Light foliage and a river.

Continuing the story… I reworked the zone a few different ways, we voted (actually, I sent the tests to Dave and he said “Awesome! Go with #2!”), and I’ve made lots of progress.

Once the terrain style (blocky and cartoonish) and the textures (realistic with as much resolution as we can get away with) were set, I’ve been able to add models to the bleak and barren landscape that was DangerForest.

First I added the big things: bridges and buildings. Next I added the trees. I wanted it to feel like a thick forest, but I didn’t want to make the game unplayable or cause any iPods to blow up. I managed to come up with a way to have leaves dangle down from the top of the screen. There are enough leaves to make you feel like you are running through the woods, but not so many that you can’t see where you’re going.

Last night I placed the last of the trees, though I still need to make minor tweaks. Let me tell you, it was a barren place before, when all I had was ground. With the trees, it’s really starting to come alive. Next I’ll add boulders and big mushrooms. After that, the little things (ferns, baby shrooms, very small rocks, etc.). And then I’ll add all the hanging vines and other decoration. Finally, I’ll see about lighting and sound effects. All in all, the project is progressing well and is still a lot of fun.

Stay tuned for more screenshots, and when it is done, I’ll try to make a video.

The land before trees was a bleak and barren place with different textures.

The land after trees.