Environment Design Project 1

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 ENVIRONMENT DESIGN PROJECT 1 

|| Leong Hui Xuan 0365793
|| 20/04/2026 - 26/07/2026 (Week 01 - Week 14)
|| Bachelor of Design in Creative Media (Entertainment Design)
|| GCD61904 Environment Design
|| Project 1 Exterior and Landscape Design





Table of Content

  1. Instruction
  2. Progress
  3. Final Outcome 
  4. Feedback
  5. Reflection

INSTRUCTION

PROGRESS

In Project 1, we need to design and develop an exterior design that matches the style of the topic/theme we choose.

Before we started exploring, Sir gave us some time to try different games and choose one as our design topic. I chose The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as my design topic. It is an open-world action-adventure game developed by Nintendo. The game is set in the vast kingdom of Hyrule, where players explore a seamless environment with minimal restrictions. Breath of the Wild emphasizes player freedom, environmental interaction, and exploration-driven gameplay. 

Experiences of the game

As a beginner to the game, I quickly became fascinated by its gameplay after playing for a few days. The rich world, engaging exploration, and environmental storytelling made me fall in love with the game. This inspired me to choose a specific area as the foundation for my project and design a unique subdomain based on it, allowing me to expand the world while adding my own creative ideas.

Researches


"Zora's Domain" I chose Zora's Domain as my base because it is one of the most visually and conceptually distinctive regions in the game. It is a water-based civilization inhabited by the Zora, a race deeply connected to aquatic environments.

The city features elegant curved structures inspired by aquatic forms such as fish fins, shells, and coral, creating a graceful and organic appearance. Flowing waterfalls, elevated walkways, pools, and waterways are integrated throughout the environment, making water both a visual element and a core part of exploration. 

The use of blue stone, luminous materials, and soft lighting enhances the tranquil atmosphere while emphasizing the Zora's deep connection to nature.


MOODBOARD

PLANNING

After looking through all the images online, it gave me some ideas for my exterior. I want to create a memorial remains for the friendship of the ancient Zora's Queen and Zonai. I want to design my exterior like an open ruin that has some puzzles to bring the player to the underground part, so it should be located at the top of the mountain.


SKETCHES 


I explored two terrain concepts for my environment. The first concept is located by the riverside and surrounded by mountains, waterfall cascades down from those mountains, merging into the river.

The second one is set at the top of a mountain, with a pond located in the center of the top of the mountain. Beside the pond stands a taller mountain, where a small waterfall cascades down into the pond below.

After consulting with Sir Kannan, I decided to develop the second concept as the exterior terrain for my environment design. I then began exploring different exterior compositions, focusing on camera angles, focal points, and the relationship between the landscape and the designed environment.


[ Magnetic power Lift ]

Sir Kannan also provided several questions to help me further develop the narrative and storytelling of my environment design. For example, questions such as “How do people reach the top of the mountain?” encouraged me to think beyond the visual design and consider the relationship between the environment.

So I designed a lift use the power of magnetism to pull up and down to make the lift work and fit with the game.

HOW it works?

The Magnetic Power Lift operates through the interaction between two opposing magnetic fields, A and B. When Magnetic Field A comes into contact with Field B, they create an attractive force that generates a powerful pulling effect. Conversely, when identical magnetic fields (A-A or B-B) interact, they produce a repulsive force, creating a pushing effect.

The lift’s movement is controlled through a series of control panels that activate or deactivate specific magnetic fields within the system. For example, when players are on the upper level and wish to descend, they can interact with the control panel to disable unnecessary repulsive magnetic fields while activating the required magnetic field combination for the destination floor. This allows the lift platform to be pulled toward the selected level through controlled magnetic attraction.

To ensure player safety and stability during transportation, each floor is equipped with a locking mechanism that grips and secures the lift platform once it reaches the desired destination. This prevents unwanted movement and allows players to safely enter and exit the lift.

Iterations for exterior props and hero object





COMPOSITIONS AND VALUE

These compositions showcase different camera angles and perspectives of the exterior environment, while maintaining the memorial ruin pillars and platform as the main focal point. 



After exploring different compositions and conducting value studies, I experimented with adding suitable ambience to enhance the overall mood and visual direction of the design.



Then, I chose composition #2 #4 #5 to add more details and photobashing.


Lastly, I chose one as the final outcome for my exterior design and did some refinement on it.


OUTCOME



FEEDBACK

Sir Kannan provided feedback on the perspective aspect of my design. To improve my understanding of spatial depth and camera angles, I created a simple blockout in Blender to help visualize the perspective more accurately before developing the final composition.

Besides perspective, I also received feedback on my value studies. The value arrangement should not only represent distance and depth but also guide the viewer’s attention toward the intended focal point. By creating a stronger value hierarchy, the composition can control the viewer’s first impression and emphasize the key elements within the environment.

Lastly, Sir Kannan suggested that I further develop my photobashing process to enhance the realism, atmosphere, and overall visual quality of the design.


REFLECTION

Overall, I believe my main weaknesses in Project 1 were still the perspective and value studies. Although I was not able to achieve the results perfectly, this process helped me recognize the importance of accurate perspective construction and effective value arrangement in creating a strong composition.

Moving forward, I will continue improving these areas by practicing perspective techniques, using 3D blockouts as a reference when needed, and studying how values can be used to create a stronger visual hierarchy. I will also explore more photobashing techniques and environmental details to enhance the realism, atmosphere, and storytelling of my future designs.


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