Looking at a small part of the witcher

We are going to look at the level design for this part of the witcher 2.

First is the shapes used in this shot. The shape that is most commonly used is squares, this represents stability and balance. The castle in the background and smaller buildings normally are places which are safe and secure, but because of the attack that is taking place and some of the building are damaged or destroyed it gives us contrast between one thing telling us that this place is safe and the other telling us it’s not. Fulling us with a feeling of chaos, which is what war is normally described as.

The lighting first helps give the environment character, telling us what the time is and kind of weather and climate it is. Your eyes are also drawn to the light on the small buildings and your eyes follow it around to the wall and then to the gate, and finally to the holes through the gate itself to the sky. This all helps with signposting.

Not only does the light help signpost the player towards the gate, but so do a couple other elements. First of which is the buildings themselves, if you follow the strips on the building they point to the horizon point which also funnels the players view towards the gate. The last element is the path that can be seen weaving through the environment towards the gate, giving the player a clear view how to get to the point of interest.