Hi!

At this stage, it’s no longer a race for polygons or a decoration festival. This is when everything starts coming together — when the scene starts to speak.

Each object stops being just a “model” and becomes an architectural gesture: a direction, a rhythm, a shift in weight. And the key question I keep asking isn’t “what should I place here?”, but:

Does this add anything to the space?
Does it suggest something, organize, guide?

If not — it’s taking up space instead of building the world

Huts – Weight, Rhythm, Function

I begin with a basic geometric shape — a raised box on stilts. Even the decision to lift it changes its role — it elevates from the ground, implies wet or unstable terrain, adds vertical tension to the silhouette.

When I add a porch, the hut gains an entrance, a direction, and shade. Two of them placed side by side instantly create rhythm — the hint of a street or movement path.

The longer variants work as visual glue in the background. A steady ridge line leads the eye, and single, rhythmic windows add small accents without overcrowding the flat wall surfaces.

Tower – Framing the Scene

Towers often get added as "something tall to fill space." But I’m after something more.

This tower has a specific role: it closes the composition, hints at orientation, and creates a vertical counterpoint to the flat profile of the settlement. With ramps and walkways at its base, it doesn’t float in isolation — it becomes part of the layout. I anchor it into the environment.

Roofed Structures – Connective Threads

Low porch covers and long market awnings aren’t just functional. For me, they’re compositional tools.

A well-placed roof can break repetition, soften symmetry, direct attention. I think of them as shadows — they should suggest, not obstruct.

They cover open gaps, frame the shot, direct the gaze, and add the final sprinkle of visual texture. In a well-built scene, spaces interlock above the player’s head — these roofed elements become threads tying the space together.

Boat Frame – Silent Storytelling

A single, unfinished boat is enough to suggest the whole process: a workshop, a break in the day, a history in progress. A clear keel, thin ribs — everything says: “someone was here, something happened.”

It’s a micro-narrative. No animation, no quest marker. Just presence. And often, that’s enough.

Roofs – Rhythm and Control

Roofs are what dominate the composition from a distance. Instead of just one style, I create a set: metal sheets, planks, patches. Three edge types — clean, broken, jagged — let me control spatial rhythm.

Remember how they did it in Khorinis? The roofs in that town were its internal path network. I’m aiming for something similar — a visual guide built into the skyline.

Boarded Windows – Spatial Signals

Not every wall needs to reveal something. A covered window is a choice too. It signals: off-limits, private, forgotten. I express that with a simple panel — no need for extra geometry.
Scenes like that send subtle signals — visual “blinks” that might catch a player’s eye, or might not. But they’re there.
These elements let me vary façade rhythm without multiplying forms.

Thinking Spatially

Instead of asking “where can I drop another object?”, I ask: what am I building in this direction?
What leads the eye from the entrance to the plaza?|
What closes off the scene at the sides?
Will the player understand where they can go, and what’s just background?
I’m not chasing photorealism — I’m aiming for readability of space as a world.

Technical (brief)

URP + ACES
Lighting: low Directional angle + short-range local lights. Cookies only where they help edge readability.
Ultra-flat style; shared palette/atlas where possible
Snap: 0.5 m (or 0.25 m for fine detail)
Pivots: mostly base-center. Exceptions: gate – hinge-left, stairs – lower landing, boat – keel-center
LODs: 0/1/2. Colliders: MeshColliders