{"id":517,"date":"2026-05-13T18:48:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/sg1r23-2\/?p=517"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:10:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:10:52","slug":"daily-blog-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/sg1r23-2\/2026\/05\/13\/daily-blog-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Blog #3 \/ World Designer Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Research Into the Role of a World Designer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of Semester 2, I started researching the role of a World Designer to understand better how environments, atmosphere, and visual storytelling contribute to game development. Before researching the role properly, I originally thought world design mainly focused on creating the world itself through scenery, props, level elements, and coding. I viewed it more from a technical and visual perspective than from an understanding of how much emotion and storytelling can actually come from the environment itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, after spending more time researching the role and looking at examples from the games industry, my understanding of world design changed significantly. I realised that world design is much deeper than simply creating visually appealing environments. Through my research, I began to understand how environments can influence atmosphere, player emotion, immersion, pacing, and storytelling without always relying on dialogue or cutscenes. Looking back, this completely changed the way I viewed games, as I began paying much more attention to lighting, colours, environmental details, movement, props, and how different spaces emotionally affect the player experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While working on Developing Memories, I found myself becoming most interested in nostalgic and dream-like environments such as sweet shops, neighbourhood streets, childhood-inspired locations, and comforting spaces connected to memory and emotion. I wanted these environments to feel playful, immersive, and emotionally familiar while still carrying a soft nostalgic atmosphere connected to childhood happiness and dream-like feelings. A large part of my inspiration came from childhood memories and environments that feel emotionally comforting rather than overly realistic. Looking back, I realised I was becoming more interested in creating environments that players could emotionally connect with, rather than simply creating backgrounds that looked visually appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I continued researching world design, I became much more interested in how environments n naturally communicate emotion and narrative. Instead of directly telling players everything through dialogue, I found it really interesting that atmosphere and environmental storytelling can allow players to connect emotionally with a world through exploration and visual experience alone. This became one of the biggest influences on how I began approaching environments throughout the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During my research, I also watched several videos discussing environmental storytelling and immersive world design within games. One video that inspired me the most was the GDC talk Environmental Narrative: Telling Stories Through Spaces Without Words<\/em>. What stood out to me most in this video was the idea that environments themselves can become part of the storytelling experience. The speaker explained how atmosphere, visual composition, lighting, movement, props, and environmental details can naturally guide players’ emotions and communicate narrative without directly explaining everything to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching this video genuinely changed the way I looked at environmental design because I realised that world design is not only about creating visually appealing spaces but also about creating spaces that players emotionally connect with and remember after experiencing the game. I started noticing how small environmental details can influence immersion and atmosphere much more than I originally realised. Looking back, this strongly aligned with the direction of Developing Memories, as I wanted the environments to feel nostalgic, dreamy, comforting, and emotionally immersive rather than simply serving as backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The video also made me think more carefully about atmosphere and storytelling through movement and visual composition. I started paying more attention to how colours, lighting, environmental movement, composition, and even small props can subtly influence players’ emotional experience of a game world. This changed the way I approached visual ideas throughout the project because I became much more focused on emotional atmosphere and immersion rather than only focusing on visual appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout this process, I experimented with software such as Canva, Krita, and Photoshop while developing visual ideas and inspiration for the project. Of all the software I used, I found Canva the most creatively useful because it allowed me to quickly combine inspirations, organise ideas, create moodboards, and experiment with different visual directions during the early stages of development. I found Canva especially useful when exploring nostalgic aesthetics and combining inspirations connected to childhood memories and dreamy environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also experimented with Photoshop throughout the semester, which helped me better understand layering, image composition, environmental editing, and the creation of larger background scenes. Although I enjoyed learning Photoshop, I did not have enough time to master all its features during the development process. Despite this, I still found the process valuable because it allowed me to experiment more seriously with atmosphere, environmental composition, and visual storytelling within my work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The software I found most challenging was Krita. Although I enjoyed experimenting with it creatively, I realised over time that I did not have enough experience or time to understand the software’s functionality and tools fully. At times, this became frustrating because I wanted to create more polished, detailed work but struggled to adjust to the application itself. Looking back, however, I still think this experience was valuable because it pushed me outside my comfort zone and encouraged me to experiment with different creative workflows rather than relying solely on software I was already comfortable with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important part of researching world design was understanding the value of teamwork and constructive criticism in collaborative game development. Throughout the semester, feedback from tutors and teammates consistently helped me improve and refine my work. Looking back, I realised that constructive criticism became one of the strongest parts of the development process because it helped me notice weaknesses, refine visual ideas, strengthen the atmosphere, and continually improve my work over time. Every time I received feedback, I found myself refining and further upgrading my environments, which helped me better understand the importance of iteration in creative development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, researching the role of a World Designer completely changed the way I understand environmental design within games. Before this process, I mainly viewed environments as scenery or visual backgrounds that support gameplay. However, through research, experimentation, industry videos, software practice, and collaborative feedback, I began to understand how environments themselves can serve as powerful storytelling tools that shape emotion, immersion, atmosphere, and the overall player experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, I feel like this research helped me become much more interested in atmosphere-focused and emotionally immersive world design. I became increasingly interested in creating environments that players can emotionally connect with through nostalgia, atmosphere, and visual storytelling rather than relying entirely on direct narrative. This is something I would genuinely like to continue exploring in future projects, as researching world design has completely changed the way I approach game environments and helped me develop a much deeper appreciation for immersive environmental storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n