For my first project, I attempted to create an environment that was peaceful and calm. The inspiration for my project was loosely based upon the game Human: Fall Flat. In the game, there was always a sense of serenity, and this was something I hoped to recreate. Additionally, when traversing through levels, your character would fall from the sky while surrounded by clouds. I wanted to incorporate clouds in my project. I was particularly drawn to one of the levels that had a medieval feel. I also loved the low-poly objects and I utilized low-poly assets to create my project.
The image I associate with serenity and calmness is one that is filled with greenery and nature. I also thought that having clouds surrounding your character adds to this calmness and presents a heaven-like feel. I wanted to create some sort of isolated island in the middle of the sky where one would be able to just relax and indulge himself/herself in the scenery and tranquility. To do so, I situated the camera so that the first thing you would see would be trees, the sky, clouds, and a grass field (Figure 1). On the sides, one can observe a mountain on the right and a house on the left. The reason behind is that I wanted to curate a sense curiosity so that the user would turn around and try to explore the terrain (Figure 2 and Figure 3).
In my project, I also wanted to incorporate a medieval feel to it. I originally intended to create castles in my project, but I felt like it disrupted this calmness that I tried to create. Instead, I utilized other objects that one would associate with medieval times. The first was the well in the centre of the screen in Figure 1. On the right side in Figure 1, there is also a church while the left side has a building with a water wheel. Lastly, there is a washroom directly behind the user that reminded me of the medieval times and also the movie Shrek (Figure 4).
Across the various photos, one can observe that there are numerous clouds. In this project, to create a close proximity between the user and the clouds. This can be seen in Figure 2 where the cloud casts a shadow over the water. I also wanted the clouds to be everywhere to create a sense of living in the sky. In the project, the user is not situated directly in the centre of the space. From Figure 4, one can tell that he/she is close to the edge of the land. I wanted create the illusion that the user is suspended in the sky and that he/she could fall off. In Figure 5-7, one can observe that the user is surrounded by clouds everywhere.
This world is an alternate world due to the fact that one is situated in the middle of the sky. The objects are also low-poly and the buildings are outdated in today’s world. There is also not a living object other than plants/trees in sight.
Looking back, I definitely feel that my implementation fits the identity that I picked. It evokes a sense of calmness through the trees, clouds, and grass. The idea that one is situated in the sky is also something that aids in the identity that I’m trying to create. However, there is a discrepancy between the clouds from the skybox and the clouds that I utilized to surround the land. This somewhat breaks the sense of immersion. Although my initial idea had more buildings and castles, I felt that I still achieved the identity I was aiming for. I also felt that Unity was great in rendering this type of environment. The asset store also had numerous assets that fit with the identity that I was trying to create.