Reprise village
Recently I reached out to Gary Platner, Principal Level Designer @ Blizzard, and he provided some really great feedback - feedback I implemented here in this piece.
With World of Warcraft as my inspiration (as always), I came into this with a slight narrative - I wanted to create a town that would offer a bit of R&R to a player on their heroic journey… though, it wouldn’t last long. This sleepy village is open for all sorts of catastrophes - ranging from paranormal takeover, to massive termites destroying their forests. While building the level, I wanted to make sure there could be plenty of options for Flight Master locations, spots for the player to meet NPCs/questgivers, or even swapping out a home or two for an inn or town hall, and more.
Mr. Platner’s main advice was to demonstrate a control over the assets, especially foliage, and ensure it doesn’t look disorderly. So, when plotting paths & foliage, I always kept that in mind. I also toyed with raising houses up on small hills, something I neglected to do in older projects.
In the end, I had a lot of fun making this little environment, and Mr. Platner seemed really pleased with how it turned out. I’m incredibly grateful to have received a bit of advice from an LD like him!
Assets are the Advanced Village Pack on the UE Marketplace, by Advanced Asset Packs.
Engine is UE 4.25.4