Designing the Abyss

Art Style

Style and art direction are far more important than fidelity when it comes to how a game looks. Which is handy for me, because I have to make all the assets myself. I’m not saying Abject Abyss has outstanding art direction or anything, but I think it’s fair to say it has a ‘look’ that’s distinct from other similar titles. A look born out of limitations and compromises as much as my actual vision for the design.

Keeping things simple

Previous small projects I’ve made have leaned into the retro ‘haunted-ps1’ look, because it makes asset creation incredibly fast, and removes most optimisation concerns. I like that style and I still think its fun, but it’s not what I wanted for Abject Aby…

Art Style

Keeping things simple

But I didn’t want to aim for photoreal, or really anywhere close to that. The problem with making super high quality beautiful assets is that it takes a long time, and once you commit to that level of quality everything you make needs to match it. Soon you’d be forced into a situation where making even small set-dressing props becomes a whole effort.

What I settled on was somewhere in the middle, maybe a little closer to the lower end.

Modularity and Blockiness

You’ll notice a lot of the objects in Abject Abyss are made from pretty basic shapes. The style of Luminary Corporation’s bulky tech allows for me to bash out new props relatively quickly, and also lends itself pretty well to the retro-future look I’m going for. The rooms are also all made out of modular pieces, walls, floor and ceiling panels, etc.

A modular workflow like that can work in all sorts of games, but it feels especially suitable for sci-fi interiors. Like the in-universe construction was modular too.

This kind of pipeline also allows for a kit-bash approach to level design and set dressing. For those who don’t know, kit-bashing is a term from physical model making for when you create something new using pieces from a variety of separate kits. In 3D, I could make a bespoke model for every situation, but I enjoy having a toolbox of little pieces I’ve made that can be re-combined in different ways. Instead of having one single prop for a generic computer terminal, I have computer building blocks I use to build each one slightly differently.

It’s another way to keep things varied while maintaining a consistent look. All the terminals have the same little heat-vents, the same little buttons and knobs, just laid out in a different way. In-universe, it makes it look like it’s all built from parts produced at the same factory.

Having everything scaled so it can snap nicely onto a grid means you can mix and match, which makes a smaller asset library go a lot further.

Making Areas Distinct

The big pitfall with this kind of design, is that different rooms and environments can start blending together. If everything looks the same it not only becomes boring, but it can be disorienting too. Some players might lost, even in very small spaces.

I’ve tried to combat this as best I can in Abject Abyss, with mixed success. Still, I’ve employed a few tactics that help.

Most simple is lighting. Obviously you want some areas well lit, some dim, and some very dark. But don’t forget about colour!

Plain white light is boring, and it can make even high quality assets look flat. I try to always have a little bit of colour in the light, and to vary the hue slightly between spaces. Even subtle colour changes can have a huge effect on atmosphere.

In important areas, I try to place the props and lights in a way that creates interesting shapes with shadows and reflections (to varying degrees of success). I’m not an expert at lighting by any means, but I’m working on it. If you compare the earliest builds of the demo to the current one, things have come a long way.

I’ve also tried to vary the room-style as the game progresses. Not on a level-to-level basis, but more that I want each ‘zone’ of the facility to have Its own look and feel.

Take the quarters, for example. They’re clean, shiny, and bright, with more curves in the construction than the rest of the base. In-universe, they were built much more recently than the other areas you explore, designed to look pleasant and appealing for marketing and recruitment purposes. You only spend a few moments in the quarters, but it provides a big contrast to the areas that follow.

Flatness

A common problem in these types of small indie horrors is that everything tends to take place on a flat plane. It’s especially easy to fall into that when you’re mostly doing interiors and all your walls and floors snap to a grid.

I’ve tried to add little bits of variation and verticality throughout the game. I still think I could’ve pushed this a lot further, but if I keep going back and remaking levels, I’ll never finish the game.

Conclusion

I chose Abject Abyss’ visual style to allow me to create assets quickly and build out levels in-engine just as fast. Making a game is about finding compromises between your artistic vision and what you’re actually capable of making. But limitations aren’t the enemy of creativity. Limitations have led to some of my better ideas!

Abject Abyss’ visuals might not blow anyone away, but I think they are consistent in style and do the job well enough. I’m happy with that.

Get Abject Abyss

Abject Abyss

A crumbling facility. Things in the dark.

Add Game To Collection


Status	In development
Author	Anton Bezett
Genre	Adventure
Tags	Atmospheric, Creepy, Exploration, First-Person, Horror, Narrative, Psychological Horror, Sci-fi, Singleplayer, Survival Horror
Languages	English
Accessibility	Subtitles