[目录] [Building the Myths of Rise of the Tomb Raider] [Finding Inspiration for Rise of the Tomb Raider] [Research and Reference in Rise of the Tomb Raider] [Building from Life] [Creating Believable Hair and Fur] [Creating Believable Materials] [Creating Believable Skin and Character Material Effects] [Creating Motion and Emotion with Animation] [Bringing Lara to Life with Blendshapes] [Physically Based Rendering and Post Effects] [Building Larger Worlds with More Fidelity] [Snow Tech and Houdini Simulations] [Scoring Dynamic Combat with Procedural Music] [“I Must Not Fear”] [The Bear Chase] [Rise of the Tomb Raider for Stealth Gamers] [Rise of the Tomb Raider for Puzzle Gamers] [The Evolution of Tomb Raider Hubs] [Expedition Modes] [A Little Thing About A Little Thing]
Dev Blog: Building Larger Worlds with More Fidelity
Brenoch Adams, Art Director
[Leading into the launch of Rise of the Tomb Raider, we’ll feature a variety of developer blogs that lift the curtain on the creation of Lara’s first great tomb raiding expedition.]
The world in Rise of the Tomb Raider is larger and more diverse than we’ve ever built. We set out to achieve spaces that were rich with exploration, and offered variety in terms of look and experience. The fidelity of the world was driven by the research put into every aspect of the design. Advancements in lighting, materials, and post processing allowed us to achieve a compelling aesthetic that brought the hostile atmosphere to life.
Larger spaces come with the inherent issue of making sure they do not become difficult to navigate, but remain exciting when discovering new sections of the map. Layers of history including Byzantine, Soviet, and Mongolian era materials became compelling visual storytelling elements that help lead players from one destination to the next.
We quickly referred to larger spaces in terms of neighborhoods. Internally, one of the favorites was named ‘chicken village’ because it’s populated by, you guessed it, lots of chickens. All chickens aside, we spent a lot of time making sure the community who resides in Chicken village and the surrounding area had depth to their culture. (Chicken Village was renamed after we realized it was a ridiculous name for the area.)
The day to day activities of the locals were important to display to players, making the group appear motivated and believable. Agriculture, hunting, and the community interaction are just as important as the materials used to cook or house the people who inhabit the area.
Landmarks in the larger areas such as the Soviet HUB can be seen for miles, and being able to reach those destinations was an important part of bringing a higher level of fidelity to the game. These locations become benchmarks for combat experiences, high octane moments, or entry ways into the dark tombs and crypts scattered throughout the world.
Utilizing the larger spaces for multiple times of day and events is an important part of how we keep a familiar space continually changing personality. HUBs can be revisited after major events to reveal a passage of time that keeps the ecosystem of the world evolving as the players progress.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is full of technical advancements that improved the overall quality of our assets. The advancements were supported with strong storytelling, an evolving world, and dominant landmarks to motivate the excitement of discovery. The research and detail involved in all of this resulted in an experience that will find players going off the beaten path to unearth all that the game has to offer.
Brenoch Adams
Art Director, Rise of the Tomb Raider
