sewer texture pack from gamespy

Link

Ambience

Sewers are usually located underground with huge pressure from above so it is crucial for the sewer to not collapse one day. Therefore, the sewer material have to be strong. Material linings of sewers may vary from country to country. It may be cement, stone slabs, bricks, metal etc.

Lighting may also be necessary as surveyors need to get down there to check for abnormalities. However, some sewers have no lights.

Some extra features to take note of in the sewers could be the wiring, a catwalk, or a water fall from a higher pipe.

A sewer may not necessarily be designed as pure pipes. There are some big roomy places in the sewer. It would be like a central system where all water flow gathers before entering some filtering plant or sea.

Sometimes, a sewer may be of something more than just a normal design. It could be an unused sewer converted to a museum or an ancient type of sewer system preserved for historical heritage or used as a base of some kind.

The drainage system connects to every building in the city or town. In the future, bigger cities and towns would need larger sewer pipes and these sewer pipes may require a stronger, lighter and cheaper material. The space inside would be so huge that a flying craft could fly through the sewer with ease.

Then again, sewers of different era have a different environment to take note of. This consideration would allow a sewer design to be more interesting than just plain pipes.

Sewer Level Design

Recommended Design Criteria for Sewers

Sewers have a long history and there are rules to follow when building one.

Referenced from: www.state.sd.us/denr/DES/P&S/designcriteria/design-2.html

Sewer History: Photos and Graphics

Referenced from: www.sewerhistory.org/grfx/design/metcalf1.htm

Some details might be needed to keep the player interested in playing on. Unique texture design for certain objects would allow to keep the player in suspense for more designs to see later in the game.

Mechanism differences would inspire the player’s mind to wonder if such a mechanism exist and would play further to figure out how certain objects work.

All these intricate mechanisms not only creates an interactive environmental realism but also helps acquire an educated mind.

Modern Sewer Design Criteria

Referenced from: www.jensenbridge.com/files/CSP/Modern Sewer Design book.pdf

Not many people have gone down to the sewers to take a look of what it really looks like and would want the same experience when playing a game. As such, we would need to know the dimensions and the architectural stucture of the sewer system before building the 3D model.

We would also need to know what types of joints or junction are available to allow the change of directional flow of the fluids.

There would also be a change in volume of the water flow so a transition pipe would be needed.

There are several types of sewer openings other than manholes. It could be a catch basin, leading to a river, over a cliff, at a construction site etc.

In conclusion, before building a 3D model, it is essential to research about its architecture, mechanisms, artistic designs and history. They do carry meaning and has a reason why it exists in this form today. This is what gamers call the attractive factor that allows them to be immersed into a rich gameplay when there is something for them to see what they do not get a chance to in reality.