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We spend a lot of time exploring the worlds and getting to know the individual zones in MMORPGs. So it makes sense that New World’s latest Forged in Aeternum features the devs discussing the process of zone creation.
When starting from scratch, the early stage begins with concepts, and the concept artists that set the stage with their sketches to begin to take shape into the world the team is creating. According to Senior Concept Artist Stuart Kim in the accompanying devblog, “For example, how do we amplify awe in the player when they see a majestic vista? Or perhaps we could create a stronger sense of apprehension using low-lighting & atmosphere in a dark, supernatural location?” The zones have to have their own flavor, and fit what the team wants to accomplish in a particular area. Is it supposed to feel inviting? Risky?
In New World, there’s a special attention paid to creating a sense of history in the areas. “These visual cues provide clues as to why or how it became that way. It may even stir up more questions, which is a good thing. The team worked closely with Narrative and Design throughout production to develop the look of the world and contribute to the storytelling of Aeternum,” Kim says.
In the Forged in Aeternum video, the process covers the setting, between cultures that are coming into Aeternum and the various supernatural elements and accompanying myths. There’s a process to determine what landmarks there could be in an area, what needs to be there, and then you get to mechanics and what those mean for gameplay. That, then also may affect the creatures that the team will populate a zone with.
This all still in the earlier parts of the process, but the team will then start to bring these things together. They work with other teams to prioritize what has to happen in each zone. The video takes us through how they begin to put these layers together, and how they work backwards sometimes from what their goals and needs are and how that affects the map and environments.
And then the players eventually get to come in, and sometimes alter the plans or even affect future tweaks.
It’s a very informative episode for anyone interested in top to bottom zone design process info for Aeternum and MMORPGs as a whole.
See the update over at New World.
