Art Direction and Visuals

Selecting an art direction for my game is tricky. Ideally, I would like to have realistic graphics that are borderline to hyperrealism. However, due to only having 12 weeks to complete the project, and I am working as a solo developer, this is not possible.

Hyperrealism would suit this project well, as it aims to simulate a real-life environment. Having graphics that mimic what we see every day will make the experience more believable and therefore immersive. Hyperrealistic graphics would also be better, as I intend to use shaders for smoke and other visual effects - using semi or not even realistic graphics can result in an unfinished feel. Furthermore, having cartoony smoke, may not create the appropriate visual limitations that I intend to create.

To begin with, I gathered images that I felt were between hyperrealism and realism. Most of my images are from the game Portal - which I felt was a good baseline to aim for. It is tricky to say whether textures are "too realistic" or "realistic" or "realistic enough". I think Portal achieves a good balance. Furthermore, within the nuclear reactor the setting is similar to that of a decaying/ warehouse - which portal is set within. Everything is clear and has a "darker" feel to it, which would also be appropriate for my game. Generally more cartoony graphics are brighter, reflect more light and have simpler textures. The biggest area of concern for me is creating textures that are fairly realistic. I will need to dedicate time to learn how to create realistic UV maps.

I aim to create assets similar to those in the bottom left. I want to have a slightly rustic and ragged look. However, not as much as see in the image provided. The nuclear reactor station is a very sanitary space and the Fukushima one was considered to be fairly new, for that reason I will need minimal rustic textures (scratches, paint coming off etc). Not having these textures and imperfections, can result in too smooth of a texture that makes assets appear as cartoony. This is not what I am, aiming for.

To gain a better understanding of what my environment should look like, I tried to find images of inside the station before collapse. Finding appropriate images within the Fukushima disaster has been very difficult - due to it being a fairly recent event and information regarding it being kept secret from the public. Here is what I have managed to find:

Most of the images I was able to find were of either the control room or a central, large cylindrical room. Within the control centre, there is not much going on. Only a large green wall, filled with buttons, switches and other intractable features. The ceiling is made from a white metal mesh - which behind sit what look like standard office lights. There also seems to be some small desk with additional consoles on it and large stacks of paperwork - I can implement this into my game. Before the earthquake, paper lying neatly and after, scattered around on the floor.

Within the large cylindrical room, there seems to be multiple levels. I decided to break it down with a simple sketch.

On the bottom layer there is some sort of water pit - I assume the cooling place of the radioactive substances. Around that pit is a small ledge and pathway with some sort of lift (looks like an orange platform that elevates).

The second layer are the square warehouse walls surrounding this pit. On them are Japanese symbols and what looks to be mechanical supports (beams wires etc). The top of the walls have a safety rail going around them - preventing anyone from falling into the pit.

The 3rd layer, which looks to be the ground floor as it has the flattest and most walkable ground, contains lots of machinery (more orange elevating platforms and other machines). Additionally, above the pit is a net, which I assume is for safety purposes.

Finally, the 4th layer is where the cylinder dome shape surrounding everything is visible. There are also many support beams, and the overall texture/material looks similar to what is used in layer 2 (warehouse - looks to be "corrugated walls"). Walls are likely to be filled with some form of insulation.

I then tried to create a colour palette from two images that I selected (one for each room that I could find images of) - control room and main chamber. Within each of these rooms there is a lot of blue and green. Within the control room, they feature mostly as pastel colours - which as a result makes the buttons and intractable components of each console contrast well. The control room is only made up of 3 colours but different shades (blue, green and cream/white).

As for the pit of the reactor, it contains a few more colours, such as yellow and orange. The main dominant colours still being blue and green (blue netting and blue strips of paint). Green is used for the surrounding floor above the pit, and paint strips on the walls perpendicular to ones with blue strips. Yellow seems to be used for railings and any areas that have risk of falling, whilst orange is used for large mechanical parts (in this case a lift of some description). There is also a neutral metal colour present, as the reactor room is constructed using lots of metals and support beams.

