Gears Of War Environments

Lighting (Black Wings and Starlight)

The COG building facade features a gear and eagle motif. It is easily the most complex building in the level. The pale yellow light contrasts with the more orange color of the street lights and fires.

Architecture (Black Wings and Starlight)

The other buildings in the level have a darker color tone and a more practical look and feel. The buildings are squat, boxy and have some obvious purpose, such as apartments or a shop.

Environmental Storytelling (Black Wings and Starlight)

The street itself is in a state of disaster. The helicopter crash has blocked one end of the street off with rubble. Wrecked vehicles are scattered throughout the scene.

Color (The Call of Heimdall)

This area's reddish color palette blends well with the brown dust clogging the air. Visibility is just limited enough to suggest a much larger area. The goal of this area was to produce something dreamlike, but believable.

Nature (Ephyra Burns)

This area features both natural and man-made elements, and focuses heavily on the use of reddish fire light to accent the natural objects in the scene, such as the water and trees.

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Game

Gears of War

Description

I created three environments in Gears of War during modules four and five. These projects have no gameplay, but have a strong focus on building and selling a believable environment through lighting, texturing and decorative mesh placement.

Black Wings and Starlight shows a nighttime street in Ephyra. The buildings are run down and boarded up, and kryll fly overhead.

The Call of Heimdall shows a similar street, but drastically swaps color palette and mood. The dust storm and limited visibility give the level a claustrophobic feeling. Signs of recent habitation contrast with the abandoned streets. The red glow from distant fires gives the player the feeling that they are witnessing the ending of the world.

Ephyra Burns consists of a natural environment. The untended road has a river in the distance, as well as a water tower and broken down windmill. The cliff shows a distant vista of Ephyra burning.