Pirate cove
This was a project done for an assignment at The Game Assembly.
We were tasked with making a pirate hideout in the Unreal Development kit out of a small set of assets (Taken from a [ ] pirate challenge for more info: WEBPAGE).
Concept
When i set out making this piece, I began by sketching a small set of very crude concepts before testing the assets and refining the design based on the objects I had available to me. In the end I decided to make a small outpost with a prison tower for valuable hostages taken during raids. I decided early on that I didn’t want it to look too bombastic nor make it too big, since they’d want to keep it away from prying eyes.
All assets available to me for making this level
Initial design
Watchtowers
I began with designing the watchtowers at the entrance to the small bay which holds the outpost. I wanted to give them a rickety, haphazard, look, to really give two good points of reference when looking at the outpost itself, making it very clear that this is indeed a pirate hideout, and not just a light tower or such.
Cliffs
Then I moved inland, making the cliff formations that would surround the base of the outpost itself, covering them in plant life and a slightly turquoise-tinted lighting to make the scene look more equatorial.
Tower and base
When the rocks were done I spent some time blocking the base out, deciding what buildings would be where, I went for a small but compact layout and got to work with the rickety stonework and beams on the building and finished the whole thing by making some rickety woodwork that I could use as roofs and the jetty.
Dressing
Building
I added little discarded pieces of pirate-ships around the base to make it feel more piratey. I also added lights at this point, to get a feel for the illumination of the buildings and windows (Which are metal-colored bsp’s due to the limited assets in the challenge).
Cliffs
After finishing off the buildings I set about adding little leaves and pebbles to the cliffs. I finished off by changing the scenes directional light to look like dusk