I think taking these two images, and breaking it down, has helped me better understand the colouring system used within Fukushima. This will play a big role for keeping the experience authentic.

Within office rooms:

Blue smooth floor, dark blue in centre with lighter blue outer ring
Pastel green consoles on walls
White mesh covered lights on ceiling
Detached cream-coloured desk with consoles in centre of room.

Within other areas:

Floor is either grey (neutral with slight metallic feel) or pastel green
Corrugated metal sheet walls
Blue - Netting and Strips of paint on wall for kanji to contrast
Dark Green - Strips of paint on wall for kanji contrast
Orange - Moving lifts and big machinery
Yellow - Safety indicator for rails and ramps or other hazards

Visual Requirements/Aims:

Implementing visuals into a simulation is almost a must-have - as without it the player is not able to engage as many senses, resulting in a less familiar and more unclear experience. Familiarity does not mean, necessarily, being within a space that you often go to, or one you have seen before, but instead are able to fully comprehend and recognize for what it is. Most importantly for this game, I want to show the player what effects nuclear station collapse have on the surrounding environment. Doing this with sound alone is possible, however can audibly be distressing due to overstimulation. Generally, when other senses are not engaged, it can result in overworking/overusing a sense that is being used. For example, is common that people who are not able to see, develop a better sense of hearing as they have to rely on that as well as touch instead of visual queues. I would also like my game to be playable by various people with different abilities and backgrounds. Allowing them to have a visual experience is both inclusive and currently a big trend. Majority of modern games have very visually stimulating content and without it, would not generate as much interest. To create a more immersive and stimulating experience, visuals will play an important role.

Key aims:

Within the reactor itself:

The player must feel isolated and trapped, with a big sense of urgency that drives them to escape.
- Visual queues like flooding, smoke, screen shaking, parts of the map deteriorating, etc will work side by side with sound queues to achieve this feeling.
- Level layout with simple colour scheme that appears endless will assist in creating a sense of endlessness and being trapped.
- Using greys and muted colours will create a fairly "draining" environment, which it should be, as it is not one that is meant to be pleasant or homely.
- Screen shakes and other visual screen effects should occur minially whilst the player is moving as it can result in too much motion which can lead to motion sickness and other discomforts. Screen shakes can occur when entering new areas, where there is water breaking through the walls or foundation under the platform gives in.

Within the outside environment:

The player must feel saddened and shocked by what is happening outside the reactor.
- Creating a shock factor generally is achieved by showing something unexpected.
- I think- emphasizing scale can be shocking - having local towns and villages almost completely underwater and falling apart will be enough to show the levels of devastation (More than 450,000 lost homes). Additionally, forests/trees everywhere also underwater.
- Violent and "dirty" coloured water currents should be implemented. "Dirty" as it is filled with debris from civilization and the earth. Violent as the tsunami was 40 meters (132 feet tall).
- Seeing animals struggle or being killed by the harsh natural disasters and mix with radiation from the reactor (cooking fish alive) will be shocking.
- Having a raging fire with audio will also be shocking.

Interaction Expectations:

For intractable buttons, objects and features, there must a visual clue to guide the player towards them. As Nuclear facilities are always kept clean and with minimal clutter, by following this trend, there will be fewer objects, making the intractable ones stand out more. This will work for ladders, boxes and similar larger objects. Maybe a slightly lighter shade of colour or very minimal shader can be applied to make the object appear slightly more contrasting to the environment.

However, for buttons, something a bit more intuitive. If a button exists on a console/keyboard with many other buttons - it must stand out to show the player which one to press. Without ruining the simulation experience, the easiest solution would be simply having the button you can press a different contrasting colour from the rest of the other buttons. I do not want to implement heavy U.I. as it will take away from the realistic feel of the game.